Dr. Elbert Marion Pirtle Jr of Camden Point, MO passed away on Friday, December 15, 2023. Elbert was born in McKinney, TX on April 7, 1939 to the late Elbert Sr & Emma Jane Pirtle. He grew up in Texas and graduated from Lufkin High School in 1956. He served in the United States Marine Corp from 1956 to 1958, graduating with honors as a flight instructor. He went on to pursue his Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Stephen F Austin College in Nacogdoches, Texas. He was awarded one of the first National Defense Fund Scholarships to attend the University of Kansas where he completed his Masters (1965) and PhD in Mathematics (1968). He started as a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1965 while working on his PhD and continued in this role until his retirement in 1998. While in high school, Elbert met the woman who would later become his wife, Patricia Font. After attending their 9th grade dance together, they maintained a friendship, but it wasn’t until Elbert joined the Marines that their romance truly blossomed. Anticipating possible deployment, and worried that someone might snatch her up while he was away, Elbert began to write letters to Patricia. When he later arrived home on leave, handsome and in uniform, he proposed to Patricia. She accepted his marriage proposal and they married on February 21, 1957 in Jacksonville, Florida. While expecting their firstborn, Elbert was stationed in California, while Patricia remained in Texas. Through the conspiring of some fellow Marines, Patricia and their first born daughter Denise were flown from Texas to Hollywood, California by the television show Truth or Consequences, hosted by Bob Barker. Elbert was taken to the show and while there he was called up on to the stage. The unsuspecting father was then surprised by his wife and newborn daughter. Elbert was elated as this was the first time that he had met his daughter. After Elbert was honorably discharged from the Marine Corp, he returned to Texas. While there they had two more children, Charles and Scott, and after moving to Kansas City, they had another son, Ross. Elbert was a man of many talents and interests. He enjoyed boating, hunting, fishing, golfing, and creating stained glass windows; writing articles and papers on his many interests and studies; and spending time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. One of Elbert’s greatest interests was viticulture, the study of grape cultivation. He was an avid reader and studier of this topic; and with the help of his children, he began to dabble in winemaking using the fruit from the cherry tree in his backyard in Westwood, Kansas. What started as a hobby soon blossomed into what would become one of his greatest accomplishments: the establishment of Pirtle Winery in Weston, Missouri. He and Patricia opened the winery in 1978 and it has continued to operate as a family-owned business for the last 45 years.
In the early years of the winery, he learned about a unique wine that is made from honey known as mead. His customers enjoyed the mead that he made so much that he continued to perfect his mead making process which earned the winery multiple international mead awards. Pirtle Winery continues today as one of the oldest meaderies in the country. In his later years, he took interest in an unlikely fruit, the aronia berry, and planted several acres of them on his farm after studying its significant health benefits. He continued to harvest aronia berries making juice and wine for many years. His constant thirst for knowledge was never ending. “Pirtle Winery. A Family Story”, a short video of the family history, can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/241944352. Elbert was preceded in death by his son Charles, grandson Evan and granddaughter Catherine. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Patricia; children Denise (David) Scarlett, Scott (Christine) Pirtle, Ross (Barbara) Pirtle; grandchildren Jacob, Tricia, Paige, Megan, Maxwell, Jack, Mason, and Mari; and 13 great-grandchildren. Private graveside services will be held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on Friday, December 29th, 2023 with a Celebration of Life to follow at Pirtle Winery from 2-5 pm.
