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These notices are dated: 04-03-2004
Harold McClure, traveler, Tuskegee airman, pianist
Harold Edwin McClure led an extraordinary life as a member of the legendary Tuskegee airman, an accomplished pianist who accompanied the likes of Josephine Baker in Paris, a United Nations delegate to the Belgian Congo and world traveler.
"But he never drew attention to himself -- he was quiet, " said Mr. McClure's sister-in-law, Jewel McClure Yates of Glendale, Ohio. Her first husband was his brother, one-time Ohio State Rep. A. Bruce McClure, a Cincinnati Republican.
"If you would see him, he would be standing with his hands folded, very quiet. You would never guess he had all this knowledge and had been to all these places.
"I remember seeing him years ago on TV. There was some big news story in the Middle East, and I saw Harold walking past the reporter in the background."
Mr. McClure, who died March 27 at his North Avondale home at the age of 87, was one of the original Tuskegee Airman. That group of young African-American men were trained as fighter pilots for the famous 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332d Fighter Group and fought in North Africa, Sicily and Italy from April 1943 to July 1944.
A graduate of Cincinnati's Withrow High School and the University of Cincinnati, Mr. McClure earned an MBA at Xavier University and studied voice, piano and foreign language at Oberlin College as well as at the Conservatoire Nationale in Paris. It was while he was a student in Paris that he played piano for the celebrated diva Josephine Baker.
After the war, he took a job as a substitute clerk with the U.S. Postal Service. By 1963, he had risen to become a financial systems analyst for the Postal Service's Bureau of Finance in Washington, D.C. He later was named to the Universal Postal Union in Switzerland, one of the United Nations' 26 agencies.
Mr. McClure spoke eight languages and was fluent in French, Spanish, German and Russian.
He was a member of Allen Temple AME Church and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Other survivors include nephews Alvina McClure, James Yates Jr. and Fred, Steven and Leroy Mitchell, and long-time friend and caregiver Blanche Brinkley and family.
Services are set for 11 a.m. Monday at Allen Temple, 7030 Reading Road, Bond Hill in Cincinnati. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. there Monday. Renfro & Piper Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Andrew Charles Kruk, WWII vet, IRS worker
Andrew Charles Kruk wasn't one to draw attention to himself. He was more interested in watching what was going on in the world around him and learning from it.
"He was probably one of the kindest, gentlest people you'd ever want to meet, " said Coy Compton of Independence, a former next-door neighbor and close family friend.
"I never heard him have a foul word about anyone or anything. He taught a lot of people through the example he set."
Mr. Kruk, of Erlanger, died Thursday at St. Luke Hospital West, Florence. He was 74.
A Pittsburgh native, he was a chef at the Roosevelt Hotel in that city for 37 years. Later, as the hotel's head chef, he cooked for the Steelers on game day back in the '70s, during that team's Steel Curtain heyday.
Mr. Kruk used to take him to Bengals games when the Steelers were in town, Compton said.
"He'd be a yellow spot in a sea of orange and black with all his Steelers gear on, but the local fans never hassled him -- people always seemed to sense he was a gentleman, " Compton said.
Mr. Kruk came to Cincinnati after the Roosevelt Hotel went out of business and began working as a tax examiner for the IRS in Northern Kentucky. He retired from there in 1997, then took a job at Biggs Supermarket in Florence. He worked there until this past November, reluctantly retiring for health reasons.
"Andy could very easily get lost in the crowd, " Compton said.
"He wasn't loud, wasn't vocal -- he was just a sweet, caring, humble individual. And he would touch people just by being that way.
"That's what made him different. In a world where so many people seem to be concerned with blowing their own horns, he was different. It was never about Andy -- it was always about the world around him."
He was a World War II veteran and a member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Erlanger and the Senior Center in Elsmere.
An employee of Bigg's supermarket, a member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Erlanger and the Elsmere Senior Center, and was a World War II veteran.
Survivors include his wife, Jean Kruk; stepdaughters, Gail Evans of Houghton, Mich., and Cindy Banham of Erlanger; a brother, Joseph Kruk of LaQuinta, Calif.; a sister, Mary Ann Pauliska of Coraopolis, Pa.; three grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger. Visitation will begin there at 11 a.m. Monday. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger.
Frances Whittamore Beach, 70, of Latonia, died Friday at Rosedale Manor in Latonia. She was a former food services worker for the Covington Board of Education and a member of Pleasant View Baptist Church, Bromley.
Survivors include sons, Robert L. Beach of Crittenden and Harold E. Beach of Independence; daughters, Darlene Beach-Smith and Judy Nelson, both of Latonia; sisters, Ruth Thomas of Bromley and Maggie Menshouse of Covington; 14 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Hamilton-Stanley Funeral Home, Verona. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Pleasant View Cemetery, Grant County. Memorials are suggested to the Kenton County Animal Shelter, 1020 Mary Laidley Drive, Fort Mitchell, Ky. 41017.
Phyllis Collier, 60, of Cynthiana, died Thursday at her home.
Arrangements are pending at Woodhead Funeral Home, Berry.
Grover Cleveland Day, 92, of Covington, died Thursday at Woodspoint Nursing Home, Florence. He was a farmer and a former employee of Thomas More College, and a member of Colemansville Christian Church, Harrison County. His wives, Lilly Dell Leach Day and Desman Lay Day, died in 1941 and 1943, respectively. A daughter, Norma Jean Neace, also preceded him in death.
Survivors include sons, Donald R. Day of Florence, David L. Day of Pittsburgh and Emmett T. Day of Loveland, Ohio; 22 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Woodhead Funeral Home, Berry. Visitation will begin there at noon Sunday. Burial will be in Pythian Grove Cemetery, Berry.
Harlan E. Grimes, 87, of Bromley, died Friday at Woodcrest Manor, Elsmere.
Arrangements are pending at Ronald B. Jones Funeral Home, Ludlow.
Edward "Junior" Hacker Jr., 61, of Silver Grove, died Thursday at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. He was a drywall finisher with Thompson Dry Wall, Butler, and a member of the Bob White Club, Claryville. A son, Mark Hacker, died in 1988.
Survivors include his wife, Gail Hacker; a son, Jim Hacker of Silver Grove; a daughter, Judi Hacker of Woodlawn; his mother and stepfather, Rose and G.R. Loyall of Alexandria; a sister, Evelyn Blankenship of Berea; 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Cooper Funeral Home, Grants Lick. Visitation will begin there at 1 p.m. Monday. Burial will be in Peach Grove Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Hospice of Northern Kentucky, 1403 Alexandria Pike, Fort Thomas, Ky. 41075.
Andrea Henson, 42, of Independence, died Thursday at her home. She was a veterinary technician.
Survivors include sons, Chad Brendel of Newport, Nathan Brown of Independence and Kevin Miller of Roanoke, Va.; a daughter, Andrean Henson of Independence; her parents, E. Ross Brown of Fort Thomas and Virginia Block of Wilder; a brother, Brian Brown of Fort Mitchell; a sister, Jennifer Arbogast of Fort Thomas; and her fianc�e, Corky Houston of Independence.
Services will be at 6 p.m. Monday at Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger. Visitation will begin there at 4 p.m. Monday. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Fort Mitchell. Memorials are suggested to Hospice of Northern Kentucky, 1403 Alexandria Pike, Fort Thomas, Ky. 41075.
Donnie Ketterer, 50, of Dayton, died Thursday at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. He was an independent contractor.
Survivors include sisters, Nancy Freeman of Covington and Erma Smith of Dayton, and nieces and nephews.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate. Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donor's choice. A.C. Dobbling and Son Funeral Home, Bellevue, is handling arrangements.
Clara Mattox, 90, of Butler, died Friday at River Valley Nursing Home, Butler. She was a former seamstress at Hyde Park Suit Co., Newport, and Dr. Scholl's in Falmouth. Her husband, Robert Mattox, died in 1994. A son, Tommy Mattox, also preceded her in death.
Survivors include a son, David Mattox of Ewing; a daughter, Virginia Goetz of Melbourne; a brother, Eldon Mains of Falmouth; nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Peoples Funeral Home, Falmouth. Visitation will begin there at noon Monday. Memorials are suggested to Pleasant Hill Christian Church, in care of Peoples Funeral Home, 407 Shelby St., Falmouth, Ky. 41040.
Zula Robinson McGee, 94, of Williamstown, died Friday at Grant Manor Health Care Center, Williamstown. She was a retired saleswoman with Grant Manor Health Care Center, Williamstown, and a member of Lawrenceville Baptist Church, Williamstown. Her husband, Andy McGee, preceded her in death.
Survivors include a niece, Cara Robinson, and nephew, Gary Robinson, both of Lexington.
Services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Eckler-Hudson Funeral Home, Dry Ridge. Visitation will be from 6 to 9 tonight at the funeral home. Burial will be in Hill Crest Cemetery, Dry Ridge.
Thomas F. Osterhage, 73, of Palm Coast, Fla., formerly of Northern Kentucky, died March 30 in Palm Coast. He was a retired employee of Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati.
Survivors include his wife, Ruth D. Osterhage; a son, Jeff Osterhage of Alexandria; brothers, Lawrence Osterhage of Villa Hills; and two grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, Palm Coast. Visitation will begin there at 9:30 a.m. Monday. Memorials are suggested to Memorial Health Systems, 770 W. Grenada Blvd., Ormond Beach, Fla. 32174, to the attention of Stuart Meyer, Hospice House Campaign. Coastal Cremation, Palm Coast, is handling arrangements.
Madeline Yvonne Davis Schwertfeger, 91, of Florence, died Friday at Woodspoint Nursing Home, Florence. She was a retired registered nurse and teacher. Her husband, Owen Schwertfeger, died in 1991.
Survivors include a daughter, Margaret Guck of Zephyr Hills, Fla.; five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
No services are planned. Cremation will be at Northern Kentucky Cremation Service, Walton. Burial will be in Pleasantview Cemetery, Oscaloosa, Kan. Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Florence, is handling arrangements.
Beatrice A. Setters, 84, of Southgate, died Thursday at Baptist Convalescent Center, Newport. She was a former saleswoman with Elder-Beerman department stores. Her husband, Elzie Setters, died in 1996.
Survivors include daughters, Janice Crowder of Southgate and Deborah Robling of Massachusetts; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at A.C. Dobbling and Son Funeral Home, Bellevue. Visitation will begin there at 10 a.m. Monday. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill. Memorials are suggested to Baptist Convalescent Center, 120 Main St., Newport, Ky. 41071.
