Murray Smith, KHS Teacher, Obituary

I send a thank you to KHS65 member Lois Lindley, not only for reading my blog, but for sending the obituary of one of her favorite teachers, Murray Smith.  I did not have him as a teacher, and haven't known anything about him, so his obituary is very interesting to me.  A true Kirkwood gentleman.  I'd love to post more information about any of our teachers any reader wishes to send to me.
Here is the obituary:
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stltoday/obituary.aspx?pid=107799935&fbclid=IwAR2qX0DiU62i9TUREy3yieB-YcJqoXNx2zvT9IpKvmtRMNpBKwzK9nUsgh8

INSPIRING NEW POEM FOR WINTER BY POET LAUREATE ALAN YOUNT

Another inspiring gem from my favorite poet, classmate Alan Yount, compliments of www.jerryjazzmusician.com  ENJOY and thank you Alan for making KHS65 look so good!  The visual of your lips bleeding is strong, I imagine I'll think of this as I am exercising and it's getting difficult, and I'll have the umph to carry on! 

A Trumpet Break Through: Which Can Happen With Any Horn Or Ax
…………………………………….For: Dominic and Aurora Lewis
it’s tough
in jazz
to play better
as in doing
anything else better.
*****
while in high school
(my lips bled red
several times
on the silver of the mouthpiece),
just trying to reach
high notes on the trumpet.
*****
so, sometimes … when practicing
more & more & more
nothing inches forward …
*****
then one day, you hear
stay with it! stay with it!
it’s that great gnarly
sweat of jazz … when you discover
a certain sound
and know there’s a magic in this.
*****
if you once
play into a“break through”
you will never
stop practicing,
and believing in yourself:
to play better
for ever.
.
by Alan Yount
.
.

HONOR FOR ANOTHER KHS65 MEMBER

Kirkwood-Des Peres Chamber Awards Gala Set For Feb. 7

• Jan 31, 2020

Join the Kirkwood-Des Peres Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Feb. 7, for the 74th Annual Installation and Awards Gala, presented by Mutual of Omaha, at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac Hotel, 1335 S. Lindbergh Blvd.,
This year’s award recipients are:
Businesspersons of the Year Award The Miller Group 
Chamber Legacy Award Jim Wright, former president/CEO of the Kirkwood-Des Peres Area Chamber of Commerce
Citizen Of The Year Award Paul Ward, former Kirkwood City Council member
Commitment To Community Award  Peggy Schneider, Sam’s Club Crestwood
Lifetime Achievement Award Don Stream, Streams Tax Service
Volunteer Of The Year Award Kirk Faubel, Country Financial

Here is the actual article in the Webster Kirkwood Times about Don:

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO A BELOVED CLASSMATE

Sharon Lowe Zieroth died yesterday morning, February 7, 2020.  Poor Sharon suffered a stroke several years ago thus changing the course of the rest of her life.  She and her twin Karen would have been another year older on 2/18 and Karen had gone to CA to be with her sister at the end of her long, valiant struggle with the after-effects of the stroke.  Sharon and Gary, her amazing saint of a husband, have two children and two grands, Sharon was a serious diabetic from early young-womanhood and had trouble conceiving a child, so she and Gary adopted a wonderful boy, and not long afterward Sharon became pregnant and they then had a darling baby girl.   The Lowe family has always been and still is a closely knit, loving family.  Sharon and Karen were my first grade school friends when we returned from a 3 year stint in Wichita, on February 4, 1955, mid second grade for us gals.  They lived just around the bend from us on Horseshoe Drive in Sugar Creek Ranch.  My memories of our little girlhood are strong and happy.  Sharon and Gary had a wonderful life, raised wonderful children and were devoted to their whole family.  Sharon is no longer suffering and her family can finally let her go knowing she is now in a much better place.  Everyone will miss Sharon, an adorable, funny, devoted, caring, unselfish loving daughter, sister of 3, mother of 2, devoted wife and treasured friend.  I'm sure Karen will love hearing from anyone who would like to contact her.  She is on Facebook and lives in Kirkwood, contact me for specific information of desired.

CLICK HERE FOR HER OBITUARY

MORE FUNNY RHYMES from the past

On December 11, 2009,  I was reading my childhood Brownie autograph book and listed the entries here on my blog.  I was thinking there were more little short rhymes, but I just looked and either I just didn't type them or there really aren't many.  But today I was cleaning out a box of my former mother in law's things and found HER little girl autograph book.  We had fun reading some of the entries, and amazingly, at age nearly 91, she could remember all but one name I read to her!  She is nearly blind so can't read the book herself.  My entries are from the late 1950s; Jerry's are from 1943  when she graduated from 8th or 9th grade and I thought it would be fun to show some from that time-frame, similar to ours....lots of little girls and boys thinking about aging and girls thinking about boys!  
Her name is Geraldine, known as Jerry then and now.  ENTER THE WORD AUTOGRAPH in the upper left corner, where the little orange box with white B is...that will take you to a couple of posts, but one called Where are They Now?  That's the one with my autograph book info...

Dear Jerry, Love many, Trust few, and always paddle your own canoe.  Your Pal Adele, yours till bobby-pins get seasick riding on the permanent waves.  [The canoe paddle phrase was repeated by at least 3 or 4 people in her book.[

Dear Jerry, When you're engaged it's diamonds; when you're in love it's hearts, when you're married it's clubs and when you're dead it's spades.  Your friend, Lowell  I shouldn't have read that one to her but it didn't dawn on me what the spades reference was til later!  She's not in good health, recently placed in hospice care.

This one is on a pale blue page, the pages are all varying pale pastel colors.  Dear Jerry, I hope you never feel like this page, blue.  Your Pal, Marian, Yours til cows give coldcream! [One of my favorites, so innocent!]  Another entry repeats the coldcream line, which I found very funny!

And this one apparently from a beau, or just a good guypal:  For Dear Jerry, First came love, then came marriage, then came Jerry with a baby carriage.   Your loving Pal, Don  ~ love and kiss
Vertically down the side is a sort of code
MY
heart outline
outline of a pair of pants
4
U

Dear Gerry, Yours until the Mississippi wears pants to keep its bottom dry.  Love, Gwen

Dear Jerry, Remember me early.  Remember me late,.  Remember me as your old school mate.  Your friend & classmate, Shirley

Dear Jerry, Yours till the cow jumps over the moon.  Hettie

Sugar is sweet, so are you, so why don't they ration you?  Bob [Born in March, '29, if the war was still going on, i.e., rationing, she'd be graduating from 8th grade, not high school which would have been 1947 I believe.]

And one more I think is great, If all the boys were across the sea, what a good swimmer Jerry would be.  Walter

Aren't these just too fun?  So immature and innocent, can we imagine high school grads saying these things?  The more I read, I think this might be 8th grade;  most of the pages have little photos of the signers, in those corner photo mount thingys.  Some look too young for high school grads, but many don't.  I'll ask her and come back and edit this post.

The sweetest is from her father - "Geraldine Iris, Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind words are the roots, Kind thoughts are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits.  Dad"   and he sure knew his girl, she is and has always been a very kind person.

And the very last page.  Dear Jerry, The last page is usually saved for your lover.  But the heck with him, he can write on the cover.  Your Pal, Evelyn   Yours till the pillowcase comes up in court.

On that note I'll stop!

"FOR DAVID SANBORN"

Most KHS65 classmates know who David Sanborn is I imagine.  He was in the class of 1963 and lived on McLain Lane, across the street from Joyce Moller and Becky Smith and down the street from my house from 8th to 11th grade and down from Pat Corpening Hoag.  Many of us still love listening to his music but our class Poet Laureate, and masterful trumpet player, Alan Yount, has a special connection to Dave.  Herewith is a poem that Alan wrote earlier this year, and I keep not remembering to get it posted  Here are some thoughts from Alan on the musician and the poem:

"I met David Sanborn in Kirkwood High School band.  At the time the high school did not have a jazz or stage band.  I played trumpet, and had my own dance band.  I asked him to sit in, but he was always booked up.  So, I had only heard him play concert band music, until I went to the nightclub, that first night."  Alan told me he thought this poem "really got the great feeling of Sanborn and his music"    See what you think.... I typed this from the manuscript sent to me by Alan, but it was published in Spring, 2019 in WestWard Quarterly.

FOR THE FIRST TIME I HEARD DAVID SANBORN PLAY JAZZ

"For David Sanborn"
    yes!
yeah man ... yes it was
the very first time
I heard Sanborn, and your band.

While we were both in high school,
you invited me
to a packed night club to hear you.
The only word I could think of
when you first took a solo
was "amazed".

I have to say it over and over
I was so taken away
how well you
got around on your horn.

You played
a thousand times better
than any of us,
(no jive kidding here).

*****

man, how did you
get that distinctive sound?

from those unfurling notes
coming down through
the amber gold of your
Selmer Paris alto saxophone.

I could almost
reach out ...
and touch some sort of karate "ki" ...
some unknown internal force
in and around you
and your playing -

as if I could
feel the edge ...
of that Selmer horn ...
so alive.

*****

feel the actual groove
going with
the soul of your horn
(actually hear a sacred place
as you did speak) ...

through your alto sax,
with your
so familiar defined sound.

it's kind of
a universal thing:
you feel that you are in there ...
part of the jazz!

Sanborn is playing for himself:
but we get it, he's also playing

with a warmth of sounds
heart to heart

so just ... for you ...to hear.

Thank you as always Alan, for allowing us to share in your talents, you are one of our classmates who makes us oh so proud!

Here us a bit of info about Dave I found online:  "David Sanborn has released 24 albums, won six Grammy Awards, and has had eight Gold albums and one Platinum album. Having inspired countless other musicians, Dave has worked in many genres which typically blend instrumental pop, R&B and lately, more and more traditional jazz.:

There are many pix of Dave online, he has aged beautifully, but there is one which, if you can ignore the big hair, shows his face as I remember him from riding carpool to school with him in the McLain Lane days of my life. 

ADIOS, FAREWELL AND GOOD-BYE TO 2019

Happy New Year to all my KHS65 friends. On this the last day of 2019, those of us who are 'of a certain age' may be feeling that certain age lately. From our Kirkwood High class of 1965 comes this wonderful new poem. Alan Yount is a jazz trumpeter, poet, retired university librarian and all 'round cool guy. Our fathers were McDonnell Aircraft pals and Alan & his high school jazz band played for us at our dances often; I'm sure I don't have to tell many of you that! Please take a few reminiscing moments to reflect on his latest poem, published at https://jerryjazzmusician.com. Actually this is his latest, and maybe greatest, but when I simply typed in the URL in my browser bar for JJM the first thing that popped up was another of Alan's poems from awhile back. This link here takes you right to his latest poem "Up in the Attic".  Please everyone be safe if you are out and about this evening. Thank you Alan for your years of friendship, great music and poetry.  I'll be drinking a champagne cocktail toast to my KHS65 friends and memories as the bells toll at midnight!

Another classmate has left our community of KHS friends.

Thank you to Bob O'Neill for alerting me to the passing on September 28th, 2019 of our classmate John Harris.  While I did not know John at KHS, and he did not participate in our reunion activities over the years, Bob and he, and others, were friends during and after KHS.  John, Bob and Art Stout all shared the wonderful train hobby that Bob still follows passionately to this day.  After graduation Mr. Stout took Bob and John on a trip to see a particular special train exhibit.  John held an electrical engineering degree and worked for an insurance company, at least part of the time inspecting mining operations in the US Southwest.  He had a van and two motorcycles which he used to travel the country, using the cycles to access hard to navigate places he needed to inspect.  John died of cancer peacefully in his sleep in the hospital, having also suffered COPD for some time.  He lived at 1209 Lockett Road when we graduated, perhaps some of you remember him. He was living in Kirkwood when he died. He earned a Gold K, so obviously he was a good student!!  May he rest in peace.

GARY SCHMIDT ESQ. HONORED BY WESTMINSTER COLLEGE

Ladies and gentlemen, I am so pleased to announce the following:

Congratulations to the 2019 Westminster College Athletic Hall of Fame inductees

The following alumni will be honored during Homecoming Weekend:

Andrew Jett ’12
Val Leppert ’05
Chris Marshall ’03
Kent Mueller ’62 SAE
Gary Schmidt ’69 KA 
Jamie Vargas

 

 

Retired Judge Schmidt and I became friends after high school through a number of connections.  He had an amazing career as a lawyer and judge and then as a corporate attorney for the state of Missouri.  He had an amazing career as a high school athlete and as a collegiate athlete.  I was very proud to sponsor him for the KHS Alumni Hall of Fame.  Gary is a Viet Nam Veteran who was injured and continues with health issues arising from that service.  Gary is a wonderful father, retired gentleman doing good things for friends, family and often strangers.  He has been an amazing friend to me through the proverbial 'thick and thin', often the thick.  

Please type SCHMIDT into the search box here and see the other articles I've posted about Gary over the past few years.  I don't want to repeat and repeat at risk of being unseemly, however, I will say one thing that isn't in the other posts, Gary is the only man in the history of Westminster College to have been named to the list of Distinguished Alumni AND the Athletic Hall of Fame.  He was also awarded the Distinguished American Jurist Award some years back, the year after that award went to the late Anton Scalia.  I think we need not say more about Gary's contributions to our legal community over a long span of years.

I am so proud to call Gary my friend and to remind us all that he is an excellent example of what we Kirkwood High School alumni have accomplished in our lives often because of our superb Kirkwood educational and nurturing background.  

 

WAY TO GO GARY!!!  THANK YOU FOR HELPING MAKE KHS65 LOOK GREAT!

Classmate Nancy Morrison Loeb gone way too soon.

Here is the obituary for our classmate Nancy E. Morrison, MSW, LCSW
Gone way too soon, I hope we will all stop for a moment and think about her and all the good works she did in her lifetime and remember her fondly. Thank you Pat Moisio Reim Ciapciak for letting us know. May she rest in peace and love.
 
2-14-47 to 8-13-19
She was born on Valentine’s Day in 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri and raised there. She received a BA from Grinnell College in Iowa and a Masters in Social Work from Saint Louis University School of Social Service. She moved to San Francisco in 1975 with Peter Loeb and later that year they settled in Pacifica where they lived for the past 44 years.
She was a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and retired from her position as Mediator, San Mateo County Family Court Services after 20 years. Prior to that she was Clinical Director, Family Service Agency of San Mateo County; Program Manager, Children’s Home Society Of California; Residential Treatment Supervisor, Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco; Program Manager, San Francisco Head Start; Director of Research, St. Louis Drug Abuse Coordinating Council; Child Welfare Worker, St. Louis County Family Service Agency; Public Assistance Worker, St. Louis County Family Services.
She was a member of Pacifica Resource Center Board of Directors, and member of Pacifica Social Justice, Pacifica Housing 4 All, Pacifica Progressive Alliance. She was active in many Pacifica community groups and local political campaigns over the years, including Friends of Pacifica, the Community Organization of Watchdogs (COW), Pacificans for Highway 1 Alternatives, and others.
She was loved by many, both human and animals. She cared for many feral cats, practicing trap, neuter, and release (TNR). She was predeceased by dogs Ruby Begonia, Bernie, and Lucy and by cats too numerous to name. She is survived by her beloved dog Sadie and cats Beauregard, Bunty, and Dixie.
She was preceded in death by her parents Bert and Jane Morrison and by her brother Pete Morrison. She is survived by her husband Peter Loeb, sister Sally Riggs and her husband Tom, nieces Maddie Lee and Emily Riggs, brother Geoff Morrison and his wife Shelley, stepdaughter Lisa Loeb Stanga and her husband Pete and grandchildren Ben and Maggie, and stepson Jeff and his wife Cristen and grandchildren Cady, Connor, Caroline, and Cameron.
If a memorial is planned, it will be announced at a later time. Donations in Nancy Morrison’s memory may be made to Pacifica Resource Center or Pacificans Care.