Chloe Ardith Poe passed away in her sleep early on the morning of April 21, 2023.  She was 95 years of age and had been a resident of The Quarters at Des Peres since late last year.

Born Chloe Ardith Prichard in 1928, the daughter of Samuel Urban Prichard and Iva Maud (Zumwalt) Prichard, she grew up on a farm near Robertsville, Missouri.  She was the eldest daughter in the middle of a family that included 6 boys and 2 girls.  Graduating from Pacific High School in Pacific, Missouri, she spent 2 years at what was then Southeast Missouri State Teachers College in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, later transferring to the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, from which she graduated in 1947 at the age of 19. 

She married Russell Warren Poe in October of that year, and the two of them had more than 63 years together before Russell passed away in 2011.   A resident of Kirkwood since 1959, she and her husband had 4 children, all of whom graduated from Kirkwood High School.  Affectionately known as “Tiger” to her children and “Grandma Tiger” to her grandchildren, she was known for her sense of humor and devotion to reading and children’s literacy.

Chloe’s professional life began in 1966 as her children began to go off to college.  She became a “bookmobile lady” for the St. Louis County Library that year.  Taking post-graduate courses in Library Science at night, she was promoted a number of times by the Library, eventually retiring as Head of the Overdues Division for the St. Louis County Library system in 1994.  After retirement, she and her husband traveled extensively while retaining ties to the community as members of Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood.

She is survived by her four children and their spouses:  David R. Poe (Connie Vaught) of Oxford, MD; Retta E. Poe (Richard Greer) of Bowling Green, KY; Thomas E. Poe (Christine) of Plymouth, MN and Rebecca A. Harrison (William) of Warson Woods, MO. Also surviving are 7 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; a sister, Maxine Willoughby of Crestwood, MO; a brother, Clyde Prichard of Knoxville, IA; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 11 am on June 10, 2023 at Grace Episcopal Church in Kirkwood, MO, www.GraceKirkwood.org, with visitation beginning at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the St. Louis County Library Foundation, www.foundation.slcl.org, or to Grace Episcopal Church.