Adrienne Meckes
Died: Wednesday, July 04, 2012
Age: 17
Adrienne Meckes, 17, of Kirkwood died suddenly on Wednesday, July 4, 2012.
Adrienne was the daughter of Dan and Heidi Meckes (nee Zeller); sister of Justine Meckes; granddaughter of Dick and Ann Meckes; niece of Bob (Melissa) Meckes, Jane (Kevin) Alberts, Ted Meckes, Hans (Debbie) Zeller, Heather (Pete) Coury and Heath (Andrea) Zeller; cousin of Chris, Matt, Tim, Ryan, Morgan, Jenny, Amanda, Jack, Bryce, Grant, Hayden, Erin, Dan, Brittany, Ryan, Abby and Emily.
Funeral services were held July 9 at Salem in Ladue United Methodist Church. Interment private. Arrangements by Bopp Chapel, Kirkwood. Online guest book at www.boppchapel.com.
Memorial contributions are preferred to the Kirkwood School District Foundation, Adrienne Meckes Scholarship Fund for Minority Students, 11289 Manchester Road, Kirkwood, Mo. 63122 (online at kirkwoodfoundation.org); or St. Louis K-Life, in honor of Adrienne Meckes, 11800 Manhattan, Des Peres, Mo. 63131 (online at stlouis.klife.com). For all online donations please designate Adrienne Meckes in the comment section on the donation form.
Elizabeth (Betty) Croghan Raack
Died: Monday, March 26, 2012
Age: 84
Elizabeth (Betty) Croghan Raack, 84, a longtime resident of Webster Groves, died Monday, March 26, 2012.
The daughter of Michael Joseph and Edna Moran Croghan, Mrs. Raack grew up in Webster Groves, and was a proud graduate of both Holy Redeemer Catholic Grade School and Nerinx Hall High School.
Mrs. Raack was a vibrant lady who lived a full life, full of infectious laughter, song and infinite patience (especially with those she taught to sew at Eunice Farmer for many years). She will be missed and remembered daily for her radiance, sense of humor and love of chocolate.
Mrs. Raack was married to William (Bill) J. Raack; mother of Carol (Kin) Watkins, David, Connie (Ken) Leinauer, Cindy (Peter) Ott, Bill (Kim Bettisworth) and Pete (Melissa); and Grammie of Chris and Tim Watkins, Dillon and Nathan Raack, Dan, Patrick, Beth (Rob) Boland and Matt Leinauer, Alexandra and Jay Ott, Gibson and Finley Raack and Cori and Sophie Raack.
She was the sister of the late Michael Joseph Jr. (Mary Alice), the late Alicia (late Frank) Jaeger, the late Mariam (late Robert) Fenwick, Matthew (late Delly), the late Vincent (Marianne), the late John Julian (late Phyllis), the late Gloria (Luke) Newbold, Daniel (Mary Ann), Robert (Patricia) and Nancy (late Dick) Prendergast; sister-in-law of Patricia Raack Dorsey; aunt and friend to many.
The family would like to thank her wonderful caregivers, including Diane, Teresa, Barb, Tonya and Nan, who enriched the quality of her life tremendously in her last years.
Funeral services were held April 2 at Annunciation Catholic Church. Memorials may be made to the St. Louis chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, 9370 Olive Blvd., 63132; email: helpline@alzstl.org.
Suzanne Eaton Percival
Died: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Age: 64
Suzanne Eaton Percival, 64, of Webster Groves died Thursday, April 15, 2010.
Mrs. Percival was born Nov. 12, 1945, in Palestine, Texas. She served as a nurse at St. Agnes Home and delighted in her work caring for many of the leaders of the Catholic Church and their families. She often played music, delivered handmade flower arrangements and spent extra time with the people under her care.
She enjoyed the outdoors, hiking, bicycling, rowing, swimming, gardening and outdoor photography. She was honored by friends, neighbors and co-workers during her illness and surrounded by the same loving care she gave others during her career.
Mrs. Percival was the daughter of Robert Earl Eaton and Pattie Sue Eaton; sister of Jeff Eaton, Richard Eaton and Laurie Hart; mother of Robert Warren Percival; mother-in-law of Angie Hughes Percival; and grandmother of Robert Lawrence Percival. She was the wife of Donald Harold Percival as a younger adult until his early death. She enjoyed her later years as a life partner with Norman John Gromen of Decatur, Ill.
Funeral services were held April 18, at Clayton United Methodist Church. Memorials may be made to Share the Harvest Food Pantry, 689 N. State Highway 7, Camdenton, Mo. 65020, www.foodpantry-greenviewmissouri.org.
Beth T. MacKenzie
Beth was born in San Francisco, Cal. to Robert Taylor and Gladys Taylor (Morton). Beth was the oldest of three sisters, Alva Jean Manning (Bob) of Marin County, Cal., and Roberta “Baita” Harvie (Don) of Stockton, Cal.
Beth grew up during the Great Depression and World War II, but was fortunate in that her father was never out of work, and she and her sisters took piano and dance lessons. In fact, “The Taylor Sisters” performed at various venues in the Bay Area. Beth reflected in her later years about the sadness she felt dancing at USO performances, thinking about all the young men who would go off to war the next day, many never to return.
She graduated from Lincoln High School and attended San Francisco State where she majored in art. While in school, she worked at Western Union and there took a telegram from a young Merchant Marine officer assigned to the Coast Guard during the war and who had just survived the sinking of his ship.
She invited him home to meet her parents, and on April 2, 1945 Beth and Lt. William Murray MacKenzie of Detroit, Michigan were married. In the first ten years of their marriage, they had four children: Bruce, Vicki, Becky, and Donnie. She and Bill built a home on the Peninsula, what came to be Silicon Valley, and there enjoyed the social life of Post War America in the Golden State suburbs. Lots of parties with neighbors and get togethers with nearby family.
Then, in the summer of 1960, life changed. The family moved rather suddenly to Madison, Indiana on the Beautiful Ohio River. Bill took a position as sales manager for Grote Manufacturing, the children went to Madison public schools, and were active in 4-H clubs. It was a new world. Beth began to do volunteer work with 4-H and with her church. She even worked for the local radio station, WORX-AM, selling advertising and writing ad. copy, a job that engaged her sense of word play.
After about six years, the family moved again- to Indianapolis, and Beth and Bill became even more immersed in the work of the Christian Science Church. She was a loyal and dedicated Christian Scientist all her life, often teaching Sunday School, and in Madison, was Sunday School Superintendent and played the organ. But she wasn’t just “the church lady.” She and Bill enjoyed many friendships-there were parties and picnics and Beth even took up tennis, a sport she had enjoyed in high school.
Through the years, Beth and Bill moved and made many homes across the nation. From Indianapolis they moved to Greencastle, Indiana, then to Columbus, Ohio, then the Washington, D.C. area. Finally, they moved to Montana, where son Donnie was starting a restaurant.
Beth played an important part in Donnie’s venture. Anyone who knew her knew that at heart, she was an artist. She loved beauty and had an appreciation for line and color. As a young mother she took water color classes and ceramics classes in the Bay Area, and produced beautiful work. After the children were grown, her involvement in art grew. She painted murals of western scenes in Donnie’s western themed restaurant, and as he opened more restaurants, she worked on those as well. Like Michelangelo, she often worked on high scaffolds for long hours.
Beth and Bill celebrated their 50th anniversary at Rebecca and Ned’s country estate in New Jersey with their kids and grandkids.
Two years later, Bill died, and Beth, now a widow, was really on her own. She had friends, for she had a knack for making good friends, and she had family, but except for Donnie, they lived thousands of miles away. And the home she had lived in in Montana, thanks to Victoria and Richard, was pretty isolated for a widow. She wanted to move.
Fortunately, her daughter Rebecca and her husband Ned were able to provide Beth with a cottage in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in her native state of California, and she was able to live there for several years. When that was no longer possible, she moved to Salinas, near Monterey, where she was a companion for a very kind and witty widow, June Dudley.
When Beth’s health declined, and she felt she could no longer provide the services June needed, she moved north to Bend, Oregon, where she lived with a family Donnie was acquainted with. After a year or so with that family, she moved to Idaho, where Donnie was living. And from there, she took a real leap, moving to Orcas Island in the San Juan Island group in Washington State.
A peripatetic life is not an easy life. Living on a fog shrouded island in the Pacific Northwest can be challenging. Making ends meet on a Social Security check in one of America’s high rent playgrounds is nigh impossible. Reality raised its head, and again it was time to make another move, this time to a cottage in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts.
The move was difficult and Beth was torn. So many moves. So many beautiful places. So many friends to leave. Of course all those departures promised, always, new beauties, new friends. And the Berkshires did not disappoint. The cottage where she lived had been handsomely renovated by her grandson Jamie Odegaard, and she was surrounded by her daughter Rebecca’s family, grandchildren and great grandchildren. And many fine New England Yankees! Friends from church, and villagers from Southfield and Mill River.
It was, then, devastating when her daughter Rebecca passed away. She didn’t always let it show, but it was a deep sorrow. A month later, Bruce’s family took Beth and her new dog Sadie to Maine to vacation with them on Deer Isle. There she found peace, and as she said, “the comfort of being quiet and at peace with her family”-Bruce, Jennifer, Clare, Josh, Jera, and great grandson Nathan.
The following winter Bruce went back to Massachusetts to move Beth one more time. The snow was blowing. It was not hard to leave New England, but moving was hard. So many moves, it takes a toll. At first Beth moved to a condo. in St. Louis. She enjoyed spending time with Bruce and Jennifer, whom she had not spent much time with before. She especially liked holidays and occasional dinners at their house.
In the summer of 2014, Beth moved to Peace Haven, a Christian Science nursing facility near Bruce’s house in Kirkwood. There she lived out her days, cared for by the loving nurses and staff. And until the last week of her life, she was still involved with art. With Bruce’s help, she repaired a beautiful crystal Christmas tree she had made over thirty years before. Her passing was a gentle one, and in her final hours she was held in the love of her son Donnie, her daughter Victoria and her husband Richard, and her son Bruce and his wife Jennifer.
Beth was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Gladys Taylor (nee Morton); her husband of 52 years, William; her daughter in law Nancy (nee Morey); and her daughter Rebecca Odegaard (Ned). She is survived by her sisters Alva Jean Manning and Roberta “Baita” Harvie (Don); her son Bruce (Jennifer); daughter Victoria MacKenzie-Childs (Richard); and son Donnie; also seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
There are no plans for a memorial service at this time; in lieu of flowers, a donation in Beth’s memory may be made to Peace Haven, 12630 Rott Rd., St. Louis, MO 63127.
James L. Burst
1931 - 2017
Burst, James L. March 30th, 2017. Beloved husband for 63 years of Nora Ross Burst. Father of James Leonard (Beth Riethmann) Burst Jr., Jonathan Ross (Ruth Corwin) Burst, and Julie Burst (John Phelps Stupp Jr.) Stupp. Grandfather of Jaclynn Burst Smith and James Burst, Jonathan, Kenneth, Ross and Ruthie Burst, Nora Stupp Coggin, Julie, John, Hallie and Thomas Stupp. Jim was born in St. Louis August 6th, 1931 and attended John Burroughs High School and Washington University. Jim was an athlete of significant achievement. Most notably Jim was drafted #230 in the 1955 NFL Draft by the Chicago Cardinals as a running back from Washington University where he was inducted into the inaugural Washington University Hall of Fame. Jim Burst (Engineering, 1955) starred in football, but also competed in basketball, baseball and track & field. Jim Burst still holds Washington's career marks for points scored, touchdowns, punt return average, kickoff return average, and yards per carry average. Jim was a First Lieutenant and served three years in the U.S. Air Force thwarting any attempt to play in the NFL. Jim was a pioneer and visionary in the tennis industry with significant accomplishments which included building and owning Woodsmill Racquet Club and Town & Country Racquet Club, now The MAC West. Jim also played a key role in the development and growth of tennis in the St Louis area including hosting numerous professional tournaments. His brother Carl Jr. helped him as a business partner at Woodsmill Racquet Club and his brother Don served as his often needed orthopedic surgeon. Maude and Carl, his mother and father and Mildred Spreck Ross his mother in law were all important in his journey. He started off his career at the family business Mill Supply and Machinery Company, from there he began his career as a well-known tennis club founder and owner. Nora and Jim were always close to his brother in law John S Ross, his wife Jody Jackes Ross and their four children. He will be remembered for his love of sports, animals and most importantly his deep faith, which included a long tenure as a beloved Sunday School teacher. Jim was a devout Presbyterian and lifelong member of Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church. There will be a memorial service at Ladue Chapel at 10:00a.m. Friday April 7th. No visitation prior to the service. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the St. Louis Humane Society, 1201 Macklind Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110 or Washington University, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130. Alzheimer's Association, 9370 Olive Blvd, St Louis, MO 63132. John Burroughs School, 755 South Price Road, St. Louis, MO 63124.
Laimonis "Lymon" Bergmanis
1931 - 2017
Laimonis “Lymon” Bergmanis departed this life on Monday March 27, 2017. He was the dear husband of the late Sidne Bergmanis, father of Erik (Alleta) Bergmanis, Lisa (Grover) Timms, Mark Bergmanis, and the late Laura Bergmanis; son of the late Fricis Bergmanis and the late Anna Bergmanis; grandfather of Cole and Lisa Bergmanis and John, Preston, and David Timms; brother of Talis Bergmanis.
Lymon was born September 24, 1931 in Tukums, Latvia. He immigrated to America with his parents and brother in 1950 after World War II and settled in Ironton Missouri. He Graduated high school in Ironton, gained his United States citizenship, chose to proudly serve in the United States Army and graduated college at the University of Missouri in Columbia. December 24, 1958 he married the love of his life, Sidne Anne Koons, and thereafter moved to Kirkwood, Missouri where he and Sidne raised their three children. Lymon enjoyed working and was very dedicated to serving his clients, alongside his wife, at Bergmanis State Farm Insurance Agency in Ballwin, Missouri from the early 1960’s to 1999. He made sure all who crossed his path would not be lost by providing them with a State Farm Road Atlas. In his late 50’s, Lymon attended Covenant Theological Seminary, graduating Cum Laude at age 60 in 1992. For over 15 years, Lymon faithfully pastored the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Louis. He and Sidne moved from Kirkwood to Chesterfield where they spent the rest of their lives together. He was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying duck hunting and wildlife. He was a generous man and a wonderful loving husband, father, son and grandfather. The life of Lymon Bergmanis is a testimony of God’s great mercy and grace to him through his Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be dearly missed by all who were blessed to know him.
Funeral Service Saturday, April 1st 10:30 a.m. Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2143 N. Ballas Rd, St. Louis, Missouri 63131 Interment St. Paul Churchyard Visitation Friday, March 31st 4 to 7 p.m. Bopp Funeral Home If desired, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the International Gospel Outreach (OGI) Attn: Bob Bolitho, 161295, Boiling Springs, SC 23916
