Charles R. Stribling III

Charles R. Stribling III, a fifth generation Audrain Countian, died Tuesday, September 20, 2017, at his home in Mexico. Col. Stribling was born on March 29, 1927, in Mexico, the son of the late Col. C. R. Jr. and Ruth (Cauthorn) Stribling. He was a great-great-grandson of Admiral C. K. Stribling, superintendent of the U.S. Navy Academy from 1851-1853, and a great-grandson of Benjamin R. Cauthorn of Mexico, one of the founders of Missouri Military Academy in 1889. Stribling, a graduate of MMA, joined the faculty in 1952, and served for 16 years as instructor, coach, public relations and alumni director, commandant of cadets and vice-president and executive officer. In 1968 he succeeded his father as president of MMA, and headed the Academy for 25 years (1968-93), during which time MMA was designated an Exemplary Private School (1985) by the U.S. Department of Education. In 1993 he retired and continued as chairman of the Academy's Board of Trustees, of which he had been a member since 1949. In that position he continued active in school affairs. He served as President of the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States, and the Missouri Independent Schools Association; chairman of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the Missouri Division of the American Cancer Society. He was an American Cancer Society volunteer for more than 35 years, and in 1986 ACS honored him with its premier St. George Award in recognition of 'outstanding contributions to the control of cancer.' He had been president or chairman of 10 local civic organizations, including the Mexico Jaycees, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Country Club, Cancer Society, Heart Association, Historical Society, Mexico-Audrain Library Board, National Foundation (March of Dimes) and the Mexico Recreation Corporation. The Mexico Chamber of Commerce presented him with its Ambassador Award in 1978, Community Service Award in 1980, and Philanthropic Achievement Award in 1997. He was winner of the Mexico Ledger Community Literacy Award in 1994. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce selected him as one of the state's four outstanding young men in 1957, and named him outstanding local Jaycee president in 1961. Stribling earned Bachelor of Arts (1949) and Bachelor of Journalism (1950) degrees from the University of Missouri Columbia, which presented him its Alumni Achievement Award in 1990. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi social fraternity and was a director of the organization's Zeta Phi Foundation at MU. In 1975 he was awarded a Doctor of Laws degree by William Woods College, Fulton, for 'leadership, commitment, and integrity in furthering the ideals of his community and the field of education.' He served as a director of Commerce Bank since 1977, and was deacon, elder and trustee at the First Presbyterian Church where he had been an active member for more than 60 years. He served in the US Navy in 1945-46, and since 1964 had been chairman of the 9th Congressional District Service Academy Advisory Committee under Congressmen William Hungate, Harold Volkmer and Kenny Hulshof. He was a member of the Executive Board, Great Rivers Council, Boys Scouts of America; a director of the Audrain Medical Center Foundation, Audrain Habitat for Humanity and the Presser Hall Restoration Society. In 1999 he established the Stribling Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation created to benefit charitable organizations in Audrain County and contiguous areas. Survivors include his wife, Winifred Runge Stribling and her family; one nephew, R. Stribling Koster, Chicago, Ill.; and a niece, Ann Koster Antoniou, St. Louis. His sister, Suzanne Stribling Koster, and a nephew, Dr. Joseph Koster preceded him in death. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, September 25, 2017, in Memorial Chapel at Missouri Military Academy in Mexico. Family and friends will gather following the service in Stribling Hall at MMA. Private family graveside services will be held. Pickering Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Audrain County Crisis Intervention Services (ACCIS) or to the MMA Memorial Chapel Fund. Expressions of sympathy may be given at pickeringfh.com