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Crestwood’s dynamic duo

The Stoess family name
is all over Crestwood – and rightly so

By Joe Jacobs
Contributing Writer

CRESTWOOD, Ky. (July 1999) – It was a mild June afternoon when I pulled into the Stoess Funeral Home for an appointment with Milton and Clayton Stoess Sr.
I parked my truck in the empty lot and made my way into the building. The air was cool and inviting, and I spent a moment taking in my surroundings.

Milton and Clayton Stoess

Photo by Don Ward

From left, brothers Milton and Clayton
Stoess relax in the Stoess Funeral Home
office, where the walls are decorated
with plaques and awards for their
many years of civic service.

I wandered over to an unassuming display case, which housed several plaques and one silver award cup. Etched into their varied surfaces were many points in Milton Stoess’ tenure of service to Oldham County.
Reading them, I learned he had served as a board member of the Oldham County Historical Society; had served on the Kentucky Funeral Directors’ Burial Association Board since 1964 and was president from 1973 to 1994; and he had received a lifetime service award from the Oldham County Chamber of Commerce in January 1997.
Service, I would soon learn, was a word with which both brothers were intimately familiar. And it was community service for which the two were selected as Grand Marshals of this month’s Oldham County Day Parade. They also will be honored at a July 13 luncheon.
I made my way into the office area, where I noticed an entire wall of framed certificates. It was there that I first met Clayton Stoess Sr.
I introduced myself, as did he, taking my hand firmly in his with a warm smile. Clayton invited me into the adjoining conference room.
As we waited for Milton, Clayton and I exchanged pleasantries. Looking into a person’s eyes, you can tell the kind of man or woman they were, and are, and will be.
Clayton’s spoke of gentle humor, kindness and respect for others; they also spoke of a life, long and well-lived, with few regrets if any, and much hope for the future.
Milton joined us shortly, his pace measured and dignified. I rose for an introduction and to shake hands. His grip was firm and friendly. Milton’s eyes, too, spoke of humor, though with a wonderfully devilish edge; and they shone with much history. Indeed, both brothers’ lives were folded into the rich history of this county; it’s story was also theirs.
What is now South Oldham was then quite a small, rural community with little infrastructure. As the brothers told me, paved roads slowly entered into the area beginning in the middle 1920s. In the late 20s, Hwy 22, the first state highway in the area, was put in place.
Growing up, both brothers attended Crestwood Elementary and later Crestwood High School. And in their 20s, they began work in the family businesses: a hardware store and funeral home, both of which are still operating today.
In addition, both attended the University of Louisville, where Milton received certification as a civil engineer and Clayton as a chemical engineer.
Their service to the community began in earnest during the 1950s. Both helped to found the South Oldham Lion’s Club (1948) as charter members (Milton the charter president, Clayton with perfect attendance) which assumed much of the duties that the Chamber does today. Thereafter, Milton, through the Lion’s, sponsored the construction of a fire department and rescue squad. The brothers helped to sell no-value certificates-in effect public donations-to raise money for the venture, as well as the area’s first ambulance.
The new department and rescue squad was an all volunteer affair, with the brothers routing calls through the funeral home on a short-wave radio. As Milton said, “We had three phones: a black phone for the residence; a white phone for the funeral home; and a red phone for the fire department.” Milton therein assumed the position of fire chief, while Clayton assumed the position of squadron leader.
And that was how their many years of public service in Oldham County began: identifying important needs, the brothers and their community put their heads together for the common good. In the years that followed, the brothers helped build an area gymnasium and establish a water district with Milton as chairman (later sold to the Louisville Water Company) which initiated a booming residential expansion still going strong. Clayton became a council member after Crestwood incorporated and today still serves; in addition, he also sat on the Board of Education for 16 years.
Their story told, Milton and Clayton leaned back in their swivel chairs. “Most of it we’ve passed on now,” Clayton said. “Let the younger generation have a go at it now,” Milton added.
And it seems the spirit with which the brothers helped a community grow is fast set in the hearts of many community residents. Those I spoke with regard Milton and Clayton with great fondness and appreciation. Ed Noe, an insurance broker and realtor, noted how “glad he was that the county is honoring those two guys.” And Richard Beard, who entered into business with and under the guidance of both brothers insists “they are an inspiration in everything accomplished in South Oldham.” Projects such as the Oldham County Day festivities, the historic Main Street district in LaGrange, and the Greenway are reminders to us all about what community and service truly mean.
Milton and Clayton Stoess, Sr. have lived their lives amidst the guiding principle that a community working for the common good can create and foster valuable resources for good living. And should we ever falter in our vision of what Oldham County can and should be, we need only head down to the Crestwood Dairy Queen each morning at 9:15, in what Ed Noe affectionately calls the Liar’s Club Board Meeting, to regain that sense of what a community centered on common goals can achieve.
work in the family businesses: a hardware store and funeral home, both of which are still operating today.
In addition, both attended the University of Louisville, where Milton received certification as a civil engineer and Clayton as a chemical engineer.
Their service to the community began in earnest during the 1950s. Both helped to found the South Oldham Lion’s Club (1948) as charter members (Milton the charter president, Clayton with perfect attendance) which assumed much of the duties that the Chamber does today.
Thereafter, Milton, through the Lion’s, helped establish a fire department and rescue squad. The brothers helped to sell no-value certificates – in effect, public donations – to raise money for the venture, as well as the area’s first ambulance service.
The new department and rescue squad was an all-volunteer affair, with the brothers routing calls through the funeral home on a short-wave radio.
“We had three phones: a black phone for the residence, a white phone for the funeral home and a red phone for the fire department,” Milton said.
Milton therein assumed the position of fire chief; Clayton became squadron leader.
And that was how their many years of public service in Oldham County began. By identifying important needs, the brothers helped the community work for the common good.
In the years that followed, the brothers helped build an area gymnasium and establish a water district with Milton as chairman (later sold to the Louisville Water Company) which initiated a booming residential expansion still going strong. Clayton became a council member after Crestwood incorporated and today still serves; in addition, he also sat on the Board of Education for 16 years.
Their story told, Milton and Clayton leaned back in their swivel chairs. “Most of it we’ve passed on now,” Clayton said.
“Let the younger generation have a go at it now,” Milton added.
And it seems the spirit with which the brothers helped a community grow is fast set in the hearts of many community residents.
Ed Noe, an insurance broker and Realtor, noted how “glad he was that the county is honoring those two guys.”
And Richard Beard, who entered into business with and under the guidance of both brothers insists “they are an inspiration in everything accomplished in South Oldham.”
Milton and Clayton Stoess, Sr. have lived their lives amidst the guiding principle that a community working for the common good can create and foster valuable resources for good living.

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