Corliss E. Gigax
Corliss E. Gigax believed in the importance of good manners.
“She was frugal and very gracious," her niece, Pamela A. Haynes, said.
Ms. Gigax died Friday, Dec. 31, 2010, at Eden Village Retirement Center in Glen Carbon, Ill. She was 92.
She was born Feb. 17, 1918, in Hayes Center, Neb., to Ray and Grace (Evans) Gigax.
Ms. Gigax graduated from McCook High School in McCook, Neb., in 1935. She attended McCook Junior College from 1935 to 1936.
She lived most of her life in St. Louis, where she was an executive legal secretary at Missouri Pacific Rail Road for 38 years, Haynes said. Ms. Gigax retired in 1983 and moved to Columbia.
“She loved to dress up and looked quite elegant when she did,” Haynes said.
Haynes remembers her aunt as being very generous.
“When my brother and I were little, she would always give us our biggest Christmas gift because she did not have her own kids, “ Haynes said.
She was a member of the Rose Society, Boxwood Society and the Cactus Society at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.
“She loved to socialize with people in Missouri Botanical Gardens,” Haynes said. “She really loved gardening and roses.”
Ms. Gigax also enjoyed raising poodles and taking in stray cats.
Ms. Gigax is survived by her nephew, Stewart W. Murrell and his wife, Bobbie, of Valdosta, Ga.; two nieces, Pamela A. Haynes of Worden, Ill., and Cindy L. Courtois and her husband, Roger, of La Habra, Calif.; and great-nieces and great-nephews Tracy Henry, Stacy Martin, Chuck Haynes, Darryl Todd, Dallas Haynes, Lance Haynes and Jennifer Oliver.
Her parents and sister, Greta K. Murrell, all died earlier.
A private service will be held later.
Memorial contributions may be made to Worden Christian Church, 223 North Lincoln Street, Worden, IL 62097.
