Treva Lucile (Kirkley) Mester

Treva Lucile Kirkley Mester, 101, passed on in her sleep on March 4, 2010 in Phoenix, Ariz.

She was born Nov. 6, 1908, to Dessie Belle Thornton and Herbert Marshall Kirkley in a farm house on Marshall County Road between Lakeville and LaPaz, in St. Joseph County, Ind.

She was the second of five children. Education was very important in the Kirkley household. When Treva's father, Herbert, died from consumption, Dessie, her mother, worked very hard to put all five children through school. Treva talked of walking with older brother Roland a mile down the railroad track to a small brick schoolhouse where Mrs. Robinson taught all the 8th graders.

"The only 8th grade male was a big boy who was always going to stuff me in his boot and take me home to his mother." she would say. Treva graduated from South Bend Central High School in 1926, then went to work for the Studebaker Finance Corp. full time after having worked part time after school and the summer before graduation. When the finance company dissolved and moved, Treva went to work for Bendix Products Corp. as secretary to the Chief Engineer for the Department that built upper and lower gun turrets for airplanes during World War II. Treva's jobs taught her to be intelligent and organized, and to be able to meet all kinds of people.

*From The Deming Highlight - Deming, New Mexico - 12 Mar 2010

Source: Ancestry.com

07/06/2023 EJS

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231766808/treva-lucile-mester