Kermit Samuel Crist, 92, Springfield, Tenn., died Jan. 10, 2012, at Arbor View Assisted Living for Dementia in Burlington, after a health decline caused by four surgeries in two years. He was born in Marquette, Kan., on May 16, 1919, to the late Alice Andrews Crist and Nathan Crist.
His father died when Kermit was two years old and his mother married Austin January a few years later. They lived on a farm outside of Little River, Kan.
He rode a horse to grade school and learned to ride, rope, herd cattle and drive teams of horses/mules for ranch/farm activities. He graduated from Little River High School and participated in drama, music, football and track. He was offered a track scholarship to attend Kansas University, but, joined the Kansas National Guard to make money for the farm due to the Great Depression.
After an honorable discharge, he found work in Oregon and Washington picking apples and peaches. He drove a bulldozer during the construction of the Grand Coulee dam.
He moved to Kansasville where they needed a horseman to use teams of horses on a farm there.
World War II began and he obtained better wages at Nash building airplane engines. He then moved to American Brass in the foundry for wages. He volunteered for all military branches and was rejected due to a small toe deformity obtained while pole-vaulting in high school. While at the Selective Service office, he met Pauline Parker, who became his spouse for the next 65+ years. They were married Dec. 27, 1941, and resided for the next 45 years in the Sturtevant, Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie areas. He built a house in Pleasant Prairie in 1952 and resided there until he retired and moved to Tucson, Ariz., in 1984. He raised his family there and had horses, cows, chickens, rabbits, pigs, dogs and cats. They both joined the Civil Air Patrol for the duration of the war.
He secured higher wages in the die-cast department at Johnson Motors (Outboard Marine Corp) and worked there for the next 34 years. He always had other jobs during that time such as asphalt company, developed a shim business that had to close due to aluminum needed for the Korean War effort, Shaklee, Kirby vacuums, and owned a mink farm. He retired in 1984.
He moved to Tucson, which they both loved. Then, to Springfield, Tenn., so they could be by their daughter Alice, who helped with Pauline because she had developed Alzheimer’s Disease while in Arizona.
Kermit’s interests were attending any activities his children were in, being a member of the Holy Name Society, the Kenosha County Boy Scout Leaders Rescue Squad, a Boy Scout leader, doing activities with Pauline such as horse riding, square dancing, big band ballroom dancing in Chicago, Milwaukee and the Eagles Ballroom in Kenosha, bowling, pheasant hunting and traveling to the western states, especially Kansas.
He was a fan of the Green Bay Packers, a member of the National Rifle Association and a life member of The North American Hunting Club. He enjoyed family picnics, holiday gatherings, camping, fishing and deer hunting.
In addition to Pauline and his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother Ben Crist, half-brother Edwin January, step-father Austin January, grandchildren Shawn Crist and Kathryn Bernstein, and great-great-grandchild Layla Halo Elizabeth Johnson.
Survivors include his half-sister, Lois (Vincent –deceased) Frodl of Rootstown, Ohio; children Robert (Kathleen) Crist of Burlington, Alice (Dan – deceased) Bernstein and Ted Pickering of Springfield, Tenn., William (Laurie) Crist of Cedar, Minn., and Thomas (Gretchen) Crist of Denmark, Wis.; grandchildren, Mary (Nick) Calafiore, Matthew (Bonnie) Crist, Cynthia (Don) Crittenden, Christina Bernstein (Terry) Lee, Benjamin (Lisa) Crist, Eric (DeeDee) Crist, Lucas Crist, Geordan Crist, Britney (Zahar) Lytvyniuk, Nathan Crist, Erin Crist; 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Visitation is scheduled for Saturday, March 31, at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Kenosha, from noon to 1 p.m., followed by a funeral Mass at St. Mark’s and interment at St. James Cemetery in Kenosha, for the cremated remains of both Kermit and Pauline. Schuette-Daniels Funeral Home & Crematory, Burlington, is assisting the family.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be given to: Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington DC 20090-6011. Contributions are tax deductible.
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