Emily Wolpers quietly made our community better

Wolpers

Don’t wait to tell someone you appreciate them and what they are doing. We are not promised tomorrow and neither are our friends.

Emily Wolpers died this week. I met her after going to work for her family at the Daily American Republic newspaper in the fall of 1971. I’ve known her most of my life. She always treated me with respect. I especially remember a card she sent after she read a feature story I wrote early in my career. I didn’t know at the time that was Emily. I knew how much I appreciated her comments.

She was in and out of the newspaper in those days and I remember her proofreading one summer.

After a career in teaching and in the legal profession, Emily retired and returned home to carry out her and her late sister, Mary’s, dream. She shared with me, they had planned to come home to contribute to their home community.

Emily did contribute to her community in a variety of ways — quietly. She was not pretentious or showy. She went about her work quietly, the way she lived her life, but she got things done in her world.

Instrumental in a variety of community projects, she pitched in and lent her expertise in getting them accomplished. She did the majority of this behind the scenes not letting a lot of the community know.

She was interested in the town’s history. She was involved in the Wheatley Historical Preservation Association, Inc. and the Garfield Historic District, along with Downtown Poplar Bluff. She loved the trees.

While she wanted to preserve the town’s history, she wanted to cultivate her love for education and culture. She mentored students, and passionately supported fine arts programs and the Patrons of the Arts.

Emily, I waited too long to thank you in person for loving and taking care of your hometown. I will make a promise. I will try to do a better job of thanking others and I’ll see what I might quietly do to help with your projects.

Thank you for making Poplar Bluff a better place to live and work.

Barbara Ann Horton is a staff writer at the Daily American Republic. She can be reached at bhorton@darnews.com.