|
This page is dedicated to the optimist members of the
Optimist Club of Evansville, Downtown, who faithfully served
our club and the youth in our community. Their memory is cherished by all members. They
will not be forgotten. Each Memorial Day Weekend, our members place
an American Flag with our club identification on all the
graves of members who have preceeded us. Paul Leon
Jennings Paul Leon Jennings, 99, of Evansville, passed
away Friday, March 5, 2010, at Deaconess Hospice Care Center.
He was born November 8, 1910, in Farmersburg, Indiana.
Professionally Mr. Jennings served as President of the
Evansville Teachers Association, two terms as First Vice
President of the Indiana Classroom Teachers Association, and
was Salary Committee Chairman for the Evansville Teachers
Association. In 1967-68 he was President of the Southern
Indiana Athletic Association and became the first President of
the Association of Educational Administrators-Evansville in
1971. He was a member of the National Education Association,
Indiana State Teachers Association, Indiana Classroom Teachers
Association, the American Association of School
Administrators, Evansville Retired Teachers Association and
Phi Delta Kappa. Paul was a member of the board of directors for the
Downtown Optimist Club. He joined the Downtown Optimist
Club on June 1, 1956 and was their oldest member. Paul
was also a member of Reed Masonic Lodge 316, Evansville
Past Masters' Club, Hadi Shrine and Evansville Kennel Club. He
also served as a Democratic Precinct Committeeman. He was married to the former Virginia Moreland from 1938
until her death in 1994. He married Lois Rust in 1995, and she
survives. Mr. Jennings enjoyed gardening, fishing, sporting events,
traveling and golfing. He received his first hole-in-one in
1998 at the age of 88! He was preceded in death by an infant son, Stephen Edward
Jennings. Paul is survived by two daughters, Connie Jennings Ayers of
New Albany, Ind. and Kathleen Jennings Pate of Annapolis, Md.;
sister, Joyce Jennings Shewmaker of Bradenton, Fla.;
grandfather of five, Jeff Ayers of Evansville, Chris Ayers of
Conway, S.C., Matt Ayers of Louisville, Ky., Amy Hyatt of
Charleston, S.C. and Ashley Brosey of Mt. Pleasant, S.C.;
great grandfather of seven; four nephews, Don Jennings of
Terre Haute, Ind., David Shewmaker of Flower Mound, Texas,
Terry Shewmaker of Elkhart, Ind.; and Scott Shewmaker of
Aurora, Colo. Services were held, 11am, Monday, March 8, 2010, at
Alexander East Chapel, with a private burial. Memorial contributions were made to Deaconess Hospice Care
Center, 600 Mary Street, Third Floor, Evansville, IN 47747 or
Benevolence Fund at Christian Fellowship Church, 4100
Millersburg Road, Evansville, IN 47725.
Eric
Alan Thornton Eric Alan Thornton, 51, of
Evansville, died Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at St.
Mary's Medical Center. He had worked at Bristol
Myers. In recent years,
Eric owned his own Rental Property Business. Eric had been a member of the
Downtown Optimist Club for several years.
Currently, he was on our Board of Directors, and served
on our Tri-Star Soccer Committee. Due to his
health issues, Eric was not able to be involved in many
of our club activities in recent months. Eric was known by members as a
person who was not a quitter as he constantly was
fighting different health issues. Although he had
several years of health problems, his positive attitude
will be remembered by the members who knew and loved
him. Eric had a passion for Corvair
cars. He owned several Corvair convertibles
including one that was previously owned by Yankees
baseball player, Don Mattingly. Eric had Don
sign the car after he learned that it had been owned my
him. Many members celebrated
his birthday July 2006 at his home. He received
this cake with a picture of one of his Chevrolet Corvair
convertibles on it. Surviving are parents, Bobby Sr. and
Mary; a sister, Michelle Howell; and brother, Bob.
Funeral services will be held at a
later date. Pierre Funeral Home is handling
arrangements. Comments from
his fellow Optimist Club members: Eric
was a very giving person, as we can all recall he always
brought lots of items to the meetings for prizes when we
was Sarge.
Eric
always kept a very positive, Optimistic attitude about
everything, in addition, he always was a big help at our
annual picnic with bringing grills, food, and cooking
. He always
made fun of Todd's little grill!! lol I know there was
a lot of times Eric did not feel good, but he still came
to the meetings and contributed. I will miss
him a lot, I do already. He was a good
friend! - Dan Phillips I
will remember him as a witty, friendly and outgoing
individual that was a real contributor to
Optimism! - Don Julian Eric came in
to my office just a few weeks ago and left me a
message about returning to the Optimist meetings (in
fact, I want to call it a friendly threat!!). He was
just so awesome and enjoyed life. We can all learn from
him and keep his legacy alive by being good and kind to
one another and to others. I am blessed to
have such wonderful folks to call my friends and
Optimist Buddies! Let's be good to each other and
to ourselves. I will try and
obey Eric and get back to those good ole Wednesday
Optimist meetings! - Marilyn
Robinson Eric
had a Cardinal on his Thornton business card...thus I
nicknamed him "Redbird". - Todd
Wahl He was also a
big collector of die cast car models - Gary
Burk
Paul K.
Ritchel Paul joined our club in
1940. He was President in 1972 - 1973 and
served many terms as a board member. For
over 60 years, Paul was one of our most "optimistic"
members. Paul's attitude was always positive and
upbeat. He was committed to our club not only in
donating his time, but the resources of his printing
company, Creative Press. Paul donated the design
and printing of our weekly newsletters for many
years. Our newsletter has won numerous awards over
the years partly because of it's professional
design. He also designed the booklet for your
club's 60th anniversary. For many years, our club
would write and present "skits" at our new president's
induction. Because of Paul's background as a
musician and singer he always volunteered to play a
role in these productions. His advise as a person, as a
professional, and optimist was always welcome. He will
be greatly missed.
Mr. Ritchel was retired from the presidency of
Creative Press, Inc. His career in the printing business
began at Keller-Crescent when he was 18 years old and
just graduated from high school. He began as a
compositor, did purchasing and estimating, was a sales
assistant and, for nearly eight years, an account
executive with the company. In 1946, he established a
printing company with Orla Heim, called Heim and
Ritchel, on First Street in Evansville. In 1950, he
acquired the company and renamed it Creative Press,
Inc., which eventually expanded to three facilities in
the Evansville area. In 2001, the family-owned company
was sold. In the 1930s and 1940s, he played and sang with the
Charlie Kroener Orchestra, where he met his wife, the
former Mary Lou Walter, vocalist with the band. They
were married for 62 years. Mr. Ritchel was also a
violinist and a charter member of the Evansville
Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a longtime member of the Downtown Optimist
Club and served both as its president and on its board.
He held membership in several civic and business
organizations, and the Petroleum Club and the Kennel
Club of Evansville. He enjoyed gardening, golf and
wintering in Fort Myers, Fla. Paul was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Lou, a
son, Patrick, and a sister, Helen Hillman. He is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Susie
and Dale Oberbeck of Newburgh; sons and
daughters-in-law, Gary and Lynn of Evansville and Mike
and Gina of Bloomington; grandchildren, Susan Jane
Oberbeck of Kuttawa, Ky., John Oberbeck of New York,
N.Y., Michael Oberbeck of Long Beach, Calif., Heath and
Tyler Ritchel of Evansville, Maria Dahlgren of
Evansville, Tony and Tom Ritchel of Bloomington, and
Elaine and Sean Ritchel of Albequerque, N.M.; and
great-grandchildren, Colin Camacho, Caitlin Jent and
Christian and Aidan Kopec. He is also survived by nieces
and nephews. Mr. Ritchel will be remembered for the friendliness
and kindness he extended to everyone, his optimistic
personality, and for his generosity. His family would
like to acknowledge the care and consideration shown to
Paul by the staff at Angel River Health and
Rehabilitation, Deaconess Gateway Hospital and Deaconess
Hospice. Visitation was 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, February 24, at
Ziemer Funeral Home East Chapel, 800 S. Hebron Ave.
Private funeral services were held Monday at Ziemer East
Chapel. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, friends may make memorial
contributions to the Alzheimer's Association, Albion
Fellows Bacon Center, or their favorite charity. A
dedication was held at Cortegra (formerly Creative
Press) in Paul Ritchel's memory on August 14,
2009. A tree was planted, and bricks
surrounding the tree came from the former
building. A plaque was dedicated in Paul's
memory.
Lori
Carroll Bryant Lori
joined our club over 15 years ago and served on
many committees. This past year, Lori served
as Invocation Chairman for October 2006, Program
Chairman for January, was a member of the
Orientation and Assimilation Committee, Sunshine
Corner Committee. Lori Carroll
Bryant, 47, of In her youth she
attended Upon her
graduation Lori was employed at ISUE as an
Admissions Counselor. She worked for Community
Action Program of Evansville since 1988, where she
was the director of the Foster Grandparent
Program, CAPE Literacy Center Coordinator, Deputy
Director and Director of Community Partnerships
& Systems, and most recently was responsible
for monitoring CAPEs Children's
Services. She was a member
of the Indiana Adult Literacy Coalition,
Evansville Literacy Coalition, Indiana Literacy
Foundation, Evansville Vanderburgh County
Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, 4-H
Vanderburgh County Fair Board, 4-H Advisory
Council, 4-H leader of Perry M&M's, '93
graduate of Leadership Evansville, Downtown
Evansville Optimists, SINE Advisory Council, Work
One Partners Consortium, Vanderburgh County Step
Ahead Council, and Board of Directors of the Big
Blue Boosters for Reitz High School. Lori was a
member of Lori is survived
by husband of 23 years, Kevin R. Bryant of
Evansville; daughter, Kourtney Bryant of
Evansville; son, Erik Bryant of Evansville;
parents, Louis and Kay Carroll of Evansville;
sisters, Rhonda Dest and her husband, Steve, of
Georgetown, Texas, Jody Kissel and her husband,
Rick, of Evansville, and Sandy Danks and her
husband, Jack, of Evansville; her in-laws, Merle
and Susan Bryant and Alice and Gerald Fuchs and a
very special cousin, Robin
Lannert. The family wishes
to express their gratitude to Dr. Browning and his
staff, as well as the nurses in Deaconess Hospice
unit. Thanks also to the dear friends who showed
their love and support to Lori and her family
throughout her illness. Funeral services
were held Friday, August 31, 2007, at 11
a.m. at Visitation was
August 30, 2007, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at
Browning Funeral Home, Memorial
contributions may be made to As the members of
the Eighteen-year-old
Kourtney Bryant's mother, Lori, died this week
after a long battle with breast
cancer. Kourtney Bryant
and her family and friends will attend the funeral
this morning and then the homecoming festivities
tonight. It may be hard to grapple with all the
emotions, she said, but her mother would want her
to do it. "My mom wouldn't
want me to be home alone crying," Kourtney Bryant
said Thursday. "She'd want me to be happy and
she'd want me to do this. So I want to do it for
her. I don't really care that I win - I just want
to be there for her." Bryant died
Wednesday at Deaconess Hospital Hospice after
fighting breast cancer for six years. She was
47. As they recalled a
life dedicated to family, faith, volunteer service
and her work at the Community Action Program of
Evansville, Lori Bryant's family said it was
inspiring to see how hard she fought toward
recovery. And while she died
before seeing if her daughter would become
homecoming queen, the Bryants said she did
accomplish almost all of a series of goals she set
for herself as a way of promoting continued
recovery. That included
committing herself to taking each day one at a
time, seeing her daughter attend prom and seeing
her son score his first touchdown on the varsity
football team at Reitz. "Reaching her
goals meant life was continuing and her children
were with her," Bryant's husband, Kevin, said. "It
was very important for her. It was very important
for all of us." Lori Bryant
suffered a debilitating stroke in April that
paralyzed both legs and severely limited her
speech, but just before that, she accomplished
another of her goals when she was there for her
daughter's prom. Kourtney Bryant
didn't find out that was one of the goals until
her mom was already back in the
hospital. "I was just so
appreciative and happy that she was even here,"
she said. "She's my angel." Not all of Lori
Bryant's goals were met, however. One of them was
to watch her daughter pick up her high school
diploma at Reitz Bowl. That may be a
difficult day knowing how much Lori Bryant wanted
to be there, her family said. But somehow, some
way, they know she'll be watching
anyway. "We know she's
going to be there," Kevin Bryant said. "She's
still going to be with us."
Kourtney Bryant
and Tanner Babb are only seniors at They met as small
children at Sunday school and developed a
friendship they would maintain for years - through
church, youth groups and school. And in just the
past year, Babb and Bryant have endured similar
heartache. Babb's father, Marine Sgt. Brock Babb,
was killed while serving in On Friday, Tanner
Babb and Kourtney Bryant were both among the 24
nominees for King and Queen at And, as fate would
have it, that experience brought the two friends
together once more: Tanner Babb was named King,
and Kourtney Bryant was crowned
Queen. "It's a real honor
- especially since he and Kourtney got it at the
same time," said Barbara Babb, Tanner's mother.
"They've kind of grown up together ... And there's
not a lot of kids out there who have experienced
something like this, either one way or the
other." For Kourtney
Bryant, and her younger brother, sophomore Erik
Bryant, the grief of losing their mother had just
begun. Lori Bryant died Wednesday after a six-year
battle with cancer. She was laid to rest Friday
morning. Shifting from that
setting to preparation for the homecoming
ceremonies wasn't easy, Kourtney Bryant said.
But as she arrived
at school and climbed into the back of the black
Jaguar convertible that would slowly drive her
around the Reitz Bowl track in a line of Queen
nominees, an easy sense of calmness overcame
her. She knew exactly
why. "It was my mom,"
she said. "I could feel her smiling down on
me." When Kourtney
Bryant's name was read as Queen, she said emotions
overcame her, but her thoughts immediately went
back to her mother. "I thought, there
you go, Mom," she said. "I did this for
you." Seconds later,
throngs of family and friends mobbed the field,
with cameras in hand, flashes pulsing.
Lori Bryant, long
the photographer of the family, wasn't there. But
Kourtney Bryant knew just how it would have
been. "She would have
just come up and smiled and said 'I love you,'"
she said. Tanner Babb was
happy to have won, although he said he entered the
competition with a slightly different attitude.
His girlfriend nominated him, he said, even after
he told her he wasn't interested in taking
part. But after going
through the process and being voted in by his
peers, Tanner Babb said he was glad it played out
the way it had. And he was sure his father would
have been happy, too. "He'd be pretty
proud of me," Tanner Babb said. "Most of the stuff
I did, he would let me know if he was. I'm sure he
would have been." Tanner Babb's aunt
had told Kourtney Bryant before the ceremony that
because of their history and their shared
experiences, they were destined to win.
Shortly after they
were crowned, Kourtney Bryant
agreed. "I really think it
was (meant to be)," she said. "Tanner's one of my
really good friends, and I think we're all loved.
We did it for our parents." |
