Person Page 4,084

Obituary (Findagrave.com):

Poet. She is best remembered for her religious and inspirational poetry while working for the prominent greeting card company American Greetings. The daughter of a railroad worker she graduated from Loraine High School in Lorain, Ohio in 1918, shortly before her father died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. Instead of going on to college, she supported her family by working for a public utility and eventually progressed to the position of advertising manager. She soon became a spokesperson for the Ohio Public Service Company and travelled the US giving speeches. In addition to promoting the advantages of the electric lighting industry, she also spoke about the importance of the opinions of women as consumers and about the value of women's talents in the workplace. After several years she left her job as the utilities' spokeswoman and opened her own speaker's bureau, becoming a popular motivational speaker. In 1929 she married a young wealthy banker, but after the stock market crash that year he lost his job as well as their investments, which led to his depression and eventual suicide in 1932. Prior to his death she had obtained a job with the Gibson Art Company in Cincinnati, Ohio and when the greeting card editor died suddenly in the mid-1930s, she took over the job, a position that she held for over 40 years. She went on to become a successful businesswoman and lecturer and her poems received wide exposure in the 1960s when several were read on the poetry segment of the "Lawrence Welk" television show. During this time she became very popular and published several books of poetry, including "Just for You" (1967) and "Heart Gifts" (1968). The demand for her poems became so great that her books are still selling steadily after many printings, and she has been often referred to as "America's beloved inspirational poet laureate." Her books of inspirational poetry have now sold nearly seven million copies. Prior to her death, she established the Helen Steiner Rice Foundation for the purpose of awarding grants to worthy charitable programs that assist the needy and the elderly.

Obituary -- the Dayton Journal Herald, Monday, 10 APR 1939:

Rev. E. R. Appenzeller, Former Daytonian, Dies

Rev. Edgar R. Appenzeller, formerly of Dayton, died at his residence in Philadelphia Sunday morning. A native of Pennsylvania, he was graduated from Urainus college in that state, served as assistant pastor of the Fourth Reformed church of Dayton thirty-five years ago, was ordained pastor here and will be brought here for burial. He had been in retirement, due to ill health, for several years. He is survived by two daughters, Evelyn and Catherine. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Bradford and Routsong Oakwood funeral chapel, Brown street and Irving avenue. Burial will be in Zion cemetery, Cincinnati pike and Lamme road.

Death notice -- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday 20 NOV 1983:

LISSFELT

Evelyn Appenzeller, on Nov. 18, 1983, of Germantown, died sudenly from an automobile accident. She is survived by her husband Elmer Andrew Lissfelt, her daughter Beth Bready Walter of New York and 3 grandsons.

per 1926 and 1933 ship passenger lists.

Findagrave.com memorial shows her born in 1909, however she is listed in the 1910 census (April) as age 2.

Obituary,(via Findagrave.com):

Mrs. Miriam Coward Pierson of Kenellyn Farms, Far Hills, wife of Arthur N. Pierson Jr., formerly of Westfield, died Sunday of an embolism at St. Mary's Hospital, Palm Beach, Fla. Her age was 49.

Mrs. Pierson was a granddaughter of James S. Coward, founder of the Coward Shoe Company. She was the daughter of the late John Moore and Minnie Van Winkle Coward and daughter-in-law of the late County Treasurer, Arthur N. Pierson Sr.

She also leaves a son by a former marriage, Ernest Hugh Rice Jr. of Millburn, and three grandchildren.

Services will ibe held at 2 p.m. today in her home. Interment will be in Fairview Cemetery under the direction of Gray's Funeral Home. Obituary can be found in Westfield Leader, April 10, 1958, page 4.