Kimes Bios & Obits

Henry Thomas Kimes 1903-1992

Thomas "Bud" Kimes, 88, of 204 Paul Drive, Lower Burrell, died Thursday (Jan. 16, 1992) in West Haven Nursing Home, Apollo.

Born October 27, 1903 in Wheeling, West Virginia, he lived most of his life in the Harrison and Tarentum areas.

Mr. Kimes was superintendent in the roll shop of Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp., Brackenridge, for 45 years before retiring in 1968.

Survivors include two daughters, Joan Sefton of Lower Burrell and Ruth Keys of Tarentum, three grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Davidson Kimes, in 1983, and his parents, Henry and Cora Bayless Kimes.

There will be no public visitation. Memorial services will be held at a later date. The family suggest memorial contributions be made in Mr. Kimes' name to Allegheny Valley Hospital, 1301 Carlisle Street, Natrona Heights, Harrison. Arrangements were made by the Krynicki Funeral Home, 1007 Freeport Road, Natrona Heights.

Thomas Henry Kimes 1872-1921

BRACKENRIDGE MAN VICTIM OF DEATH
Thomas Kimes Passes Away After Illness of Five Weeks
Front page of The Valley Daily News (The Peoples Paper)
Tarentum, PA, Friday evening, December 2, 1921

Thomas H. Kimes, aged 49, for 18 years a resident of Brackenridge, died at his home, 231 Brackenridge avenue, last night at 11:30 o'clock after an illness of five weeks duration. He was one of the best known men in Brackenridge. He was head of the roll turning department of the Allegheny Steel Company.

The Kimes family came to Brackenridge from Pittsburgh.

Mr. Kimes was a member of the Central Presbyterian Church of Tarentum, the Mystic Shrine, Pollock Lodge No. 502 F. and A.M., Rhodes Commandery Knights of Malta, Tarentum, and Woodmen of the World.

He leaves his widow, four children, James (should be Jane), Charlotte, Thomas, and Ailean (should be Arline), all at home, four brothers and two sisters.

Funeral services will be held from the Central Presbyterian Church Monday afternoon at 1;30, conducted by the pastor, Rev. L. W. Lewellen. Interment will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery, near Verona.

The Valley Daily News, Thursday, November 29, 1962
(Allegheny Valley paper - outside Pittsburgh)
VILLAGE VIGNETTES

Jane McLafferty called this morning.

"I enjoyed the Robin Redbreast poem in last week's column," she said. "I must call Mrs. Rachel Gobert (the woman who shared it) and tell her how much I appreciated it. It brought back a flood of memories. My mother used to recite the lines for me when I was a little girl.

Then suddenly we were talking about Jane's father, Thomas Kimes. Jane's orphaned father had been reared in the Episcopal Church Home at 40th St. and Penn Ave. Pittsburgh.

One of his friends there was young Harry Sheldon, another orphan. The two were often joined by Bill McAllister, whose mother, a widow, was one of the matrons at the home. Years later the three were to meet again and in circumstances beyond dreaming then.

Tom Kimes, early orphaned, was to go out in the world, find work and establish a family. "Father was wonderful to us," Jane recalls. "Being without a family for so many years, he made up to us."

One day Mr. Kimes went to Pittsburgh to look for a new job. Imagine his joy to run into his boyhood friend, Harry Sheldon of the Episcopalian home! "What are you doing, Tom?" Harry asked. When Mr. Kimes cited his mission, Mr. Sheldon replied, "Well you don't need to look any further, Tom. I've started a steel mill up the river and I need a head roll turner."

Mr. Kimes was given the job in Mr. Sheldon's Allegheny Steel plant and held it until his death in 1921. Meanwhile young McAllister had found his way to the valley and was hired by Mr. Kimes as an apprentice. Upon Mr. Kimes' passing, McAllister, his boyhood friend of the Episcopalian church home, took over as department superintendent.

Meanwhile Mr. Kimes' son, Tom, was ready for the mill and worked with his father's friend, Mr. McAllister. Upon Mr. McAllister's passing, Tom stepped into the job.

People might often wonder how that one job has been held by two families for more than a half century, says Jane. Well, that's the story. Two orphaned boys, the other without a father - all without money and today's so-called necessary prestige - gave the world what they had and found it a friendly, responsive universe.

written by Frieda Rutkowski

Henry Thomas "Bud" Kimes received the Allegheny Ludlum Award and President's Medal - the corporation's highest recognition for achievement. January 15, 1965

as reported in the Burrell News-Spirit on Wednesday, January 20, 1965:

T.H. Kimes, a General Foreman at Brackenridge Works of Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation recently received the company's highest recognition for achievement, the Allegheny Ludlum President's Medal.

E. J. Hanley, Chairman and President of the stainless and special steel firm, presented the President's Medal, an engrossed citation and a check for $1,000 to Mr. Kimes at a luncheon of the company's board of directors in Pittsburgh.

Kimes received the award for his development of efficient operations in the precision grinding of steel mill rolls.

Kimes has been General Foreman, Roll and Bearing Repairs, at Brackenridge works since 1962. Prior to that he was General Foreman, Roll Turners, for about nine years. He first joined Allegheny Ludlum in 1920 and, except for a few years in the early Thirties when he operated his own business, his service has been continuous. Most of his career has been as a supervisor of roll preparation operations.

A native of West Virginia, Kimes attended Tarentum High School, and is still remembered as an outstanding football player there. He also attended Carnegie Institute of Technology for a time. His principal hobbies now are fishing and golf.

Kimes is married and has two grown daughters. The family lives at 1101 Woodlawn Place, Natrona Heights.

Cora Louisa Bayless Kimes 1871-1953

Death Takes Mrs. Kimes At Age of 82
The Valley Daily News, October 23, 1953

Mrs. Cora L. Kimes, 82, widow of Thomas H. Kimes, Sr., and a Brackenridge resident for many years, died Wednesday night in the Wyandotte, Mich. home of her daughter, Mrs. Raymond McCullough.

Mrs. Kimes had been an invalid since a stroke she suffered more than four years ago.

Daughter of the late Susan and Richard Bayless, she was born in Pittsburgh April 8, 1871. She lived in Brackenridge from 1904 to 1926. Her husband, a rollturner in the old Allegheny Steel Co. plant, died in 1921.

She lived in Pittsburgh from 1926 to 1941 when she came to live for five years with a daughter, Mrs. Hugh McLafferty, in Brackenridge. Since 1951, she made her home in Wyandotte, with Mrs. McCullough.

She was a member of Central Presbyterian Church and Dames of Malta in Tarentum.

Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. (Jane) McLafferty, Brackenridge; Mrs. Thomas (Arline) Mitchell, Pittsburgh; and Mrs. (Charlotte) McCullough, Wyandotte; and one son, Thomas H. Kimes, Tarentum; one sister, Harriet Ward, Tarentum; five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

The body was brought from Wyandotte today. Friends are being received in Paul Stewart Funeral Home, 9311 Frankstown Road, Pittsburgh. Funeral Service will be held at 2 Saturday afternoon, followed by burial in Mount Hope Cemetery.

Cora Jane Kimes McLafferty (Jane) 1899-1984

news paper article from the Allegheny Daily News dated Feb 23 1985
Village Vignettes
by Frieda Rutkowski

Everybody, it seemed, knew Jane Kimes McLafferty. She was the energetic wife and partner of Hugh McLafferty, who for many years operated Brackenridge Hardware Store. Jane had a good word for everyone and a delightful sense of humor. She enjoyed poetry and in spare moments put her rhyming words on paper.

"They were wonderful people," said Helen Shindledecker Stennett of Dallas Avenue, Natrona Heights. "I worked for them for 35 years and never remembered ever being reprimanded by them. I practically considered myself "family."

Twelve years ago, the McLaffertys moved to Laveen, Ariz., to be near their daughter and her family.

They were happy there but at times there was a yearning for the old home town. And recently Helen received a call from Hugh who said, "I just wanted to hear your voice."

Mildred McClain Cingoto of Union Ave., Brackenridge, remembers how Hugh and Jane befriended her and her husband, John, when they moved with their two small daughters, Jan, 5, and Paula, 3, across the street from the hardware store in an apartment above the "bank building."

"I just couldn't stand living on the Avenue near so many taverns," said Mildred, "so Hugh and John went looking around for a building site and found two lots on Emerson Street near the Brackenridge water tank. We bought the one lot and Hugh and Jane bought the other. We even had the same contractor build both our homes.

"We were neighbors for many years. Jane took me under her wing and got me interested in the PTA and Hugh would take John to Canada every year to go fishing. When the McLafferts moved to Arizona in August 1972 to be near their daughter, Joyce Zembruski, Jane gave me her favorite cookbook. We corresponded constantly."

Mildred was touched by the memorial folder which friends received after Jane died this past December 30 in Phoenix at the age of 84.

The family had chosen one of Jane's poems which she had titled, "Dedicated To My Beloved Family."

Lord take my hand and lead me
Through this troubled life.
The road is narrow, rough and steep.
The chasms on each side are deep
But with Thy helping had to aid
I shall not be afraid.

Lord take my hand and lead me
Through the gates of death
Into Thy Father's house above.
Where there is peace and rest and love.
With Thy presence ever near
I shall not fear.

Mildred's husband, John, president of the former People's national Bank, died five years ago. His good friend, Hugh, will observe his 89th birthday August 13th. During their residence here the McLafferty's attended St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Brackenridge.

Many area lives were touched by Jane's life in a marriage shared by an equally fine husband. And for their many area friends there are memories.

OBIT

Jane McLafferty, 84, of Laveen, Ariz., formerly of Brackenridge, died Sunday (Dec. 30, 1984) in a nursing home in Laveen.

Born Jan. 15, 1900, she was a daughter of the late Thomas and Cora Kimes.

She lived most of her life in Brackenridge.

Mrs. McLafferty and her husband, Hugh, owned and operated Brackenridge Hardware, Brackenridge Ave., for about 15 years.

She was a former member of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Brackenridge.

Besides her husband, survivors include a daughter, Mrs. James (Joyce) Zembruski of Laveen; two grandchildren; and a brother, Thomas Kimes of Natrona Heights.

She was preceded in death by two sisters, Charlotte McCullough and Arlene Mitchell.

Services and burial will be in Laveen, Ariz.

Arline Kimes Mitchell 1909-1982

Arlene Mitchell, 73, of Pittsburgh, formerly of Brackenridge, died yesterday morning (July 21, 1982) in Belview Community Hospital of an apparent heart attack.

Born in 1909 in Brackenridge, she was a daughter of the late Thomas and Cora Kimes.

She resided in Brackenridge until moving to Pittsburgh 30 years ago.

Mrs. Mitchell, a retired teacher, had taught in Pittsburgh area schools.

She was of the Presbyterian faith.

Survivors include a son, Thomas Mitchell, of North Carolina; two grandchildren; a brother, Thomas Kimes of Natrona Heights; and two sisters, Mrs. Hugh (Jane) McLafferty of Phoenix, Ariz., and Mrs. Charlotte McCullough of Wyandotte, Mich.

Services and burial will be conducted Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Greensburg Tribune-Review
November 17, 1982

McCullough

Charlotte Elizabeth McCullough, 81, of Wyandotte, Mich., died Sunday, November 14, 1982, in Wyandotte. She was born Sept. 8, 190, in Pittsburgh, a daughter of the late Thomas Henry and Cora Bayless Kims (should be Kimes).

She was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, and was a former pharmacist in this area. She was a member of the Wyandotte United Presbyterian Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, David Raymond McCullough, on April 28, 1978.

Surviving are a son, David, of Wyandotte; three grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. Hugh (Jayne) McLafferty of Arizona; and a brother, Thomas Kims (should be Kimes) of Natrona.