In Memorium - Deceased Members

The greatest story that I can remember about Tom happened during our first trip to New Orleans in 1985. A group of us went to dinner at a small neighborhood restaurant. I think that the Easterdays organized the dinner. Tom and I both asked if they had oysters, thinking, oysters on the half- shell. The waitress said, “ No they didn't have oysters on the half-shell, but they could serve us an oyster cocktail. Tom and I looked at each other and said OK. The osyster cocktail turned out to be a huge bowl of shucked oysters, which were delicious and which we discussed many times after that trip. Tom McCready

A great person. He had flown B-17s in W.W.II. The first year that I served as director, [1989] in Baltimore, I was blessed with euphoniums, but short of percussionists and drafted Lars as a cymbal player. We were playing "Citation,” a march by Claude Smith, with one very important, very exposed cymbal crash. I wasn't concerned, because I had told Lars to just watch me, keep eye contact, and I would be very careful to cue him. You can guess what happened. I looked at him a couple of measures before the crash and saw only the top of his head. Naturally the place for the cymbal crash came and went with a great silence. Tom McCready

Larry Blair passed away in 1990. He played in the band from 1984 to 1990. His wife, Jeane will never forget the care and patience that the band members extended as his dementia progressed. Larry did get lost in Indianapolis. She says the band members are “Just great friends.” Jeane recalls many hours of pleasure playing the card game,“In Between” that Betty Easterday taught them during the one of the bus trips. Larry has a son also named Larry, who has played with us from time to time. Tom McCready

Jerry Dobel, drum major and band manager, was Jack before Jack. He was also the Kermit before Kermit and came out of retirement to serve as drum major in Salt Lake City in 1984. We marched the parade twice. I'm not sure if there were any other bands there at all. We got to see President Reagan in his limo. Jerry was very active in the Legion, served on the Insurance Committee (the source of the contest prizes) and was very politically active in the local Legion and did a lot for the band. Tom McCready

William [Bill] E. Hall, trumpeter, dates back to the early days of the band and is the beginning of four generations of Legion Band members. He was born in Arkansas. His son, William Howard Hall trumpeter, was the second generation to play in the band, William E. was grandfather of Doug Hall, horn and the great-grandfather of Jeremiah Hall, horn. The news would often feature him on Memorial Day playing taps at the cemetery in Independence, MO. Doug Hall

Kermit joined the Legion Band as a Clarinet player when Dr. Mumaw was director and practice was in the memorial building Linwood and Paseo.

Dr. Gordon Howell, baritone player, was a veterinarian and his wife, Diane, invited Jack Buckner and Virginia to fly to a New Orleans convention in a single engine Cessna. Cautiously, Dr. Howell followed the Mississippi River to New Orleans and the scenery was gorgeous. On the return trip they sent some larger items home on the bus… concerned there was too much weight on the small plane. After the New Orleans trip, the Howells invited Virginia and me to a small aircraft convention in Las Vegas but they were unable to attend.

A few weeks later the Howells took off early one morning in the darkness, relying on his instrument panel. Dr. Howell was inexperienced using this technique and his vertigo resulted in the plane crashing eight miles from take off. Jack Buckner

Doc Laws, trombonist, made my podium. and also made a podium for my church. He was a well respected dentist who practiced in Shawnee. Seeing his huge hands would lead you to think that he couldn't be all that good of a dentist, but he must have been. He flew C-47s in Europe and hauled paratroopers after D-Day. He also had great wood working skills, having made a baton that I save for special occasions. Tom McCready

Mary Lightfoot clarinet, everyone knew. Mary was a veteran of W.W.II and very proud of it. She was a good person and a good musician who never hesitated to say what she thought. Mary was an inspiration, a guide, and a mentor. Above all, she was a loving and feisty friend.
Edwina Smith, Nalleyn Jones and Tom McCready

Darrell McDermed trombonist, was a steady, dependable player and a truly nice person. He first had symptoms of his lung disease during the American. Royal Parade, when he had to drop out. He hung in there to the end with us, figuring out how to get oxygen on the airlines, etc. Tom McCready

Lester Schick, French horn, in his words, “permanent fourth horn.” He too, had been a bandsman in W.W.II. He was very knowledgeable about band music in general, and was an authority on opera. I had his daughter, Nancy, as a fine horn player at SM East. She later filled-in with the St. Louis Symphony, when Kaid Fridal retired early due to health issues. Tom McCready

In the late forties Ray played in the Post Office Band under the direction James Kelly, and then the Legion Band in the early fifties. Ray started a "Big Band" dance band in the early sixties having about seventeen players. In addition to playing in the Legion Band he played in the Overland Park Band and the Unity Band. In later years he wintered in Naples, Fl. where he played in the Naples City Band. Malcolm Easterday

Charlie Tucker, trumpeter. What a great person. He was a high school band director in Smithville, MO.. I really was jealous of Charlie for having played with Stan Kenton in the early 60s. Charlie, myself and my son Matt McCready, were to play a Dixieland postlude for a funeral (a close friend requested it), but the funeral was Saturday and Charlie died on a Tuesday. Tom McCready