PLEASE NOTE: Here is the direct link to the Jerry Jazz Musician blog/website tribute to Alan:
https://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/the-passing-of-poet-alan-yount/
After reading the text, below the obituary, the poem on the left side is by Alan and his son, a great poem....Just one of those posted by Joe Maita on his jazz blog. We have lost a wonderfully talented friend. We Kirkwood High alums are soo lucky to have grown up with so many talented, smart, good people - it makes it just that much more difficult to lose them.
(this is different from the link above) Here is the URL to go directly to Alan's works on Jerry Jazz Musician:
ENJOY his work and lots more there!
From Alan's widow Jerra comes his obituary which he wrote himself some time ago. I'm glad he did this for us, so we don't miss any of his talents or achievements, what a full life he led. He did not suffer, he passed away with family around him, not in pain, his heart just finished its work and sent him on his way hopefully to a heaven full of grand musicians with whom to have jam sessions into eternity. He was buried today, just days after his birthday. God bless you Alan, you will be missed but not forgotten. Condolences to his family, we are thinking of you all at this sad time. May your many happy memories sustain you now in your sorrow and uplift you as time goes by.
Alan Harris Yount was born June 6th, 1947. He grew up in Kirkwood, Missouri and graduated from Kirkwood High School. For four years in high school, he played trumpet and was the leader of a well-known dance band, Alan Yount and the Starlighters. The band played many dances and proms all over St. Louis, and during their senior year, the band was booked every Friday and Saturday night. He was friends in high school with the internationally known jazz alto sax player, David Sanborn.
Alan received a B.A. in English and Business from Central Methodist University. He was a member of the social fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon (T.K.E). He received an M.A. in English from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
He was a member of the U.S. Air Force Band and Stage Band at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He was also a member for six years of the Missouri Air National Guard Band and Stage Band in St. Louis, Missouri.
For several years he was the Assistant Manager of the Missouri Book Store, and Interim Manager of their bookstore in Los Angeles, California.
He received an M.A. in Library Science from the University of Missouri – Columbia, graduating with honors. He was in Beta Phi Mu, the International Library Science Honor Society. For many years, he was a faculty member at the University of Missouri – Columbia libraries and was in charge of Social Sciences Cataloging. After that he was in the private investment and property management business.
Alan was an avid outdoorsman. For over 30 years he fished and boated on the Missouri River. He thought nothing was finer than floating along the river with his friends, along the bluffs south of the Missouri River bridge. He had hiked and fished all over Missouri and was particularly fond of hiking in the Mark Twain National Forest.
Alan was a musicologist who had a great interest in jazz, big band, and rock music. He played trumpet every day and could still hit “high C”. He had heard and met the famous trumpet players Ray Anthony and Maynard Ferguson. He also played the upright bass and enjoyed playing along with jazz trio music.
Alan was interested in genealogy, and was directly related to the famous explorers, George C. Yount, Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, and the Governor of Missouri during the Civil War, and former Brigadier General Claiborne Fox Jackson.
Alan had published over 100 poems, many in nationally known magazines such as “Spring: The Journal of the E.E. Cummings Society”. [Please see several of his poems on this blog and go to www.jerryjazzmusician.com and type Yount in a search by hitting control F then click there. Trying to get the actual URL hopefully to bring up all of his work there.]
Alan is survived by his wife, Jerra Groman Yount; his daughter, Anna Yount; his son, Arlan Yount; and his sister, Alice Yount. He is also survived by his stepchildren: Stacie Brackenberry (Jesse), Bryan Groman, and Neil Groman. As well as several step grandchildren: Morgan Naes (John), Michael Marberry (Alicia), Gaige Naes (Courtney), Sierra Groman, and Scout Groman. Alan was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Jane Yount.
“Who dies today, does not have to worry about the next” - William Shakespeare
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