Violet Pauline HART

Violet Pauline Hart, born Violet Baumann - age 99, eldest child of the late Paul and Violet Baumann. Preceded in death by her sister, Dee (Joe) Wroblewski (nee Baumann), and brother, Paul (Mary) Baumann. Beloved mother of Allen (Sharon) Harrison, and Pauline (Robert) Von Hoffer (nee Hart), and grandmother of Paul Von Hoffer and Hannah Von Hoffer. Violet was born in 1924 and grew up in St. Louis. When she was very young, her parents ran a small bakery and restaurant in Baden and Violet began waiting tables at age 7. Violet went to work at age 14 at Reinike's Market. She worked a 12-hour shift every Saturday for one dollar and 98 cents. Violet completed her first year of high school at Cote Brilliant, and in 10th grade, was transferred to Beaumont High School. In her Junior year, she suffered a nervous breakdown, but returned to school her Senior year at Hadley Technical School. A second nervous breakdown in the middle of her senior year caused her to finally withdraw, just one semester short of graduation. When Violet was 17, the United States entered World War II. Violet did her part during the war by joining thousands of women in the factories to keep things running here at home. She was employed by Adam's Net and Twine in St. Louis where she strung cargo and camouflage nets for the military. She kept in touch with her boyfriend, Frank Harrison, who was in the Navy aboard the USS Yorktown when it was sunk by a submarine torpedo. Frank survived the attack, and when he came home on leave, in 1946, he and Violet were married. She moved to Frank's naval base in California, but in the summer of 1947, Violet moved back home to Missouri to give birth to their first and only child, Allen Harrison. Frank and Violet divorced in 1949, and Violet went to work at the American Can Company in South St. Louis where she remained for 7 years. In 1955, she met and married Maurice Hart and they moved to North County. In 1957, she went to work at Moline Hardware and Coal Company, and in 1963, Violet and Maurice's only child, Pauline Hart, was born. After 17 years of marriage, Violet and Maurice divorced in 1972, and Violet was once again on her own to support herself and her child. She remained at Moline Hardware, which by this time had become a North County landmark, and in 1977, she took over as owner and manager. Violet continued to run the store on her own until 1994 when she finally retired at age 70. Violet's first grandchild, Paul Von Hoffer was born the following year, followed by Hannah Von Hoffer 6 years later. In her retirement, Violet devoted herself completely to her grandchildren and began volunteering with the Foster Grandparents Program at Paul's school when he was only 4. She volunteered her time with this program in her grandchildren’s' schools until 2007 when her daughter, Pauline, began homeschooling. Violet received the Presidential Service Award for her hundreds of volunteer hours with the program. She continued to be a part of her grandchildren's education by coming to their house every morning to assist with lessons. At the age of 90, health issues finally required that she stay at home. At age 95, Violet approached her daughter with the idea of finally finishing high school through homeschooling. She spent a full year studying literature, writing, history and mathematics, to complete the requirements for her final semester. She graduated with her granddaughter, Hannah, in July of 2020. Throughout her life, Violet enjoyed fly-fishing, camping, knitting, gardening, adopting animals of all shapes and sizes, and hosting lavish dinner parties. Her life motto was "You walk this way, but once!" and she always took advantage of every opportunity to live life to its fullest. She was spunky, feisty, generous and loving and will be deeply missed. Donations can be made to honor Violet to St Jude's Children's Hospital, Shriner's Hospital for Children, or the Animal Rescue of your choice.

Violet Pauline HART

March 9, 1924 - December 27, 2023