Bertha Abigail (Loy) Wise, 1880–1940

Bertha Abigail Loy was born in Versailles, Ohio, on 18 December 1880, the second daughter of Isaac Newton Loy and Matilda Ann Stuck. Before her marriage, Bertha worked in an overall factory and taught piano and organ. On 22 September 1912, she married George Franklin Wise in St. Louis, Missouri. George was also from Ohio where he had met Bertha, but by the time of their marriage, he had accepted a teaching position at Brown’s Business College in St. Louis. Bertha and George had four children: Anna Marie, Olive Adelaide, John Harvey, and Alice Loy. The first two daughters were born in St. Louis.

In 1918, the family moved to Cairo, Illinois, where George managed a branch of Brown’s Business College. George and Bertha lived in Cairo for eighteen months and their son John Harvey was born there. They returned to St. Louis in 1920, just in time for Alice Loy Wise’s birth.

Back in St. Louis, the Wises lived in several residences over the next few years: St. George’s Apartments on Olive Street, a home on Dixon Street, a flat on Clara Street, another on Cote Brilliante near Wellston, and finally a house on Oakwood Avenue in Pine Lawn. George was instrumental in getting electricity brought to the house when the landlord installed a drop cord with a light bulb. Bertha wallpapered and painted the interior and beautified the exterior by planting flowers and grass. They joked that they had improved the property so much that the landlord decided it was worth more money and raised their rent.
In 1925, George and Bertha bought two lots in Ramona Park (now part of Berkeley, St. Louis County) on Flavia Avenue and the Wises, with the help of their children, felled seventeen trees and built their own home, living in it before it was finished. The area had been a woodsy picnic grounds owned by Wagner Electric before it was sold to realtors, who divided the area into 50 by 150 feet lots.

When George’s salary was cut, Bertha managed a grocery store in what had been the Wise living room. They did not make much profit in the store, but the family was able to purchase groceries at a cheaper price. Bertha also continued to teach piano, but she often gave children free lessons if their family couldn’t afford to pay her.

The Wises had whimsical senses of humor and loved laughter and singing. They often performed skits and songs at church and community programs and at nursing homes. They enjoyed games like cribbage, carrom, and cards. They were active members of Nelson Presbyterian Church and later joined Elim Lutheran Church in Ramona Park.

In 1938, Bertha developed diabetes and had part of her leg amputated. From her hospital bed she joked, “I guess I won’t be playing hopscotch anymore.”
Bertha Wise died on 21 August 1940 in St. Louis and is buried next to her mother in the Greenlawn Cemetery, Versailles, Ohio. George died 11 February 1944 and is buried in Concordia Lutheran Cemetery in St. Louis.

Submitted by Faith Stern
5 May 2025

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