Barbara Dressel

Dressel, Barbara Saint Louis lost a brave and gracious lady when Barbara Dressel died on the morning of Friday, March 22, 2019, after a five and one half year battle with lung cancer. She died at her Central West End home, with her family by her side. Surviving are her husband of 59 years, Jon, her children, Beth (Lance) Knowles, Benjamin (Liz) Dressel, and her grandchildren, Genevieve, Oscar and Pascal Dressel, all of Saint Louis. Barbara was born on February 22, 1939, in Granite City, Illinois to the late George and Nina Marshman. She attended Granite City public schools and Cottey College in Nevada, MO., from which she graduated in 1959. On August 8, 1959, she married Jon Dressel, who she had met on his return from service in the Navy the summer before. After her marriage, she studied for a year at the Gradwohl School of Laboratory Technique in Saint Louis, attaining certification as a medical technician in 1960. In 1971, she became the laboratory technician at the animal hospital at the Saint Louis Zoo, serving until 1997. In 1980, she became an active partner with her husband, Jon, in the establishment of Dressel's Pub in the Central West End, and while continuing to work at the Zoo, served as a gracious front of the house presence at the pub, endearing herself to many employees and patrons over the years. After she and Jon retired and sold the pub to Benjamin in 2004, she did volunteer service at Our Little Haven, the Humane Society of Missouri, and Forest Park Forever. She gave of herself tirelessly in all of her endeavors, reflecting her love of people, children, animals, and all living things. She bore the inevitable sufferings and indignities of cancer and its treatment with remarkable grace and courage, right to the end. She will be remembered always with the greatest of love and affection by her family, and fiercely missed. Services: The body has been cremated. A memorial gathering will be held, at a time to be announced, at Dressel's Public House. The family intends to endow a bench in Barbara's memory in Forest Park, which she dearly loved, and suggests that anyone wishing to make a contribution in memory of Barbara do so to Forest Park Forever.