NewsDecember 30, 2020
Remembering notable Southeast Missouri residents lost in 2020
In a year where many faced difficulties surrounding COVID-19, loss of employment and changes to daily routines, among other things, the Southeast Missouri region also lost many prominent figures in 2020. Following is a list of 10 of the most influential people in the Southeast Missouri area who died in 2020...
In a year where many faced difficulties surrounding COVID-19, loss of employment and changes to daily routines, among other things, the Southeast Missouri region also lost many prominent figures in 2020.
Following is a list of 10 of the most influential people in the Southeast Missouri area who died in 2020.
Nancy Stiegemeyer
Nancy Stiegemeyer was a longtime resident of Cape Girardeau and a passionate supporter of public libraries.
Stiegemeyer, who was born Aug. 29, 1927, as Nancy Hunter, spent her early childhood in the Glenn House, and, in later years, was a strong supporter of its restoration. She began her rise to prominence in library leadership as a member of the Cape Girardeau Public Library Board of Trustees in the 1960s, where she became president of the board on two occasions, once in 1968-1969 and again in 1978-1979. She took on leadership roles within the Missouri Library Association and eventually represented the State of Missouri at the White House Conference on Library and Information Services in 1979.
Stiegemeyer was elected as president of the American Library Trustee Association in 1981, and spread her knowledge and passion for public libraries in various speaking engagements and library workshops around the United States.
After decades of service to public libraries, Stiegemeyer received the Missouri Library Association Meritorious Achievement Award, and was named a Kentucky Colonel and an Honorary Citizen of Texas. In 2015, the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau awarded Stiegemeyer its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Stiegemeyer died Feb. 11 at the age of 92.
Steven Pledger
Steven Pledger was known for his kindness and passion for history.
Pledger, born Aug. 22, 1965, in Cape Girardeau, began working at the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center as a volunteer when it opened in 2001, where he specialized in archive work on the military history of the county. He was named director in 2007, and held that position until his death. In addition to working at the county archive center, Pledger was a weather watcher for WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky.
Pledger was a member of the Allen Laws Oliver Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He also attended Trinity Lutheran Church.
He died March 6 at Southeast Hospital at the age of 54.
Alton Bray
Alton Bray spent more than three decades as registrar at Southeast Missouri State University.
Bray, who was born Oct. 25, 1919, in Fornfelt, now Scott City, was named registrar of Southeast in 1951, and held the position until he retired in 1984. He was credited with convincing former university president Mark Scully to purchase the college’s first computer in 1962 to help keep up with registration records.
He began working with the university, previously known as Southeast Missouri State Teachers College, in 1943, teaching math and physics as part of the U.S. Navy’s V-12 program. He worked as the school’s purchasing agent in 1946, and was appointed to serve as assistant registrar. And Bray earned the title of “registrar emeritus” following his retirement.
Bray was 100-years old when he died July 3 at Chateau Girardeau.
Jack Rickard Jr.
Jack Rickard Jr. was known for being an early adopter of new technologies.
Rickard, who was born July 24, 1955, in Cape Girardeau, saw the value of the internet in the 1980s when he started Boardwatch, a high-tech bulletin board company. Prior to its sale in 1998, Rickard and his team developed the company into a successful magazine.
Following the sale of Boardwatch, Rickard returned to Cape Girardeau, where he continued his work in innovative technologies and established EVTV, an internet-based platform that taught methods to convert gasoline-powered vehicles into electric-drive vehicles. When electric cars began to gain popularity, Rickard expanded his company to focus on solar power storage.
Rickard was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, which he joined after graduating from Notre Dame High School in 1973. While in the Navy, he was an aviation support equipment technician and served aboard the USS Midway. After his tenure, he became a technical writer in the defense industry.
Rickard died Aug. 31, surrounded by his family. He was 65-years old.
Ray Buhs
Raymond Buhs became a prominent businessman after his military service, and later served his community as a member of several committees and boards.
Buhs, who was born Aug. 25, 1926, in Cape Girardeau, was a member of the U.S. Navy and was stationed in the South Pacific during World War II and in Korea during the Korean War. After returning to Cape Girardeau, he served as vice president of Federal Materials Corp., and later Southeast Missouri Stone. He served 14 years as the chairman of the safety committee for Missouri Limestone Producers, and received a certificate of honor from the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association in Washington, D.C.
Buhs served the community as a member of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce for more than 60 years, and also served as president of the Cape Girardeau Exchange Club, president of Greater Cape Girardeau Development Corp., member of the SEMO Redhawks Club and Copper Dome Society, interim Ward 6 Cape Girardeau City Council member, member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, board member of Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, president of Missouri Limestone Producers and member of the U.S. Committee on Mines and Mining.
In 2018, Buhs was named the 16th recipient of the Spirit of America Award, an honor presented by the Southeast Missourian to a person who exemplifies the spirit of the United States within the community.
Buhs died at the age of 94 on Sept. 4 at Saint Francis Medical Center.
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Charles Drury
Charles Drury Sr. is remembered as a strong leader in the Cape Girardeau community.
Drury, born Oct. 25, 1927, in Kelso, Missouri, established Drury Hotels in 1973 with his brothers. Drury Hotels has grown to include more than 150 locations in 27 states over the past 47 years.
Drury’s venture into hotels began when he and his brothers opened a Holiday Inn in 1961 in Cape Girardeau, near where the Holiday Inn Express currently stands. After the hotel failed to make a profit after nine months, the Drurys hired an accountant to discover it was losing money on the hotel’s restaurant and bar. This led to the construction of the first Drury Hotel, a “rooms only” hotel in Sikeston, Missouri.
In addition to his success in the lodging business, Drury served as vice chairman on the board of trustees of the old Saint Francis Hospital. He was also involved in acquiring the property where Saint Francis Medical Center was built and opened in 1974.
In 1945, Drury graduated from St. Mary High School, now known as Notre Dame Regional High School, and became a major donor to the school. He and his wife, Shirley, were founding members of the school’s Education Fund Foundation, and in 2009 received Notre Dame’s Annunciation Award for their support. Drury received the Rush H. Limbaugh Award from the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce in 2017, and in 2018, the chamber created the Drury Family Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award in honor of Drury and his family.
Drury died Sept. 7 in St. Louis at the age of 92.
Clara Daniels
Clara Daniels became the first African American student to graduate from Cape Girardeau Central High School in the 1950s.
After the all-Black Cobb School was destroyed in a fire in March 1953 and never rebuilt, Daniels, who was born Aug. 8, 1935, in Cape Girardeau, was permitted to attend Cape Girardeau Central, which was an all-white school at the time. Central became an integrated school in the fall of 1954 for grades seven through 12 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case the same year.
Following her graduation, Daniels worked as a licensed hairdresser and housekeeper before returning to school to earn certification as a nurse’s assistant. Daniels worked at Saint Francis Medical Center as a CNA until she retired. After retirement, she was a hospital volunteer and crocheted winter hats for the homeless.
Daniels died at 83 years old Oct. 13, at her son’s home in Topeka, Kansas, following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Lanie Black
Lanie Black was the first Republican since Reconstruction to be elected as a state representative in Mississippi County.
Black, born Dec. 30, 1946 in Cairo, Illinois, was elected in 1998 to the Missouri House of Representatives for District 161, where he served the maximum of four two-year terms. During his time in office, Black, who grew up in Charleston, Missouri, served on transportation, education, social systems/prisons, appropriations for social services and agriculture committees. As a farmer and poultry producer, he was president of the local Farm Bureau for more than 12 years. He also served in various legislative positions before being elected to the Missouri House.
Aside from his political achievements, Black was a longtime member of the Charleston Kiwanis Club and ran the Dogwood Azalea Dog Show for many years. Black served on the board of directors for Citizens Bank in Charleston and held positions of leadership in the city and with Southeast Missouri’s Boy Scout organization. He was honored as Charleston’s Man of the Year in 1994.
Black died Nov. 16 at Winchester Nursing Center in Bernie, Missouri. He was 73 years old.
Dan Driskell
Dan Driskell was a well-respected member of the community, known for his work ethic, honesty and integrity.
Driskell began working in the concrete business at age 14, and helped establish Gerdan Slipforming Inc. with his wife in 1990. According to the company’s website, Driskell was sent on the road with a rented 13-inch TV/VCR combo to meet with contractors across Missouri after a successful test pour of a Missouri Safety Barrier Curb. Driskell’s initial road trip was deemed a success as the company received more than 10 contracts.
Driskell was a member of La Croix United Methodist Church, where he was once a member of the church council, and was a past board member of the Industrial Development Authority, The Bank of Missouri, Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, Associated General Contractors of Missouri and the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. Driskell was also a member of the Lions Club at the time of his death.
Driskell died Nov. 20 at Southeast Hospital after a battle with esophageal cancer. He was 62 years old.
James Baughn
James Baughn was the architect of websites and mobile systems for more than 40 newspapers as webmaster for Rust Communications, which publishes the Southeast Missourian, and his passion for history and bridges was second to none.
Baughn, who was born Dec. 30, 1980, in Sacramento, California, began working for Rust Communications in 2000, two years before graduating from Southeast Missouri State University with a computer science degree in 2002. During his tenure with the company, Baughn built platforms known for their speed and fluency. He was involved in several of the Associated Press’ most important technology projects over the past 15 years, collaborated often with Google and was a finalist for a Digiday Award, one of the world’s most prestigious tech competitions, in 2020.
Aside from his technological work, Baughn was recognized as one of the leading experts on historic and notable bridges throughout the United States. He created a website, www.bridgehunter.com, in 2002, which was initially founded as a way for him to record interesting bridges he discovered in Southeast Missouri, and later was dedicated to chronicling and rehabilitating historic bridges throughout the United States.
Baughn was infatuated with history, particularly the history of Cape Girardeau. At the time of his death, Baughn was vice president of the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society and a board member of the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation.
Baughn died at the age of 39 on Dec. 6 in a hiking accident at Trail of Tears State Park.
Southeast Missourian Librarian Sharon Sanders contributed to this story.
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