WHATLEY, OSCIE B.,Saturday, July 23, 2005
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Service 8 p.m., Wed., July 27, at HUTCHENS Mortuary, 675 Graham Rd., Florissant with visitation 4 to 8 pm, Wed. Interment at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery with military honors at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Oscie passed away on Saturday, from complications relating to treatment for pancreatic cancer. He was 82.

During my 15 years in St. Louis, Oscie was like a father to me. So I'd like to add some of my own words, to the other obituaries appearing about him . . .

Oscie easily fit my definition of someone who was a good man. He was gentle, good-natured, intelligent, active, always interested in learning new things, and always kind to everyone around him (even when they didn't deserve it). He was one of those individuals who I learned from, not just by listening to what he said, but by example -- seeing how he lived, and how he treated others.

Among the many accomplishments of his life:

- Three children, and over a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren
- Steadfast support of his son, David, as David struggled to get his company Simutronics off the ground, working from his bedroom in his parents' home
- He was an award-winning daylily hybridizer
- During World War II, he was a Navy pilot
- He had a strong and lifelong marriage to his wife, Dorothy
- He had a long and successful career in aircraft design at McDonnell Douglas
- And he contributed to the design of the St. Louis Arch

But the way I will most often remember Oscie, is in his garden. The gardens at his own home were spectacular, especially around the Fourth of July, with hundreds of his award-winning flowers blooming everywhere. Plus, there was just a nice feel to the place. It was the kind of garden where you could sit outside, among the flowers and fluttering birds and scampering rabbits, and feel at peace. A little bit of heaven on earth.

Oscie lavished care on that garden. He was often up before dawn, to inspect the buds of his latest efforts and see if they had bloomed that morning. If so, he would painstakingly collect bits of pollen by hand, acting as a human bee, moving pollen from one flower to another, in the exact system he wanted, and then carefully labeling different flowers, or wrapping them up to prevent real bees from modifying his handiwork. ;)

As his health declined, it became more and more difficult for Oscie to visit his garden each morning. Towards the end, when he was restricted to a hospital bed in his home, the bed was moved close to the window so that he could at least see the garden when he woke up in the morning. And countless volunteers visited every day, helping care both for him, and for the grounds. It was impossible to know Oscie, without being aware of his love of gardening. As we took care of the flowerbeds, it was an indication of our respect for him, as well.

If I have any kind of vision of Oscie in an afterlife, it's definitely him working in a garden somewhere, surrounded by flowers, helping things to grow.

Oscie may be gone to us on this earth, but he lives on through many visible reminders of his life's efforts. The St. Louis Arch, his flowers, and his descendants, will ensure that his legacy lives on.

Elonka