Anthony (Tony) James Lord was born on October 3, 1941, in Deadwood, S.D., to Tony Lord and Mildred Moreland Lord. He died peacefully on December 29, 2022, at St. Joseph Chateau Care Center in St. Joseph, Mo.
As a child, the family settled in St. Joseph where Tony would call home for the rest of his 81 years. He loved St. Joe from the time he entered South Park Elementary School. As he grew older, he was emphatic about staying in his hometown, saying, “I know St. Joe. I know the people of St. Joe. This is my home and I’m not leaving.”
At South Park, he served as a safety patrol boy along with several of his good friends. He learned early on from his dad about carpentry and from his mom gardening. He put both skills to excellent use throughout his life. He graduated from Central High School in 1959. He was in ROTC there. Out of high school, he worked at his grandfather’s farm near Pukwana, S.D., and at Dannen Research Farms east of St. Joseph.
Tony was proud of the fact that he owned his own home on Saxton Road, free and clear, for 25 years. He lived independently for 23 years at Heartland II Residential Center. Four years ago, he made the decision to move to St. Joseph Chateau Care Center.
Tony worked at Douglas Candy Company for two years and then went on to serve as a stevedore for the Wyeth Hardware Company for almost 21 years where he unloaded trucks and train cars and shelved stock, swept floors, and shoveled snow.
He served as a custodian at Ashland Avenue Methodist Church for almost six years. He ended his working career as a part-time custodian and groundskeeper for the St. Joseph Housing Authority for 10 years.
He was a third-degree Mason. He was a member of a singles club at Ashland Methodist and St. Joe Singles.
Tony loved music and played harmonica and guitar. When asked in his later years his favorite music, he named jazz, bluegrass, blues, country, and, especially, gospel. He was almost a savant when it came to geography, able to pinpoint highway intersections of places his sister told him she visited. When he was younger, he did travel to most of the country and especially appreciated the hospitality of his aunt and uncle and cousins in Bogalusa, La. He was a voracious reader of the newspaper, magazines, and books, especially focusing on history. He loved hunting squirrels and rabbits and fishing for whatever would bite.
Tony had a deep faith in Christ. He grew up at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Through the years, he regularly attended Ashland Methodist, Patee Park Baptist, St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, and First Baptist Sunday school and church. He loved having guest preachers, Bible study leaders, and gospel singers visit his nursing home.
He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his late teens, and he credited the St. Joseph State Hospital #2 for helping him find his way.
Tony is survived by his sister, Jacquelyn Means (Berry) of South Carolina; his sister, Gretchen Lord Anderson (Terry) of Sun Prairie, WI; and his brother, Andrew Lord of Hemet, California. In addition, he is survived by a niece and several cousins.
He had many friends and deeply appreciated all of them, including the staff at St. Joseph Chateau Care Center. The family is also grateful for the service of Freudenthal Hospice.
A Witness to the Resurrection (funeral) will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Thursday, January 5, 2023, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory. His sister, the Rev. Gretchen Lord Anderson, will be officiating. A burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will gather with friends one hour prior, Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory.
