Cape loses three greatmen in a week's time

The Cape Girardeau area lost three great men recently, as William Bird, Pee Wee Erlbacher and John Holcomb each died within a week's time.

Bird was the first black man ever elected to the Cape Girardeau School Board. A longtime pastor of several churches in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area, and he was once presented with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Service Award medal.

In a Southeast Missourian interview published in 2010, Bird was asked what Bible verse he would like to share with our readers. He chose Hebrews 13:5-8, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; be content with such things as ye have; for he hat said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake the. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Bird spread the gospel across the nation, serving as a national apostle with the Kingdom of God Apostolic Ministries. And he served in the community as the president of the board of directors for The Gibson Recovery Center. He was a credentialed substance abuse counselor.

Pee Wee Erlbacher was a local businessman who worked with his hands and with machines. He was a jack of all trades, having been a pilot, beekeeper and a chairman for the holding company of a local bank. His family-run machine shop started making sock knitting machines a few years ago, meeting an international demand for the niche product. He had the first patent for the Gearhart sock knitting machine in the United States in more than 85 years.

Erlbacher, a problem solver and storyteller, was a true entrepreneur. He was well-known and liked in Cape Girardeau.

John K. Holcomb was a doctor and philanthropist. He was also a great athlete during his younger days. He will probably be most remembered for his generosity with his time and money. He volunteered on boards with the United Way, Lions Club, Nell Holcomb School Foundation, Southeast Missouri State University Copper Dome Society, the Cape Special Road District, Saint Francis Hospital Foundation, Public Water District No. 5 and the Cape River Heritage Museum. He and his wife established four scholarships at Southeast for those wanting to become elementary-school teachers, pre-med students, those wanting to go into family medicine and a baseball scholarship. He and his wife made the single largest donation to Nell Holcomb Elementary School, donating $100,000 for the construction of a walking/running track. John Holcomb's aunt is the namesake for the school.

"Our family has always been very interested and respectful of education," John Holcomb told the Southeast Missourian last fall after presenting the gift. "We've got an abiding interest in education. We felt like we should do something to emphasize our respect for the school and for honoring my aunt." Who knows how future generations will do the same in John's name.

Today we offer our condolences to the Bird, Erlbacher and Holcomb families. Each man meant so much to this community in different ways, and left wonderful legacies.