Mickey Laukhuff Walker, March 2, 1922-February 9, 2011. Funeral services for Mickey Laukhuff Walker, 88, of Destin, FL who died on February 9, 2011 at Natchez Regional Medical Center in Natchez, MS will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, February 14 in Memphis, TN with Rev. Mark Goble officiating. Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery under the direction of Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, February 13 at Memorial Park and from 10 to 11 a.m. preceding the ceremony at Christ the King Lutheran Church, on Monday, February 14. She was born on March 2, 1922 in Potts Camp, MS, daughter of Bufford Ethurl Nolen and Thelma Gladys Tucker Nolen. Mrs. Walker was preceded in death by her parents; four sisters, Ilene Grohman and husband Joe, Marvis Crumpton and husband Rubert, Alice O'Bannon and Ethleen Schmittou and husband Joseph, husbands, Ralph L. Laukhuff, Sr. and William H. Walker and daughter-in-law, Karla Marie Laukhuff. Survivors include one son, Ralph L. Laukhuff, Jr. of Vidalia, LA; three (3) grandchildren, Ralph Lewis "Randy" Laukhuff III and wife, Bethaney of Lafayette, LA, Kari Marie Blaney and husband, Charles "Kippy" of Ferriday, LA and Brittny Marie Laukhuff of Boston, MA; seven (7) great-grandchildren, Chad Laukhuff, Christian Leggett, Charles Leggett and Gary Leggett of Lafayette, LA, Chase Laukhuff of Starkville, MS, Emily Farmer and husband, Cade, Chad Blaney and wife, Angele, of Natchez, MS and Wesley Blaney and wife, Robyn of Vidalia, LA; and two (2) great-great-grandchildren, Silas Blaney of Natchez, MS and Selah Blaney of Vidalia, LA. Pallbearers will be Chase Laukhuff, Chad Laukhuff, Christian Leggett, Charles Leggett, Gary Leggett and Ronald McCoach. Mickey Laukhuff is probably most well known for her work with stained glass. During WWII, Mickey ground prisms for bombsights and in doing so she found her "true love" was working with glass. After the war, she worked for Binswanger Glass Company's Stained Glass Studio in Memphis TN and in 1961 fulfilled her dream of having her own company when she started Laukhuff Stained Glass. She developed a talent for blending the texture and colors of glass and lead into a unique business. She created beautiful pieces of art for churches, homes, offices, restaurants, and hotels all over the world. Some of her patrons included St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Rhodes College, and Elvis Presley, who had pieces commissioned for his beloved Graceland. Creating unique pieces of art for churches and other places of worship provided Mickey with an opportunity to work with clergy and laypeople of all religions and faiths while creating a legacy of beautiful pieces of art for years to come. A founding member of the Society of Entrepreneurs, Ms. Laukhuff Walker was the first woman to own a stained glass company in the United States. For Mickey, entrepreneurship was all about passing on the spirit − giving young people and others an incentive to reach their potential through their dreams, ideas, talents, hard work and ambitions . . . making this a better world to live in. She gave of her time and talents to many organizations throughout Memphis, including the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis Symphony League, the Child Advocacy Center, the Pink Palace Museum, and the Memphis Arts Council, just to name a few. For her business and philanthropic efforts she was recognized in May 1973 by The World Who's Who of Women for her Distinguished Achievements. Also known around Memphis as the lady in pink, a color she loved so much that she drove a pink Lincoln and sported pink golf clubs. She sold her business in 1986 and later retired to Destin, FL where she continued her charitable work throughout the community donating her works of art to the Sacred Heart Hospital Chapel and the Community Church of Destin. She will be laid to rest in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, TN next to her first husband. She will rest below a unique marble monument in the form of a church with stained glass windows that she designed and had built. Since its erection, the monument has become a recognized feature of Elmwood. The monument celebrates the spirit of her life and work with an inscription that reads, "All things are possible with the help of God." Online condolences may be sent to Memorial Park Funeral Home at www.memorialparkonline.com. In lieu of flowers, if desired, contributions may be made to the Brooks Art Gallery, St. Jude Hospital or charity of choice. Memorial Park Funeral Home, "Behind the stone wall" (Published in The Commercial Appeal on February 12, 2011)
DEATH, BE NOT DRAB, MONUMENT GLOWS
BY JOHN BEIFUS
PUBLISHED IN THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
NOVEMBER 14, 1994
O'er the darkness of death, let there be light. And what light - all the colors of the rainbow - of a world over the rainbow - splashed prism-like by the rays of the sun over grass, over grave, over the final resting place of Ralph Lewis Laukhuff. Last week, two stained-glass windows were installed in a monument over Laukhuff's grave in Elmwood Cemetery, creating a one-of-a-kind tribute and adding an attraction to the famous, historic cemetery. Laukhuff, who died Jan. 6, 1993, at the age of 73, was a stained-glass pioneer who created windows for more than 3,000 churches, homes and other buildings during his decades-long career. "I guess you could say it's a tomb-stone marker that pertains to our 50 years of life together, because our life has been in the stained glass field," said Mickey Laukhuff, his widow and business partner, who designed the memorial. The arched windows, each with a thousand pieces of hand-beveled, jewel-cut glass, are now set in a $100,000 marble monument shaped like the facade of a church, with Christian symbols etched in the stone. Each window also contains a painted portrait, fired in a kiln so that the paint is fused permanently into the glass. One portrait depicts Laukhuff, and one features Mrs. Laukhuff, who plans to be buried alongside her husband beneath the 19-foot-tall memorial, which is topped by a steeple and a bell. Mrs. Laukhuff's death date, of course, will have to be carved in later. But she also left her birthdate off, for now. "My son said, 'Keep it off there, mother, you've lied about it so much Daddy'd be turning over in his grave." The windows also are enclosed within transparent sheets of safety glass, to prevent breakage. "I don't think even a windstorm would do anything," said Dennis Pannell, 37, who worked on the installation. Mrs. Laukhuff, who still manages Mickey and Ralph's Stained Glass, said she plans to officially dedicate the monument in a family ceremony Saturday. She said the structure wasn't completed until more than a year after her husband's death because of the rarity of such large pieces of marble and the complexity of the windows. She said she doesn't know of any similar monuments in Tennessee, or anywhere, "although I'm sure somebody else must have done it some time." "That's the first one of that type that's been put in since I've been working here, and that's 40 years," said Sonny Hanback, grounds superintendent for the 142-year-old cemetery. It contains some 70,000 graves, including those of Confederate generals, Tennessee governors and senators, Yellow Fever victims and E. H. Crump. "You can see that a long time ago, they set up some really fancy jobs," said Hanback, indicating the lifesize angels, warriors, and other monumental beings who reside outside his office window. "I'm glad somebody's adding to it." Because the translucent paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Laukhuff are part of the glass, they can be seen from either side, simultaneously facing west and east. That means the sun will shine through them all day long, as it travels from horizon to horizon. Said Mrs. Laukhuff, "We'll always have light."
Additional information provided by Red:
Please add Martin Walker's father to her memorial. He is Bufford Nolen.
DEATH, BE NOT DRAB, MONUMENT GLOWS
BY JOHN BEIFUS
PUBLISHED IN THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
NOVEMBER 14, 1994
O'er the darkness of death, let there be light. And what light - all the colors of the rainbow - of a world over the rainbow - splashed prism-like by the rays of the sun over grass, over grave, over the final resting place of Ralph Lewis Laukhuff. Last week, two stained-glass windows were installed in a monument over Laukhuff's grave in Elmwood Cemetery, creating a one-of-a-kind tribute and adding an attraction to the famous, historic cemetery. Laukhuff, who died Jan. 6, 1993, at the age of 73, was a stained-glass pioneer who created windows for more than 3,000 churches, homes and other buildings during his decades-long career. "I guess you could say it's a tomb-stone marker that pertains to our 50 years of life together, because our life has been in the stained glass field," said Mickey Laukhuff, his widow and business partner, who designed the memorial. The arched windows, each with a thousand pieces of hand-beveled, jewel-cut glass, are now set in a $100,000 marble monument shaped like the facade of a church, with Christian symbols etched in the stone. Each window also contains a painted portrait, fired in a kiln so that the paint is fused permanently into the glass. One portrait depicts Laukhuff, and one features Mrs. Laukhuff, who plans to be buried alongside her husband beneath the 19-foot-tall memorial, which is topped by a steeple and a bell. Mrs. Laukhuff's death date, of course, will have to be carved in later. But she also left her birthdate off, for now. "My son said, 'Keep it off there, mother, you've lied about it so much Daddy'd be turning over in his grave." The windows also are enclosed within transparent sheets of safety glass, to prevent breakage. "I don't think even a windstorm would do anything," said Dennis Pannell, 37, who worked on the installation. Mrs. Laukhuff, who still manages Mickey and Ralph's Stained Glass, said she plans to officially dedicate the monument in a family ceremony Saturday. She said the structure wasn't completed until more than a year after her husband's death because of the rarity of such large pieces of marble and the complexity of the windows. She said she doesn't know of any similar monuments in Tennessee, or anywhere, "although I'm sure somebody else must have done it some time." "That's the first one of that type that's been put in since I've been working here, and that's 40 years," said Sonny Hanback, grounds superintendent for the 142-year-old cemetery. It contains some 70,000 graves, including those of Confederate generals, Tennessee governors and senators, Yellow Fever victims and E. H. Crump. "You can see that a long time ago, they set up some really fancy jobs," said Hanback, indicating the lifesize angels, warriors, and other monumental beings who reside outside his office window. "I'm glad somebody's adding to it." Because the translucent paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Laukhuff are part of the glass, they can be seen from either side, simultaneously facing west and east. That means the sun will shine through them all day long, as it travels from horizon to horizon. Said Mrs. Laukhuff, "We'll always have light."
Additional information provided by Red:
Please add Martin Walker's father to her memorial. He is Bufford Nolen.
Mickey Laukhuff Walker, March 2, 1922-February 9, 2011. Funeral services for Mickey Laukhuff Walker, 88, of Destin, FL who died on February 9, 2011 at Natchez Regional Medical Center in Natchez, MS will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, February 14 in Memphis, TN with Rev. Mark Goble officiating. Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery under the direction of Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, February 13 at Memorial Park and from 10 to 11 a.m. preceding the ceremony at Christ the King Lutheran Church, on Monday, February 14. She was born on March 2, 1922 in Potts Camp, MS, daughter of Bufford Ethurl Nolen and Thelma Gladys Tucker Nolen. Mrs. Walker was preceded in death by her parents; four sisters, Ilene Grohman and husband Joe, Marvis Crumpton and husband Rubert, Alice O'Bannon and Ethleen Schmittou and husband Joseph, husbands, Ralph L. Laukhuff, Sr. and William H. Walker and daughter-in-law, Karla Marie Laukhuff. Survivors include one son, Ralph L. Laukhuff, Jr. of Vidalia, LA; three (3) grandchildren, Ralph Lewis "Randy" Laukhuff III and wife, Bethaney of Lafayette, LA, Kari Marie Blaney and husband, Charles "Kippy" of Ferriday, LA and Brittny Marie Laukhuff of Boston, MA; seven (7) great-grandchildren, Chad Laukhuff, Christian Leggett, Charles Leggett and Gary Leggett of Lafayette, LA, Chase Laukhuff of Starkville, MS, Emily Farmer and husband, Cade, Chad Blaney and wife, Angele, of Natchez, MS and Wesley Blaney and wife, Robyn of Vidalia, LA; and two (2) great-great-grandchildren, Silas Blaney of Natchez, MS and Selah Blaney of Vidalia, LA. Pallbearers will be Chase Laukhuff, Chad Laukhuff, Christian Leggett, Charles Leggett, Gary Leggett and Ronald McCoach. Mickey Laukhuff is probably most well known for her work with stained glass. During WWII, Mickey ground prisms for bombsights and in doing so she found her "true love" was working with glass. After the war, she worked for Binswanger Glass Company's Stained Glass Studio in Memphis TN and in 1961 fulfilled her dream of having her own company when she started Laukhuff Stained Glass. She developed a talent for blending the texture and colors of glass and lead into a unique business. She created beautiful pieces of art for churches, homes, offices, restaurants, and hotels all over the world. Some of her patrons included St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Rhodes College, and Elvis Presley, who had pieces commissioned for his beloved Graceland. Creating unique pieces of art for churches and other places of worship provided Mickey with an opportunity to work with clergy and laypeople of all religions and faiths while creating a legacy of beautiful pieces of art for years to come. A founding member of the Society of Entrepreneurs, Ms. Laukhuff Walker was the first woman to own a stained glass company in the United States. For Mickey, entrepreneurship was all about passing on the spirit − giving young people and others an incentive to reach their potential through their dreams, ideas, talents, hard work and ambitions . . . making this a better world to live in. She gave of her time and talents to many organizations throughout Memphis, including the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis Symphony League, the Child Advocacy Center, the Pink Palace Museum, and the Memphis Arts Council, just to name a few. For her business and philanthropic efforts she was recognized in May 1973 by The World Who's Who of Women for her Distinguished Achievements. Also known around Memphis as the lady in pink, a color she loved so much that she drove a pink Lincoln and sported pink golf clubs. She sold her business in 1986 and later retired to Destin, FL where she continued her charitable work throughout the community donating her works of art to the Sacred Heart Hospital Chapel and the Community Church of Destin. She will be laid to rest in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, TN next to her first husband. She will rest below a unique marble monument in the form of a church with stained glass windows that she designed and had built. Since its erection, the monument has become a recognized feature of Elmwood. The monument celebrates the spirit of her life and work with an inscription that reads, "All things are possible with the help of God." Online condolences may be sent to Memorial Park Funeral Home at www.memorialparkonline.com. In lieu of flowers, if desired, contributions may be made to the Brooks Art Gallery, St. Jude Hospital or charity of choice. Memorial Park Funeral Home, "Behind the stone wall" (Published in The Commercial Appeal on February 12, 2011)
DEATH, BE NOT DRAB, MONUMENT GLOWS
BY JOHN BEIFUS
PUBLISHED IN THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
NOVEMBER 14, 1994
O'er the darkness of death, let there be light. And what light - all the colors of the rainbow - of a world over the rainbow - splashed prism-like by the rays of the sun over grass, over grave, over the final resting place of Ralph Lewis Laukhuff. Last week, two stained-glass windows were installed in a monument over Laukhuff's grave in Elmwood Cemetery, creating a one-of-a-kind tribute and adding an attraction to the famous, historic cemetery. Laukhuff, who died Jan. 6, 1993, at the age of 73, was a stained-glass pioneer who created windows for more than 3,000 churches, homes and other buildings during his decades-long career. "I guess you could say it's a tomb-stone marker that pertains to our 50 years of life together, because our life has been in the stained glass field," said Mickey Laukhuff, his widow and business partner, who designed the memorial. The arched windows, each with a thousand pieces of hand-beveled, jewel-cut glass, are now set in a $100,000 marble monument shaped like the facade of a church, with Christian symbols etched in the stone. Each window also contains a painted portrait, fired in a kiln so that the paint is fused permanently into the glass. One portrait depicts Laukhuff, and one features Mrs. Laukhuff, who plans to be buried alongside her husband beneath the 19-foot-tall memorial, which is topped by a steeple and a bell. Mrs. Laukhuff's death date, of course, will have to be carved in later. But she also left her birthdate off, for now. "My son said, 'Keep it off there, mother, you've lied about it so much Daddy'd be turning over in his grave." The windows also are enclosed within transparent sheets of safety glass, to prevent breakage. "I don't think even a windstorm would do anything," said Dennis Pannell, 37, who worked on the installation. Mrs. Laukhuff, who still manages Mickey and Ralph's Stained Glass, said she plans to officially dedicate the monument in a family ceremony Saturday. She said the structure wasn't completed until more than a year after her husband's death because of the rarity of such large pieces of marble and the complexity of the windows. She said she doesn't know of any similar monuments in Tennessee, or anywhere, "although I'm sure somebody else must have done it some time." "That's the first one of that type that's been put in since I've been working here, and that's 40 years," said Sonny Hanback, grounds superintendent for the 142-year-old cemetery. It contains some 70,000 graves, including those of Confederate generals, Tennessee governors and senators, Yellow Fever victims and E. H. Crump. "You can see that a long time ago, they set up some really fancy jobs," said Hanback, indicating the lifesize angels, warriors, and other monumental beings who reside outside his office window. "I'm glad somebody's adding to it." Because the translucent paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Laukhuff are part of the glass, they can be seen from either side, simultaneously facing west and east. That means the sun will shine through them all day long, as it travels from horizon to horizon. Said Mrs. Laukhuff, "We'll always have light."
Additional information provided by Red:
Please add Martin Walker's father to her memorial. He is Bufford Nolen.
DEATH, BE NOT DRAB, MONUMENT GLOWS
BY JOHN BEIFUS
PUBLISHED IN THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
NOVEMBER 14, 1994
O'er the darkness of death, let there be light. And what light - all the colors of the rainbow - of a world over the rainbow - splashed prism-like by the rays of the sun over grass, over grave, over the final resting place of Ralph Lewis Laukhuff. Last week, two stained-glass windows were installed in a monument over Laukhuff's grave in Elmwood Cemetery, creating a one-of-a-kind tribute and adding an attraction to the famous, historic cemetery. Laukhuff, who died Jan. 6, 1993, at the age of 73, was a stained-glass pioneer who created windows for more than 3,000 churches, homes and other buildings during his decades-long career. "I guess you could say it's a tomb-stone marker that pertains to our 50 years of life together, because our life has been in the stained glass field," said Mickey Laukhuff, his widow and business partner, who designed the memorial. The arched windows, each with a thousand pieces of hand-beveled, jewel-cut glass, are now set in a $100,000 marble monument shaped like the facade of a church, with Christian symbols etched in the stone. Each window also contains a painted portrait, fired in a kiln so that the paint is fused permanently into the glass. One portrait depicts Laukhuff, and one features Mrs. Laukhuff, who plans to be buried alongside her husband beneath the 19-foot-tall memorial, which is topped by a steeple and a bell. Mrs. Laukhuff's death date, of course, will have to be carved in later. But she also left her birthdate off, for now. "My son said, 'Keep it off there, mother, you've lied about it so much Daddy'd be turning over in his grave." The windows also are enclosed within transparent sheets of safety glass, to prevent breakage. "I don't think even a windstorm would do anything," said Dennis Pannell, 37, who worked on the installation. Mrs. Laukhuff, who still manages Mickey and Ralph's Stained Glass, said she plans to officially dedicate the monument in a family ceremony Saturday. She said the structure wasn't completed until more than a year after her husband's death because of the rarity of such large pieces of marble and the complexity of the windows. She said she doesn't know of any similar monuments in Tennessee, or anywhere, "although I'm sure somebody else must have done it some time." "That's the first one of that type that's been put in since I've been working here, and that's 40 years," said Sonny Hanback, grounds superintendent for the 142-year-old cemetery. It contains some 70,000 graves, including those of Confederate generals, Tennessee governors and senators, Yellow Fever victims and E. H. Crump. "You can see that a long time ago, they set up some really fancy jobs," said Hanback, indicating the lifesize angels, warriors, and other monumental beings who reside outside his office window. "I'm glad somebody's adding to it." Because the translucent paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Laukhuff are part of the glass, they can be seen from either side, simultaneously facing west and east. That means the sun will shine through them all day long, as it travels from horizon to horizon. Said Mrs. Laukhuff, "We'll always have light."
Additional information provided by Red:
Please add Martin Walker's father to her memorial. He is Bufford Nolen.
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