Harry F. Estill III

Estill III, Harry F.

Harry F Estill III of St Louis, MO passed away May 18 with his loving wife of 66 years, Sue W. Estill, at his side. He was born in 1934 to Harry F Estill II and Frances Reilly Estill. He grew up on his family property, "Hilltop Farm," on Clayton Road in Frontenac. He attended St Louis Country Day School, where he excelled in math and played varsity baseball, football, and basketball. His friends from that time included Don Meyer, Audie Dietz, and Don Lane.

Harry attended Princeton University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in economics. He served in Army ROTC and volunteered in the presbyterian church while at Princeton. He was a lifelong volunteer for Princeton, serving as President of the Princeton Alumni Association of St Louis for many years. In 1985 he received the Jerry Horton award from Princeton for volunteer service. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School, then began a fruitful career in management. He began in grain marketing in Indiana and Decatur, IL, before joining Pet Milk Co. in St Louis in 1960. He had a long career of 34 years with Pet Inc, serving in a variety of executive positions, including strategic planning, M&A, and investor relations. Harry was posted to Belgium as director of European operations in 1966.

Harry continued a family tradition of military duty by serving active duty in 1955-56 in the Army Artillery at Fort Sill, OK. He remained in Army reserves for ten more years, retiring with the rank of captain.

While summering at his family farm in Cantrall, IL, he met the love of his life, Sue Washbond at a dance in Springfield IL. They were married in 1958 and lived happily together for 66 years. In 2015 they were one of twelve couples featured in the national best selling book on long term marriages called "Thirty Lessons for Loving."

Harry was active in many charitable and civic organizations in St Louis. He was a long term member of Ladue Chapel and served in many leadership roles there. He served as volunteer director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of Washington University, and he taught many courses there. He served on the board of Care and Counselling and as an advisor to the Danforth Plant Science Institute. He tutored at the Hamilton School in St Louis.

Harry loved agriculture and farm management, especially at his beloved Power Farms in IL. He managed a large farm business of soybean and corn crops, maintained and restored a historic family home, and was active in the Lincoln Society in Springfield, IL. His farm received national accolades when it was selected as site for the Farm Progress Show in 2000. He was devoted to family genealogy and local Lincoln history, writing several pamphlets for the local historical society.

Harry was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He is survived by his wife Sue, his two sons Craig (Seattle WA) and Matt (Ithaca NY), daughter-in-law Madeline, and grandchildren Caroline, Charlie and Peter. The family extends their thanks to all of Harry's Ladue Chapel friends, his caregivers from Seniors Home Care and St Luke's Hospice. A memorial service will be held at Ladue Chapel on July 19, 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Danforth Plant Science Institute or the St Louis Symphony Orchestra.

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