Mrs. Toothman, of Green Parrot Restaurant fame, dies at age 97 - KHS65 mom

From the Webster-Kirkwood Times comes the obituary today of KHS65 member Diane Toothman Hudson's mom.  If you ever ate at Green Parrot Restaurant, you know why the Toothman family was so well respected in Kirkwood.  See the side panel on my blog if you don't remember Green Parrot!  Our sincerest condolences to Diane and her family in the loss of Mrs. T.  Thanks to Peggy Kramer Entenman for alerting me to this sad event. 

Veronie Olga Toothman

Died: Sunday, September 18, 2016
Age: 97

Toothman, Veronie Olga of Kirkwood, Mo., was born Oct. 22, 1919, in Crosstown, of Perry County, Mo., to August and Martha (nee Wahlers) Bohnert. She entered into rest Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, at St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, Mo., at the age of 97 years.

She is preceded in death by her parents; her late husband, Ben H. Toothman; her son, Lawrence Toothman; her son-in-law, Robert Hudson; her brothers, Oscar Bohnert, Wilbert Bohnert, Edgar Bohnert and Arnold Bohnert, and her sisters-in-law, Erna Bohnert, Monetta Bohnert and Lorna Bohnert.

She is survived by two children, Diane Hudson and Louis Toothman; four grandchildren, Tara Hudson, Barbara (Timothy) Kohn, Amanda (David) Flowers and Rob (Candice Suddarth) Hudson; five great-grandchildren, Lauren and Garrett Kohn, Mackenzie, Madalynn and Camryn Flowers; brother Edward Bohnert; sisters-in-law Loretta Bohnert and Lorene Bohnert, and many other relatives and friends.

Veronie moved to St. Louis and met Ben Toothman, and they were married in 1946. Together with family they ran the famous Green Parrot Inn in Kirkwood, Mo., known for their famous fried chicken and family-style dining. After Green Parrot closed, she continued to be involved with the local community. She is fondly remembered and will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Funeral was held at Concordia Lutheran Church of Kirkwood, Mo., on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016. Memorials can be made to Concordia Lutheran Church, 505 S. Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood, 63122; and St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Association, 12015 Manchester Road, Suite 130, St. Louis, 63131. Family and friends can review and share stories, photos and condolences online at www.stlfuneral.com and follow details of this event and others in the community.

GET YOUR KICKS.....right here in River City...

We St. Louis area folks are in for a treat courtesy of MO History Museum and KHS65 classmate Susan Croce Kelly come July 31 and August first.  POLITICS AND PAVEMENT:  THE UNLIKELY BIRTH AND INCREDIBLE LEGACY OF US HIGHWAY 66... Susan is an expert on this subject, just google her name in connection with Route 66 and you'll see...She will be giving the lecture named above at the MO History Museum in Forest Park, free parking, great place for a day's outing at 1pm on 7/31 and 10:30am on 8/1.  Let's have a nice group of her pals there to hear her presentation and applaud loudly for her!  The program is free and open to the public. 

KIRKWOOD LOSES AN AMAZING MAN & CIVIC ADVOCATE

If you are or ever were a Kirkwood resident, I recommend your reading this obituary.  In fact, if you like to learn about interesting, worthwhile, valuable human beings I recommend your reading this obituary.  It may be the longest obit I have ever read in our St. Louis Post Dispatch; maybe some of the Buschs or Anheusers or some such, but there are not many this complete.  I followed Keith's Kirkwood K-Mail blog for some time, a great way to keep up to date on Kirkwood goings on.  He leaves an amazing legacy that we should all admire and aspire to...ohh, but not with a dangling participle!
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stltoday/obituary.aspx?n=Keith-Phillips-Williams&pid=180770368

Mini Reunion planned for Greentree Festival Weekend

It’s party time again for KHS65! The committee has planned a fun mini-reunion over Greentree Festival weekend in Kirkwood Sept. 16 & 17, 2016. 

Fri., Sept. 16th: Kirkwood amphitheatre at Kirkwood Park, 6-9pm, for Motown Revue (best band in St. Louis!). Look for the Kirkwood Class of 1965 banner on the hillside above the amphitheatre. Come early (we will be there by 5:00pm) and enjoy the wine garden, food tents and just enjoy Kirkwood’s opening night of the annual Greentree Festival. The Greentree arts and crafts festival is open all day Saturday and Sunday. 

Sat., Sept. 17th: 612 Kitchen and Cocktails, 612 W. Woodbine, Kirkwood, 6:30pm til close (cash bar). We look forward to seeing all our classmates for another “walk down memory lane”! The committee is working on a much needed donation to KHS for the music department. We are beginning to collect band instruments in fair/good condition (we will refurbish if needed…thank you Jack Toman!). Instruments will be donated to the Kirkwood band director to give to kids (all grade levels) who would like to play but can’t afford to purchase or rent the instruments. Questions regarding the reunion or instruments, please contact: Leslie Bright Wainwright, notso39@gmail.com, 314-941-1579 (cell) Jack Toman, jackkentmusic@gmail.com, 314-605-7492 (cell) Karen Lowe Adams, twinkah@yahoo.com, 314-601-4161 (cell) Hope to see you at our mini-reunion Sept. 16 & 17!

Jefferson Hotel, now J Arms, site of our Graduation night party....news

I have long hoped that someday we'd be able to have a reunion at the Jefferson Hotel, now Jefferson Arms, but it was not to be...the property had deteriorated badly and never was refurbished.  This month has seen news of a Dallas - based company, Alterra Intl, which has a contract to buy the building and plans to make it a "new hub of downtown activity on Tucker Blvd."  Check out the story from the Post as of 6/24/15
 - gives renewed hope we could have a reunion there sometime in the future: http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/apartments-and-hotel-planned-for-jefferson-arms-building-in-downtown/article_1e0dbbc1-9869-5e61-9912-08e7291acf13.html I'm not so much into Feng Shui, but maybe that aspect will help make it a reality and we can have a reunion with a bit of Feng Shui!

Jerome Rawlings, further story of his Viet Nam experiences.

Jim Wheeler KHS67 and brother of our Jean Wheeler Redfern leaves the world too early.

Jean Wheeler has not lived in St. Louis in her adult life, but is still in touch with her friends here.  Her brother Alan has become a friend of ours through his lady, Christy James, a friend of mine.  A lovely family in all respects, and the loss of Jim at such an early age is very sad.  His obituary tells of his many Kirkwood connections over his life and I think you will find his family's request to honor him very uplifting.  Our condolences to Jean, Alan and their families.  I'm sure he is resting in peace and love.

Adelle Whelove, mom of Rick, obituary

 Courtesy of Webster Kirkwood Times ~ Adelle Whelove (nee Kullmar)

Died: Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Age: 97
Whelove, Adelle (nee Kullmar) died April 19, 2016, in her 97th year.

Beloved wife of the late Robert W. Whelove; loving mother of Robert Jr. (Janet) and Richard (Barbara); dear grandmother of Ona, Asia and Amy; and great-grandmother of Adeline and Brandon.

Adelle was the secretary at Westchester Elementary School for many years. She was also a 78-year member of Kirkwood Chapter #358 O.E.S. where she served as secretary for many years as well as being a past matron and past grand representative.  She was also a member of Bethel #5 Job’s Daughters and served as honored queen in 1938.

Funeral was at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester Road, Kirkwood, Monday, April 25, at 9 a.m. Interment Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Memorials are preferred to Kirkwood Chapter #358 O.E.S., 211 N. Harrison Ave., Kirkwood, Mo. 63122. Visitation was Sunday, 4-8 p.m., with Eastern Star Service at 7 p.m., followed immediately by the Job’s Daughters Cross Service.  www.boppchapel.com

JEFF BEARDSLEY REMEMBERED AT GETTYSBURY NATL CEMETERY

On our recent trip to Washington, DC for meetings of some of my hereditary societies we took a nice trip to Winchester, VA to visit the Civil War sites there and then to Gettysburg.  I'd never been there, it was Jack's 4th visit.  I had a ggggrandfather who was there and know a lot about him and his experiences in the War so it was an exciting and moving visit for me.  I had promised Jeff Beardsley's sister that when there I would visit Jeff's grave and so we did.  It was a glorious day in the area, and the flowers and trees were in beautiful spring bloom.  Jeff is in a newer part of the National Cemetery, where we spotted veterans of Viet Nam, Korea and World War II.  It was a time of quiet reflection for me, thinking of our classmates and friends, especially those who have left us so early.  If you don't know, Jeff's sister found us on this blog when googling around one day last year.  Her family moved from Kirkwood after Jeff went off to college.  After two years he joined the service and went to Viet Nam.  Christine was only 12 I think she said when he graduated from KHS.  She felt she hardly knew her brother, and had had no contact with any of his friends.  Thanks to some of our classmates' reading this blog and Facebook entries, she has reconnected with Jeff's KHS girlfriend and some of his guy pals have also contacted her.  She now reports feeling far more at peace than she had in years.  Their mom is 90 years old now, and they live in Indiana.  

I was able to pull a few weeds and clean up the edges of the headstone and sit among the beautiful trees and ponder the impact of the loss of Jeff and all those other boys in that terrible war.  The trees surrounding that section of the cemetery are beautiful, stately, and provide a beautiful resting place for one to spend eternity.  
If any of you go to Gettysburg, Jeff is easy to find.   You can walk to his gravesite from the entrance from the main road around the cemetery, he is in section I position # 7.  Have a visit if you're there.

If you walk in this gate and head forward then off to the left you should find section I.  The directions we obtained at the Visitor Center for the Battlefield and area were terrible...took us way around where we didn't need to be.  However, the visit to the spot of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was moving.  As were the monuments to the 10th Mass Regiment in which my ggggrandfather served, and the 1st Ohio Light Cavalry in which another ancestor served.  The cemetery is really a must-see part of the Gettysburg experience.

KIRKWOOD LEGENDS, EARL AND MYRTLE WALKER

Earl Walker died in 2011, as you will see below, but directly below is the obituary from the Kirkwood Historical Society about his wife Myrtle Emma Agnew Walker.  This is a family that gave so much that affects so many so often, we must always look to them for inspiration.  Tom, please know we appreciate your parents.  Just think how our outstanding champion swim team could have done way back when if we'd had a Walker Natatorium!  But we have it NOW!~

MYRTLE AGNEW WALKER
March 18, 2016

"...Myrtle Walker passed away at age 95.  Mrs. Walker graduated from KHS in 1938.  Although she received an art scholarship to attend Northwestern University, she was unable to afford the room and board and did not attend.  She subsequently went to work for her father drawing plans for houses to be built by her father, Lewis Agnew.  She married Earl Ernest Walker and they turned out to be quite a team.  They founded Carr Lane Manufacturing Co. in 1952. She is credited with using her artistic talent to draw items for the first catalog produced by the Company.
     Later in life she created the bronze turtles which became known as "Myrtle's turtles".  You can go to Kirkwood Park at Walker Lake and see one of these 600-pound bronze turtles.  The legacy left by the Walkers is the support they gave to Kirkwood and to Children.  This was shown in gifts to The Magic House, Great Race in Kirkwood, scholarship for summer study by Kirkwood High School juniors and the Walker Natatorium on the campus of KHS and of course Kirkwood's Walker Lake.  The Walkers were long time supporters of the Kirkwood Historical Society."

Earl E. Walker Died: Friday, August 26, 2011 Age: 91 by Kevin Murphy A 2007 Webster-Kirkwood Times article described Earl E. Walker as “An American Success Story.” A wealthy, self-made entrepreneur, Mr. Walker will be remembered by many for his generosity and community service. Mr. Walker, a lifelong Kirkwood resident and CEO of Carr Lane Manufacturing Co. in Shrewsbury, died Friday, Aug. 26. He was 91. During his early years Mr. Walker helped his parents with additional income by working part-time jobs. He managed the Kirkwood Roller Rink, drove a delivery truck, and did other odd jobs. He attended Kirkwood public schools, graduating from Kirkwood High in 1939. It was at Kirkwood High that Mr. Walker met Myrtle Agnew. They were married in 1942, and would go on to have four children. Mr. Walker attended Ranken Technical School in St. Louis, where he learned welding. After a stint in World War II with the Navy Seabees, Mr. Walker worked as a welder for Curtis-Wright Aircraft Co. and its successor, McDonnell Aircraft Co. Mr. Walker formed his own company in 1952. That company, located at 4200 Carr Lane Court in Shrewsbury, would become Carr Lane Manufacturing. “We started out in the garage of our house in Kirkwood,” Mr. Walker told the Times in 2007. Along with its subsidiaries, the company provided component parts for the metalworking field, as well as producing six vital parts for Apollo II. Through product expansion and several company acquisitions, Mr. Walker built a multi-million dollar international corporation. He would open manufacturing branches in Los Angeles, Boston, Austin and Brazil. Mr. Walker’s business successes translated into a lifelong commitment on behalf of Earl and Myrtle to help others. Grateful for the education they had received attending Kirkwood public schools, the Walkers donated $800,000 toward what would be named the Earl and Myrtle Walker Science Center. The Kirkwood High campus building was dedicated in 2009. Earl and Myrtle Walker also donated to the high school for creation of Walker Commons, and gave the “Myrtle’s Turtles” sculptures to the school. There’s the Earl E. and Myrtle E. Walker Hall, an art studio, at Washington University; a residence hall in their name at Ranken; a lobby bears the couple’s name at St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley; renovations at the old St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood were funded by the Walkers; a new School of Health Professions building was dedicated in their names in 2010 at Maryville University; and land owned by the couple was donated for the creation of Walker Park at Taylor and Washington avenues in Kirkwood. The short listing represents just a sample of the Walkers’ philanthropic contributions over the years. Mr. Walker contributed toward many scholarships, and has been the recipient of countless awards both for his professional and philanthropic endeavors. Mr. Walker was a member of the Kirkwood Masonic Lodge #484 and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Scottish Rite, the highest distinction of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. He was co-founder in 1988 of the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders, which has served over 15,000 St. Louis area children to date with various speech and language disorders. Mr. Walker was the father of Mary Walker, Tom (Martha) Walker [KHS65], Nance (Alan) Frost and Peggy (Randy) Swisher; grandfather of Keri, Daniel, Colin, Heather, Andrew, Alex and Katie; great-grandfather of Zackary, Sarah, Victoria, Adam, Rowan, Ryan and Asa; beloved by Dana, his daughter’s rescued boxer; friend, mentor, eternal gentleman, business associate and community supporter. A Celebration of Life for Mr. Walker will be held Sunday, Sept. 18, 2 p.m., in the Keating Performing Arts Center at Kirkwood High School, 801 W. Essex. Bring a story and wear green. Arrangements by Bopp Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to: Earl E. Walker Scholarship, Ranken Technical College, 4431 Finney Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63113-2811 and the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic of Childhood Language Disorders, 3632 Olive St., St. Louis, Mo. 63108.