Max William Gottschalk, 1876–1961

Max William Gottschalk was born on 18 November 1876, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of attorney Frederick Carl Gottschalk and Ottolie Seewald, both of German descent. Frederick served in the Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Max had two brothers, Victor Hugo Gottschalk and Edward Gottschalk, and two half-brothers, Erwin Reipschlaeger and August Reipschlaeger. Raised in a stately home on Iowa Street, the boys enjoyed an upper-middle-class life in 1880s St. Louis.

Max attended the University of Missouri, majoring in music. He married Miss Kelmie Mutrux on 3 March 1909. Her brother, Louis Mutrux, became a noted St. Louis architect and had twelve children. Their parents were Jules Mutrux and Louis Berney.

A gifted artist and musician, Max made significant contributions to St. Louis’s cultural scene. He was a first violinist in the St. Louis Symphony and composed works for piano, violin, and several operas. He offered private music lessons in his home and served as music editor for Art World, a local publication. He also operated an art gallery in the Park Plaza Hotel, featuring prominent local artists.

Max met Kelmie while tutoring her in piano. She was a talented woman of French-descent who became his wife and mother to their four sons: Jules Max, Edmond, Louis, and Charles. The families of Max and Kelmie remained close, at times living together. The Mutrux children were raised speaking French, and family ties were strong.

In 1924, the Gottschalk and Mutrux families took a six-month trip across Europe, visiting Switzerland, France, Germany, and more. Their journey was featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Max was a devoted father who encouraged creativity in his children and maintained a strong written correspondence with them, leaving a treasured legacy. He also managed a six-unit apartment building at 6000 Waterman Avenue in University City, Missouri. His sons helped with renovations, learning responsibility and the value of hard work.

Kelmie passed away from colon cancer in 1953 at age seventy-three. Max mourned her deeply and remarried three years later to Gladys Merker Behrens, a contralto and pianist from East St. Louis who taught music in Illinois.

In his later years, Max continued composing and painting, often selling his works to support himself and Gladys. He found peace in oil painting at Forest Park and remained socially active well into his eighties.

Max passed away on 29 October 1961. His contributions to St. Louis’s artistic heritage endure, and he is fondly remembered. He is interred with his family at Hillcrest Abbey Mausoleum in a niche marked for his father, Frederick Gottschalk.

Written by his great-granddaughter, Stefani (Gottschalk) Ryan
June 2025

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