Mr. David Kent Laughlin Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Laughlin, David Kent Died February 3, 2019 Survived by loving wife Elizabeth (Betty) Ann Laughlin (née Nehrbass), sons Richard David (Joan) and Alan David (Denise) Laughlin, grandchildren Cristy (Colan) McGeehan, Jessica (Timothy) McDoniel, Jeffrey (Lesley) Laughlin, Amanda (Robb) Bartlett, Kevin (Lacey) Laughlin, Daniel (Ginny) Laughlin, and Melissa (Scott) Wensler, and 11 great-grandchildren. Dave grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, starring for their state championship teams in both baseball and basketball. He received his degree in Agronomy and Farm Operations from Iowa State in 1953 and went to work managing the family farm in Bedford, Indiana. After three years on the farm, he went to work for Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, managing a rubber plantation in Liberia, West Africa. Returning to the States, he earned a second degree in Foreign Relations from the American Institute of Foreign Trade. Dave then went to work for Monsanto in their international division, with a short stint in St. Louis followed by two years in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. After moving back to St. Louis, he joined Chemagro Company as a sales manager of their agricultural chemicals in the Midwest. A recession in the ag business in the 1970s moved Dave in another direction, first as an owner-operator for Mayflower Moving, then as an over-the-road driver for Consolidated Freightways. He retired in 1996 with their three-million-mile safe-driving award. Retirement brought extensive travels for Dave and Betty, as they toured many world locales, visiting all continents but Antarctica. Besides traveling, Dave had other interests, including managing the family farm in Indiana as a “gentleman farmer,” coaching his sons’ baseball teams, tinkering in his shop, helping friends and neighbors as Mr. Fix-It, tending to his barbecue grill, and solving even the most difficult crossword puzzles in record time. A funeral mass will be held at Noon on Friday, February 8, 2019, at Incarnate Word Catholic Church, at 13416 Olive Boulevard, in Chesterfield, Missouri. A luncheon will be held at the Church following the Mass. Interment will be private, in Bedford, Indiana. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to your favorite charity.

Mr. David Kent Laughlin

August 26, 1931 - February 3, 2019