TROUT SHOWS KINDNESS TO VETERANS AND OTHERS

Annette Trout has a kind word for everybody and a smile to match.

A devoted Christian, Trout regularly visits the aging veterans at the Cape Girardeau Veterans Home.

The Cape Girardeau woman also is a volunteer with Southeast Missouri Hospital's hospice program, befriending the dying.

She knows first-hand about survivors' sorrows. Both her mother and a brother died of cancer.

She sings in the choir at Grace United Methodist Church and regularly breaks into song in her visits with veterans and hospice patients. She sings favorite psalms to those she visits.

"I don't read music, but I just sing from the heart," said Trout.

Friend and neighbor Carol Jones said Trout is "the most kind, generous person I have ever met."

Trout doesn't see herself in such grand terms. She said she just does what comes naturally and that her actions are all part of God's plan.

Trout grew up Catholic in Australia. She was the seventh of eight children and attended a Catholic girls' school.

Trout credits her parents and her church upbringing in teaching her to show mercy and be compassionate.

She has two mottoes she lives by. "Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself."

Jones said Trout regularly bakes bread or buys gifts for neighbors.

"She just does things constantly for people," said Jones. "Wherever she thinks there is a need, she is there."

When friends are in need of cheer, Trout takes them out to lunch.

"Wherever she goes, she has someone on a prayer list," said Jones.

When she sees friends or acquaintances while dining at a restaurant, she stops to talk to them.

"She is so busy talking, she doesn't have time to eat," Jones said.

Trout readily strikes up conversations, even with strangers. She seldom is at a loss for words.

Trout said Australians are like that. "We will tell our life story in 20 minutes."

She is a fixture at the Veterans Home where she passes out cards with a printed message that begins, "This is a love note and it's here to say, freedom would be lost without you today."

Trout's husband, Richard, is a Vietnam veteran who grew up in Southeast Missouri. She met Richard during the war when he came to Sydney, Australia for a few days of rest and relaxation in April 1968.

He returned to the war and was injured by an exploding land mine on May 8, 1968.

After he returned home, she came to the United States to visit him. In August 1969, they were married in a church wedding at Advance.

The couple have two grown children.

They have lived in Cape Girardeau for about three years.

Annette Trout loves to visit people. For her, it's not a duty but a calling.

She said God puts her in the path of people's lives for a purpose.

Jones, her neighbor, said Trout is like a missionary. "She lives and breathes for Christ."