Kathleen Strangler

Kathleen was born on April 15, 1905 to Margaret and Edward Porter in northeast Kansas City, MO. She was the oldest of six girls born into this marriage. She went to St. Stevens Catholic School. After her father’s death in 1921 she went to work door to door selling Excelsior Cosmetic Products. She also worked for a cigar factory, Schubert’s Fur Co., Montgomery Ward, and National Department Store in Kansas City.
Kathleen married Orville Pearce Feb. 9, 1926 and was blessed with three children: daughter Jackie Pearce (Carlson, McCart) 1926, daughter Margaret Pearce (Logan) 1929, and son Orvill Edward Pearce 1932. Her loving husband, Orvill, was killed in a railroad accident July 8, 1942 leaving Kathleen to raise and provide for her three children during difficult times. She was working at Union Station as a Harvey Girl in his restaurant when informed of her husband’s death. She never returned buy loved working as a Harvey Girl. Kathleen also drove for the Red Cross during the war and volunteered her time where needed.
Kathleen drove her family to California in the fall of 1942 to start a new life. She quickly found a job at Al’s Drug Store but soon had to leave because of Margaret’s severe asthma. She then drove her family back to Kansas City to be near family and friends in the winter of 1942.
Kathleen then went to work at the North American Assembly Plant as a riveter making airplanes during the war. All women that did this job were made famous by the slogan “Rosie the Riveter.” She worked at this job until the end of 1943. She then went to work for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and became the first woman yard clerk in 1944. This was a very dangerous job. She worked very hard and all the men kept an eye out for her to make sure she was safe at all times.
Kathleen decided to open her own restaurant in 1944. It was named the Northeast Bar B Q Restaurant and was located near Quincy and St. John in Kansas City. She closed the Bar B Q restaurant and opened the Blue Ribbon Café located at St. John and Belmont in 1948. Times became tough and Kathleen closed her restaurant and went to work as a waitress at Ruggels Fried Chicken in Northeast in 1952. She then went to work at the Hotel Continental as a waitress from 1954 to 1964.
She finally remarried at the age of 59 to Earl Stange of Raytown, a retired postal worker, at Holy Cross Catholic Church in 1964. They lived in Raytown and were very happy. Earl was murdered during a robbery at the Imperial Gas Station, the first self service station in Raytown in April 1974.
Kathleen remarried again at the age of 80 to a childhood friend Harley Strangler. She had introduced Harley to his future wife when they were teenagers. Kathleen had kept in touch with Harley and his wife through the years. They were reunited when Harley moved back to Kansas City in 1984. The married June 1985 at St. Andrews Catholic Church in North Kansas City. They then moved to North Kansas City to be near relatives. Harley passed away in 1991.
Kathleen has enjoyed living her in Kansas City all of her life and in the past 30 years has been spending her winters in Southern Texas. She has also enjoyed being the grandmother of 12 grandchildren, great grandmother of 23, great-great grandmother of 34, and great-great-great grandmother of 1. She has had a hard life living through the depression, the early death of her father, the death of her sister at the age of two when she choked to death, her husband, and only son Eddie on October 20, 2002.
Kathleen has had a lot of tragedy, sadness, and hard times in her life but also a lot of good times and happiness. She has always made the best of any situation. When she had to go to a nursing home for the summer, she made the best of it by saying it was the best hotel she had ever stayed in. She knew where she was but there wasn’t any other choice at that time, so she made the best of her time there. She was able to go back to Texas that winter and hasn’t been back to the nursing home since. She has always been very active, from digging up orange trees in an orchard (at the age of 70) to climbing over the cemetery walls to get to grandpa’s grave faster, nothing could ever hold her back very long. She is loved and admired by her family.