Rhoda Hersey was hired by Kansas City Power & Light on November 13, 1929 as a secretary in the Law Office. Several years later she was loaned to the law firm of Johnson, Lucas, Graves, and Fane. Although still on K. C. P. L. payroll, Rhoda was made Office Manager of the law firm which was retained by K. C. P. L. . She became a close friend of Major Graves, one of the firms partners, and of Irvin Fane, another partner.
In March, 1949, Arthur J. Dole, who would later become Chairman, CEO and President of K. C. P. L. , began working for Johnson, Lucus, Graves & Fane as a young lawyer. On April 1 of that year, he began working closely with Rhoda on Workmen's Comp. and Unemployment Comp. Rhoda and A. J. Doyle had offices across the hall from one another on the 20th floor of the Kansas City Power and Light Building at 1330 Baltimore.
Mr. Doyle remembers Rhoda as a person who had a great allegiance to friends, and that she took him, as a young lawyer, "under her wing". He said she was always thinking of other people, and that everybody loved her.
In late 1960, Rhoda announced that she was leaving to marry "a wonderful man" she had met. Mr. Doyle made the presentation of a gift from the law firm at a dinner honoring Rhoda. She left K. C. P. L. on November 30, 1960, having worked for K. C. P. L. 31 years and 17 days.
She married Bill Poore, a retired Sears executive. The Sears motto at the time was "satisfaction guaranteed". Bill Poore died in 1980.
***Written by Fred Cochran***
co-worker at K. C. P. L.
__________________________________________
William Ezra Poore, "Bill"
1897 - 1980
He was a World War I Army Veteran.
Former general sales manager for the Sears Robuck & Company for 36 years. He worked for the company for 50 years before retiring in1958.
He was a senior deacon of the Bethany Baptist Church and superintendent of the Sunday School and taught the Men's Senior Bible Class there. He was former president of the Brotherhood Organization of the Missouri Baptist Convention. He received an honorary doctorate degree from the Southwest Baptist College, Bolivar, Missouri and served as guest teacher of marketing at Rockhurst College, Kansas City, Missouri.
He lived in the Kansas City, Missouri area 65 years.
Source: From E. W. Poore's obituary, Kansas City Times, Kansas City, Missouri, July 15, 1980.
Rhoda & Bill married late in life, after the death of his first wife. Bill had 2 children from his former marriage. Rhoda & Bill had no children.
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