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Robert
McKinstry, 71, Pinckneyville, died Wednesday afternoon in Memorial
Hospital in Springfield.
A retired farmer, he was director, treasurer and claims adjustor for Pinckneyville Mutual Insurance Co, for 24 years and an employee of Decca Record Manufacturing near Pinckneyville. Mr. McKinstry was born in Rice Feb. 23, 1912, the son of Thomas and Winnie (McCune) McKinstry. On Sept. 25, 1943, at Geneva, he married June Mills of Keenes, who survives. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Concord Baptist Church of Rice with the Rev. Eugene Dutton officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Friends may call after 4 p.m. today at the Schwebel Funeral Home in Pinckneyville. Mr. McKinstry was a veteran of World War II and a member of the American Legion and Farm Bureau of Pinckneyville, and the Perry County Soil Conservation Board and AFC Committee. He was a member and trustee of the Concord Baptist Chruch and trustee and treasurer of Oak Grove Cemetery in Washington County. In addition ot his wife, survivors include one son, Wayne McKinstry of Chatham, two grandchildren, three brothers, Elmer McKinstry of St. Louis and Raymond and Harold McKinstry of Rice, and two sisters, Helen Hubler of Pinckneyville and Rachel Francis of Nashville. *** |
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| Robert
McKinstry Born Perry Co. Feb 23, 1912. Baptized Mar 4, 1928 [Wayne's note: They cut a hole in the ice of the pond for this baptism. brrr.] Member Concord Baptist Church all his life, served as trustee for a time. Entered U.S. Service April 21, 1941. Honorably Discharged Dec 9, 1945. Went overseas Nov 8, 1943. Started home: Oct 15, 1945. In service 56 months (4.5 years) Member of Farm Bureau. Trustee & Treasurer Oak Grove [Presbyterian] Cemetery Washington Co. Member AFC Committee for 6 years. Soil Conservation Board. American Legion Post Commander for a time. Worked for a time at Decca Recording Co. Director, Treasurer and Adjuster of Pinckneyville Mutual Ins. Co. for 24 years. |
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The
Story of Robert McKinstry’s Life Robert
McKinstry was
born
February 23, 1912. He
was the third of
what would be six children born to Tom and Winnie McKinstry. The
family was kind of poor because Tom
suffered from heart disease. They
did
own their farm. Robert
had no
middle
name. In the Army
he had to
announce himself as
“Robert no-middle-name McKinstry”. Robert
went to
school at
Duncan
School. This was a
country
school a
little over a mile from the McKinstry house.
Besides grades 1-8,
there was also a high school. They
had the first
three years of high school
at Duncan. If you
wanted to
actually
graduate from high school, you had to go at least the last year at
Pinckneyville High. Robert
dropped out
of school when he was a freshman at Duncan.
He was needed on the
farm. Robert
was
baptized
March 4,
1928. They cut a
hole in the
ice of the
pond for this baptism. Brrr. When
Robert was
12 Tom
the Father
passed away. The
family was poorer
than
ever. When the
brothers were
older they
could hire out to a neighbor. Also
it
was customary for young men in southern Illinois to go “up
north” to work on a
more prosperous farm further north in Illinois. Once
Robert was
with a
group of
young men riding north, seeking employment on some farm. One
of them looked out the window and said
“That looks like a nice farm.
I
wonder
if we could get a job there.” Another
started
laughing
and said
“Yes, I reckon we could get a job there, right
easy.” It
was the
“Peanut Farm” (Penal Farm) near Vandalia. People
would be sentenced there. Some
time
probably in
the late
1930’as he met June Mills, who had been hired as a teacher at
Duncan
School. They
married on
September 23,
1943, in Geneva, IL. Robert
enlisted
in the
United
States Army on April 21, 1941. On
December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and he was in the
Army “For
the duration”. He
was in Army camps in
North Carolina and Hawaii. Then
he went
to the Palau Islands. This
is in the
Pacific, east of the southern part of the Philippines. Robert
sunburned easily,
being of
Irish ancestry. He
kept volunteering to
work in the kitchen as a way to be out of the tropical sun. Eventually
he was leading a kitchen crew. He
was Honorably
Discharged December 9, 1945. On
returning to
civilian
life
Robert resumed farming. He
farmed two
years in Jefferson County, IL, then returned to Perry County and farmed
for
many years on the old family farm.
Robert passed away May
18, 1983, from ulcers. |