Noah "Red" E. Kroeger

I write in rememberance of my "Papa" Noah. I remember more of him when I was young and we would go and spend the night with Dee and Papa. I always had lots of fun there. Papa was a strong and strict man, but he sure was intelligent and knew how to do many things. He loved golf, birds, dogs, photography, Florida, and he was quite the go-getter. Opening his barbershop, Kroeger's Barber and Beauty on the outskirts of Evansville city limits was a risky move, but he made it work and work did it! He became famous for his flattop.

I loved my Papa and happy that he had a long full life.

My family,
I am so sorry that I will not be able to be with you tomorrow in person to remember Papa's life. I will be with you in spirit. I hope you will gather to tell the stories of the good memories of experiences you shared with him and Dee. I think of spending the night at the Darby Hills house, riding the scooter, learning to identify the birds and their sounds, tending to the flowers, exploring the woods and finding deer on the path. Drinking hot chocolate from the little cups with Papa and Dee at breakfast. Gatherings of the entire family, complete with barbecue (the kids got our own room for the meal!) and baseball in the front yard. Then the move to the Jefferson house. Papa taking some amazing photographs of us searching for Easter eggs. I remember he let me drive the big riding mower when I was only about 9 years old! And then there were the shows we put on...complete circuses! Of course the costumes came from Papa and Dee's closets. Then they moved to Bellemeade, a short walk from our home. Exploring all the things in the basement, playing tennis across the street, viewing old reel-to-reel movies from when Dad and Ronnie were little guys. I didn't realize until I was in high school that Papa had been a local favorite with the university students because of his perfect flat tops, back in the day. But by then, my male friends were complaining; because long hair was in style, they gave Papa the nickname "the butcher" for making them less than "cool" with his short haircuts. I remember Papa taking me to a father/daughter dinner. Since he had no daughter and I was the eldest granddaughter, I got to go. I don't recall if it was the Masons or the Hadi Shriners, but it was great fun. And then there were the two times Papa and Dee took me (with others) to Florida. Very special indeed! A couple of times, they came all the way to Oregon to visit me. From Papa and Dee I learned about the excitement of travel, the wonder of nature and wildlife, the beauty of the ocean, the benefits of walking (I was the wrong gender for golf) and staying fit, and an appreciation of healthy eating. I was very blessed to have them for grandparents! With sadness, I say goodbye to my Papa.

My condolences to all of Noahs's family. He is my oldest brother of 8 children. I wish I had known him better, but our age difference made it difficult.
Rest in Peace. Your little sister, Carolyn

My condolences to Red's family. When I'd spend the summer months with my dad and step-mom in E'town the first place my dad would take me was Red's barber shop to get shorn - usually a crewcut or flat-top. If I remember correctly his wonderfully air-conditioned barber shop was downstairs across Weinbach from Woods Drug Store. Even if it wasn't Red who cut my hair he somehow remembered my name and would make me feel welcome even though I hadn't been there for the past nine or ten months. As I got older my dad would let me cycle down to Red's on my own. And when I was around 12 or 13 I asked Red for a "flat-top with fenders" so I could comb the back into a "duck tail." I'm sure there are many people who remember their visits to Red's and I bet he made each of them feel as welcome as he did me. It's good to know he had such a long and productive life. Requiescat in pace