Obituary of Miller Birkhead

Miller Bailey Birkhead Funeral services for Miller "Curly" Bailey Birkhead of Winfield, MO will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, February 2, 2008 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home near Winfield. Rev. Mike Ryan, pastor of the Winfield Baptist Church, will officiate with burial in Winfield Cemetery. Mr. Birkhead, 95, passed away early Saturday morning, January 26, 2008 at St. Mary's Medical Center in St. Louis, MO. Born November 4, 1912 in Winfield, he was the son of Mahlon and Maude Miller Birkhead. A lifelong resident of the Winfield area, he was a 1931 graduate of Winfield High School. Following graduation, he worked on the construction of the Winfield Lock & Dam. He was united in marriage on July 3, 1936 in Elsberry, MO to FiNettie "Nettie" Mae Adams. This union was blessed with five children: Jerry, Terry, Peggy, Nichola and Michele. In his early years, he was employed by American Foundry Car Shop in St. Louis, painting railroad cars. Mr. Birkhead was employed for many, many years through the Union Hall in commercial construction as a concrete finisher, retiring in 1974. He was a 70-year member of the Cement Masons Union Local #527 in St. Louis. He bought the St. Louis Globe Democrat and St. Louis Post Dispatch paper routes in the Winfield area when he was 14 years old and sold the route after 49 years in 1975. He served his community as an Alderman for many years and was Mayor of the City of Winfield during the 1973 Flood. He participated in the Senior Olympics in shuffleboard. He was a member of the Winfield Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mahlon and Maude Birkhead; one brother, Richard Birkhead; one son, Terry Lee Birkhead in November, 1941; one brother-in-law, Clifford Adams; and his beloved wife of 55 years, Nettie Birkhead, who died January 3, 1992. Survivors include one son, Jerry D. Birkhead of St. Louis; three daughters: Peggy S. Birkhead of St. Louis, Nichola D. Birkhead of St. Louis, and Michele Hall and her husband, Robert, of Cahokia, IL; and two grandchildren, Benjamin and Abraham Hall. He also leaves one brother, Paul Birkhead and his wife, Muriel, of Winfield; one sister, Virginia Adams of Champaign, IL; several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Visitation will be held from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 1, 2008 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home near Winfield. Memorials may be made to the Winfield Cemetery or the Winfield Baptist Church in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 3838 East Highway 47, P.O. Box 253, Winfield, MO 63389. Online condolences may be made at www.carterricksfuneralhome.com.