Myrtle Trowbridge

Myrtle Marie (Van Epps) Trowbridge was born on April 10, 1921 to Floyd Phelps Van Epps and Letha Irene (McCone) Van Epps in Yankton, South Dakota. Her great grandparents were pioneers who homesteaded the Dakota Territory in the mid-1800s. Myrtle was the oldest of eight children: Marvin Floyd, Leonard Wayne, Donald Eugene, Jean Elaine and Joyce Lorraine (twins), Joanne Louise and William Truman. Myrtle grew up on the family homestead near Yankton, which her father, as the oldest son, had inherited from his father, William Van Epps. She started first grade at Welby School at the age of five. Myrtle helped her mother deliver her last two children at home, and was a second mother to her brothers and sisters. She loved to read to her brothers and sisters gathered around the "Home Comfort" wood-burning kitchen stove at night. Hard times in the 1930s caused the family to lose their farm, so they moved into town where her father worked for the Work Projects Administration (WPA). One of her fondest memories was accompanying her father to the movies on Friday nights, especially Jack Benny comedies. While in high school, Myrtle made money to help out her family by cutting and styling hair and assisting her teacher in correcting papers (also a WPA program). After high school, she worked for a Yankton family who owned a dry goods store, and then moved to Minneapolis to attend beauty school.



During WWII, Myrtle joined the Women's Reserve of the Naval Reserve and served as a First Class WAVE, U.S. Navy Storekeeper. She was stationed at Navy Pier in Chicago. After the war, she wore her Navy uniform to a job interview at the Steerup brothers' advertising agency, and got the job.



She met James Lloyd Trowbridge, a returning soldier, at an ice skating rink in Chicago. They were married on June 7, 1949 in Yankton and made their home in Warrenville, IL. In 1965, the family moved to Neshkoro, WI, where Myrtle worked as a teller at the Farmers Exchange Bank and served as Town Clerk for Crystal Lake Township. In the early 1970's they moved to Wautoma, WI where she got a job working at the County Nurse's office.



After raising their family, Myrtle and Jim spent more than 30 years wintering in Florida where they made many friends. Myrtle dearly loved playing Scrabble and Anagrams. She was a member of Zion United Methodist Church of Neshkoro and in recent years of Grace United Methodist in Wautoma, WI. Myrtle and Jim, who died in 2010, are survived by three children: Betty (Paul Hagan) of Princeton, WI, Gail (William Schuldt) of Duluth, MN, and Dick (Wendy Syer) of Knoxville, TN; and two grandsons, Geoffrey Syer Trowbridge and Byron Schuldt. A memorial service is planned for 2012.




PDF Printable Version