Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 60

14 GOOD LIFE Decatur, Illinois Sunday, February 28, 1993 tar gm mm walm FRIIMDS: Care was no burden si; Si 7 The Kluthes GEORGE: Bom June 21, 1904 in Eberle in Effingham County. His parents were Christian and Augusta (Bloemker) Kluthe. Died March 12, 1991 in Effingham. MINNIE: Bom Feb. 8, 1910 in Wheeler in Jasper County.

Her parents were Charles and Bulah (Stockwell) Schultz. Died Nov. 3, 1987, in Effingham. MARRIED: On June 22,1 1930. They had no children.

ft Minnie Kluthe By SCOn PERRY Mattoon Bureau Chief FFINGHAM To Hi those who Knew them, Hi George and Minnie -J Kluthe were a frugal, hard-working farm couple. "Frugal" is an apt description, said Robert Vanderkolk, trust officer at Effingham State Bank. But to many Effingham County residents most of whom had no personal contact with them the Kluthes are financial saviors, providing seed money from which needed projects can grow. "I WOULD HAVE LOVED to have met this generous lady and have taken her for a stroll through the park which she was the foundation in creating. I think she would have been very happy," said George Wermert, a member of the Teuto-polis Park Board.

The park district was one of 17 beneficiaries of Minnie's million-dollar estate. Minnie died in 1987. In her will, she stipulated that her estate be distributed to Effingham County organizations and used to improve the way of life for the county's senior citizens. One doesn't have to look very far to see the results of Minnie's generosity. They need only travel to Mason, Dieterich and Watson and talk to people about their new civic centers, where activities are held for senior citizens.

Walk into Helen Mathes Library in Effingham and see the increased number of recorded books, videos and microfilm copies of county newspapers. And visit the Effingham City V' 1 --vf i George Kluthe LOSS WlWUr C0 1 1 ci UA i I I County Senior Center and view the renovations that have taken place. Grants of $250,000 each have been awarded to Lake Land College to help fund a proposed educational center in Effingham and to the Effingham County Family YMCA to help pay for an indoor pool that senior citizens will use. WHILE THE BULK OF Minnie's estate has been awarded, the people of Effingham County are prepared to benefit once again from the generosity of this frugal couple. With the passing of George in 1991, it was announced that he too left behind a trust worth at least $1 million to be distributed in much the same way.

The process of deciding who will benefit from this latest round of gifts is already under way, said Vanderkolk, who is overseeing the distribution of the Kluthes' wealth. Although Minnie's estate had to benefit senior citizens, the George Kluthe Trust is much less restrictive. The funds can be distributed to tax-exempt orgaizations in Effingham County for educational, recreational, social, rehabilitative scientific and literary purposes. Vanderkolk said 55 applications totaling $6.68 million were submitted by organizations wanting all or part of the George Kluthe Trust. A decision on funding will come within the next two months.

Funds will be allocated by a group of unidentified county residents who form the Kluthe Award Committee. Vanderkolk praised the group for the way it even-handedly distributed the Minnie Kluthe funds and predicts the same results this time around. started coming in. Even so, the couple farmed the land by themselves until they retired in 1972. It was obvious the windfall didn't change them, said Robert Vanderkolk, trust officer at Effingham State Bank and one of George's friends.

"What they made, they kept and invested." Vanderkolk remembers George for more than his generosity: "The thing I remember most is his grin." He added that it was rivaled only by George's love of chocolate. They had a running joke that no one could get to see George without first displaying two chocolate bars, Vanderkolk said. George called them "tickets." At the convalescent center, "He would always ask the nurse who escorted me to the room 'Does he have his and then he would turn around and display the grin I loved so much." Continued from Page 11 he liked his new neighbors. "He was the type of person, he didn't go by color," Doris said. "Pops lived in that house a long time, and (the neighbors) took him as black." IN 1990, ALVA BEGAN to suffer the physical decline that ended in his death.

One day in February, he was in the bathtub and suddenly could not move his legs. He crawled from the tub and called an ambulance. Before the paramedics could take him away, he gave Jimmie his keys and told him to take care of the house. "I went down to the hospital all the time to see him," Jimmie said. "I used to go down to the hospital and spend half a day to him.

Took his papers, Chicago and Herald Review. Paid his bills. He used to sign the checks, and my granddaughter would write them." Alva was soon able to walk again, and, although he still ailed, he left the hospital in May of that year. From then on, he and Jimmie were as close as the sea and the shore. Jimmie rose at six in the morning, and if he didn't see a light on across the street, he would check on Alva.

Later in the morning, he drove Alva's Buick to the Knights of Columbus Hall, dropped Alva off, and picked him up two hours later. Doctor's offices were also frequent destinations for the pair. "IT WASN'T NO BURDEN to me," Jimmie said. "I liked Pop." Every night before Jimmie went to bed, he called Alva to see if his friend was feeling well. Doris cooked Alva's meals.

Twice a month, Jimmie's granddaughter cleaned Alva's house. Together, they kept Alva out of a nursing home. Still, Alva grew sicker. He went back into the hospital in June of 1991, and learned he had cancer of the liver. His health was so poor he could no longer stay at home, even with Jimmie's help.

Alva was moved to McKinley Terrace, where, of course, Jimmie visited him every day. Jimmie's daughter moved into Alva's house, because neither Jimmie nor Alva's family wanted a stranger to live there, in that monument to a great friendship. "I didn't want nobody else to get it, 'cause it was Pop's," Jimmie said. Alva languished in the nursing home, the cancer wasting his body. One day in November, Jimmie noticed that he was resting uncomfortably, and, fearing that his friend was dying, asked a nurse to call him if anything happened.

About 11:30 p.m., Dolly Ames was on the telephone with the news that Alva was dead. "He had a large funeral," Jim-jnie said, nodding slowly as he remembered. "We went." They sat with the family. "If a simple notion. Wine complements food.

Food complements wine. Yet here in the prairie, few restaurants have embraced that concept with a commitment and a passion. One bold enough to do so is Dave Brown's jewel, Stoney's Restaurant in Dalton City." Mark Tupper Herald Review February, 1993 Look for details in this Outlook Section. 1 Ins tl I I 1 1 1 oo In Dalton City Windfall didn't change them I If We strive for the highest quality meals and service. When it comes to the best, you know you can count on Stoney's! I i 1 5.w The UWa Steakhouse mm EFFINGHAM George Kluthe had only two pictures displayed in his room at a care center one of his deceased wife Minnie and another of his farm.

"He really missed his farm," said Janice Webb, former administrator of Van Dyke Convalescent Center in Effingham, where Kluthe had resided. "If you didn't know he was wealthy, you would have mistaken him for any ordinary rural, farming-type person," she said. Nowhere was this more evident than on Kluthe's beloved farm 480 acres in rural Dieterich. George and Minnie built their two-bedroom home there in 1950. By most people's standards, it was modest, considering their financial resources.

But then, they were accustomed to pinching pennies. Soon after his wife's death, George told a reporter of the hard times the couple had getting by on what they produced on the farm. He described working from early morning until late at night. Holidays went by without much fanfare. "Them's the days we rested," he said.

It wasn't until oil was discovered on the farm in the late 1940s and the 1950s that the real money CJ ML 13 raw TCI CABLEVISION OF DECATUR is pleased to present an up-to-date report of our cable TV rebuild project. Cost will be approximately 11 million dollars to rebuild our 500 mile system in the Decatur area. FEATURES OF OUR CABLE SYSTEM REBUILD Latest state of the art equipment. FIBER OPTIC Transmission of our TV channels to neighborhoods. Better quality TV signals More reliable service made possible by FIBER OPTIC technology.

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