Adair Tobergte

Adair Tobergte once said she wanted her obit to read, “She was”.

She was, however, much more – and could also claim the titles of wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother, golfing champ, and Rosie the Riveter.

Adair, 86, died May 16, 2007. She was born July 18, 1920 in Hamilton, Ohio and graduated from Fairfield High School. When World War II called women into American factories, she, too, went to work. She might have welcomed the freedom working offered, but her co-workers were less than welcoming to her. Told to train Adair on the machine she was to run, a male colleague looked at the machine, and said, “There she is – she’s all yours”, then left. Never one to shun a challenge, Adair learned to clean, break down and run the machine by herself.

After the war, she was a cashier and head bookkeeper at a local A & P. At work one day, she looked out the window and saw someone who would change her life. “He was walking up the street – still in uniform, you know – showboating,” she said, of Art Tobergte. The 20 – something Tobergte was home from the war in the Pacific and looking for a job. The two became co-workers, and later, husband and wife. Art eventually went to work for General Motors, which transferred him to its Mansfield plant. One day, Art suggested that Adair try golf. He felt the game would give her some exercise, and help her meet new people. So, at age 50, Adair, who had never held a club, picked up a ball and never looked back. Her new hobby took her to clubs and tourneys throughout north Ohio, and a shelf at their Mansfield home was soon filled with golf memorabilia and trophies.

The pair retired in the 1980’s to the Orlando area. While she might have been content to walk the beach, Adair instead threw her energies into organizing the local community association; assisting with golf tournaments, and perfecting her own game. Someone recently joked that Adair would spend her morning on the links, come home, spray some furniture polish in the air (so it would seem she’d been doing housework) and then go back to the golf course with Art. Along the way she hosted golfers in town for local tourneys, helped teach the game to newcomers, and collected more than a trophy or two. While in Florida, she also achieved one of golf’s greatest accomplishments, a hole-in-one. After Art’s death, she moved to Middletown. While her later life was a little quieter than the time in Florida, her days were still full. She clearly relished her role as “Grandma”, or as her great grandbabies called her, “T”.

She was a member of Holy Family Parish, and a member of the church’s Ladies Society.

Adair was predeceased by her husband, Art; her parents; two sisters, Lois Kilgore and Marilyn McBurnie; a brother, Elmer Myers; son-in-law, Joseph Hoffman; grandson, Christopher Hoffman; and great grandson, Andrew Hoffman.

Survivors include her daughter, Joan Hoffman of Middletown; two sons, Retired Col. William (Lorraine) Hixon of Alexandria, Va., and Rev. Arthur (Chris) Tobergte Jr. of Mentor, Ohio; seven grandchildren; twelve great grandchildren; two great great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank the staff of McKnight Terrace for the loving care and continued friendship they extended to Adair.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, May 19, 2007 at 10: 00 AM at Holy Family Parish – Holy Trinity Church with Father John Civille as celebrant. Visitation will be Friday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Wilson-Schramm-Spaulding Funeral Home, 3805 Roosevelt Blvd. (at Bonita Dr.), Middletown. Interment will be at Rose Hill Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Vincent dePaul Society, c/o Holy Family Parish, 201 Clark St., Middletown, Ohio 45042.

Funeral Home:
Wilson-Schramm-Spaulding
3805 Roosevelt Blvd.
Middletown, OH
US 45044