Great News – we are returning to the Perdido Beach Resort for our weekly breakfasts, Cobalt’s for our weekly Happy Hours, and the Gulf Shores Country Club for our weekly golf scramble.

Even greater news – Bob Moore [a.k.a. the Godfather of the Missouri Snowbirds] has secured the Phoenix V Meeting Room for our special parties.  And for the price we all love to hear… FREE    Way to go Bob!

Please look over the entire schedule because it includes many additional activities, some where we are mixing with other snowbird clubs.  What a great way to make new friends.

Lastly, we know that many of you have friends that either live in Gulf Shore or come to visit while we are snow birding; please invite them to join us.  Especially the breakfasts and happy hours because this is where they will get to meet many of your fellow snowbird friends in a very friendly and sociable setting.  They don’t have to join the club – we just want them to join in the fun.

On behalf of President Karen, we wish you safe travels and we’ll see you soon!

!!!! With great sadness I wanted to let you all know that Craig Grinstead husband of club president Karen Grinstead died Saturday August 21.  A memorial was held at Troy, Illinois August 29 (see Program above) in a facility owned by Karens Aunt, well attended by members of his family, Relatives, Snowbird friends, Warning Lites employees, their long time minister, 2 of his Boy Scout friends, and many other friends Craig and Karen had made over his years.

If you have been following Nick Barr's Facebook Group "Missouri Club of Gulf Shores"  you probably already know, but I'm sure a lot of you who do not do FB may not have known.

Craig has been suffering from COPD and has been on oxygen for some time which was aggravated more during the last Snowbird time when he and Karen both got Covid.  This all happened very sudden.  He had been in the hospital in Pensacola where he had pneumonia and got really bad to the point where Karen brought him home to their condo on Hospice where he died very quickly. 

Craig was a friend to everone.  He will really be missed by all of us. !!!!

!!!!!!Greetings Fellow Snowbirds!!!!

Mark Rethemeyer has updated the calendar of events for the 2021 snowbird season.You can go to our webpage: https://www.mosnowbirds.org/ for the latest updates.

A couple of things I want to bring to your attention for next year.

1. Weekly Breakfast Meeting – the Perdido Keys Resort sustained severe damage and will not be open until March, so we are moving to “Another Broken Egg Café” in Orange Beach.  They have a private room, we’ll order off the menu, and have separate checks. 
2. Golf Scramble – still on the calendar on Wednesdays!
3. Welcome Back Party -  we are combining this with the first breakfast of the year on January 6^th.   
4. Happy Hour – Cobalt’s will have their back room for our Monday Happy Hour with happy hour specials like in the past.
5. Bunco Game Night – cancelled.  Sorry, but these is just no way to social distance and keep everyone safe for this event.
6. Snowbird Trivia Night at the OB Event Center is on the calendar, but tentative.  If it is still a go, there will be limited seats to provide for social distancing and all tickets will need to be purchased in advance.  No 50/50 and no silent auction (gift baskets).  More on this as we get closer.
7. Bratfest – Cancelled
8. Lo Country Boil – Cancelled

2021 will be a crazy year in Gulf Shores, one like has never been seen before.  We “WILL” get through this, and we will have a great time despite all the obstacles we’ll need to navigate.  You can take away some of the things we all enjoy at the Gulf, but you CANNOT take away the friendships and fun we have in the Missouri Snowbird Club.

I hope to see you all real soon!
Karen 
Karen Grinstead
President, Missouri Snowbird Club

Dick Ruda's partial Obituary info is shown below. The complete Obituary info can be found at legacy.com/obituaries/stltoday/obituary.aspx?n=richard-phil-ruda&pid=194279930

Note:  You will have to paste the above Link into your browser.

Ruda, Richard Phil

Richard (Dick) Ruda was welcomed into the Lord's loving arms, October 23, 2019; beloved husband of 53 years to Toni (nee DiBlasi); loving father of Monica Ruda, Melissa (Brian) Muldoon, and Melanie (Kevin) Wagner; cherished grandfather of Justin (Jess), Grace, Harrison, Brendan, Morgan,

Matthew, Nicholas, Emily, Kathryn, Audrey, Willow, Mary, and Andrew. He was preceded in death by his parents Felix and Adeline Ruda, his brother Jerry Ruda, and granddaughter Natalie Wagner. Dick was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and a longtime member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Manchester, MO and Our Lady of the Gulf, Gulf Shores, AL. Dick was a proud veteran who was truly dedicated to his family and never knew a stranger; Dick generously donated his body to St. Louis University; in lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Little Sisters of the Poor, Mobile, AL or Mary's Shelter Gulf Coast AL.

Services: Celebration of life beginning at 10 a.m. with Memorial Mass to follow at 11 on Saturday November 2 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 567 St. Joseph Lane, Manchester, MO 63021.

Published in St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Oct. 30, 2019