Cape businessman 'Peewee' Erlbacher dies at age 76

David “Peewee” Erlbacher had machines in his blood. He came from a long line of machinists dating to 1865. He founded Erlbacher Gear and Machine Works, Inc. in Cape Girardeau in 1955 and worked there for 61 years.

On Sunday night, at age 76, Erlbacher died.

Erlbacher grew up in the house his father Edward built, known as “the boathouse,” across from Capaha Park.

Jaimie Mayfield, one of Erlbacher’s five daughters, said her father began his machinist career at age 5.

“They had to build him a box so he could reach a lathe,” she said.

Though Erlbacher Gear and Machine Works is where Erlbacher spent most of his working life, he had a few other business ventures.

“I tried a few other things, and they just weren’t real successful,” Erlbacher told the Southeast Missourian in 2010.

Mayfield said he worked at Erlbacher Materials with his brother and brother-in-law for a short period. He also was chairman of Alliance Bancshare Inc., the holding company for Alliance Bank.

“He was a man of all trades,” Mayfield said. “He’s flown airplanes, owned yachts, raced cars and his RV, kept bees and raised five daughters and countless machinists.”

Though he announced his retirement and turned over much of the business to daughters Grayson Erlbacher and Mayfield, “Peewee” Erlbacher never stopped working.

“He never really retired,” Mayfield said. “He just said he did. He was working full-time until Friday.”

“Our whole family is energetic and enterprising. We build things and make things. It’s all we’ve done for five generations, and it’s still going that-a-way,” Erlbacher said in 2010.

Erlbacher’s widow, Riki Erlbacher, continues to own the majority of the company.

The death of “Peewee” Erlbacher came as a shock to his entire family.

“Grayson informed the nurse that it wasn’t possible, because Peewee had to be at work this morning,” Mayfield said.

The cause of death is unknown.

“We suspect heart attack or blood clot,” Mayfield said. But the family is not interested in investigating further, preferring to focus on the life and legacy he built for himself and his family.

Mayfield said the Cape River Heritage Museum is planning a display on the history of the Erlbacher family.

“He would like for people to go see it,” Mayfield said.

Erlbacher wanted a picture of his knitting machine on the Missouri Wall of Fame downtown.

“You know the angled part?” Mayfield said. “That’s where he wants it.”

Mayfield said her father will be remembered as a good man, honest and hardworking.

“And known to embellish a good story,” she said.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630