Julia Catherine Throgmorton

April 15, 1923 - September 5, 2016

Julia C. Throgmorton, age 93, of rural of Carbondale, IL passed away peacefully at 7:18 p.m. on Monday, September 5, 2016, in the Ray and Kay Eckstein Hospice Care Center of Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, KY. She was born on Sunday, April 15, 1923, in the small town of Wendelin, IL, near Olney, the daughter of Joseph and Suzanne (Iffert) Schmitt. Julia attended school in Clay County, IL and also at a Catholic school in Rensselear, IN and later attended nursing school at Webor Hospital in Olney. She received her RN Degree in January of 1945, and immediately enlisted into the United States Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and served in various army hospitals. After her period of faithful service she was honorably discharged. After her discharge she began her working career in 1946, at the Veteran’s Hospital in Marion for many years and later at Choate Mental Health Center in Anna, IL. Julia was united in marriage to Thomas Jefferson Throgmorton on Saturday, July 9, 1949, in Wendelin, IL and together they have shared over 67 years of marriage. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church of Marion. Julia was known as being a woman with determination and vision, an exceptional equestrian, world traveler and Blue Water Sailor. She is survived by her husband, Thomas J. Throgmorton of rural Carbondale; son, Winston C. Throgmorton of rural Carbondale; three grandchildren, Tristan Thomas Throgmorton and his wife Jessica and Roderick Vincent Paul Throgmorton all of rural Carbondale and Rachel Rose Throgmorton of Marion; two great grandsons, Jackson and Lincoln Throgmorton both of rural Carbondale; two brothers, James Schmitt of Watertown, PA and John Schmitt of St. Paul, MN; sister, Suzanne Schekter of Vancouver, WA, other extended family and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Joe Schmitt. Arrangements for Julia C. Throgmorton were entrusted to Wilson-McReynolds Funeral Home, 900 N. Court St., Marion, IL. The visitation was from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 9, 2016, at the funeral home. Following the time of visitation the memorial service was at 6:00 p.m. with Father Richard Mohr presiding. The prelude and postlude musical selections presented were classical selections by pianist, Lori Creamer. Following the memorial service the family and friends gathered at Julia’s son’s home, Winston for a meal and continued time of fellowship and support. For additional information please contact the funeral home by calling 618-993-2131. A Tribute to Julia C. (Schmitt) Throgmorton 1923-2016 Julia C. Schmitt was born on Sunday, April 15, 1923, in the small town of Wendelin, IL, near Olney, the daughter of Joseph and Suzanne (Iffert) Schmitt. She attended high school in Clay County, IL and later at a Catholic school in Rensalear, IN. She also attended nursing school at Webor Hospital in Olney, IL and received her RN Degree in January of 1945. After receiving her degree she immediately enlisted into the United States Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and served in various army hospitals including Fort Washington, Hines General and hospitals in Waco, TX. After her period of faithful service she was honorably discharged. She then enrolled at Southern Illinois University of Carbondale, IL in 1946, and accepted employment at the Veteran’s Hospital in Marion, IL. Julia met her husband, Tom while in college and they were married on July 9, 1949, and have shared over 67 years together. To this union a son, Winston Cole Throgmorton was born in 1954. Tom asked her what her greatest desire was and she stated “To have a happy family and second was to acquire a sail boat and sail around the world”. She said as a small girl she would take a bed sheet and tie it to a tree limb and let the wind catch it and pretend she was sailing off to some distant land. Julia was an exceptional equestrian and for years hunted with the Wolf Creek Hounds Club as a Whipper. That was a position that helps the Huntsman control the hounds and her husband, Tom served as Master of the Hounds and Huntsman. Their son, Winston also served in both of these positions. In 1992, Julia and Tom acquired their sail boat, a 44 foot Norseman Cutter. They practiced sailing around the area of Fort Lauderdale, FL and the Bahamas. After a period of time Julia decided she was ready to tackle “Blue Water Sailing”, a term used when one decides to sail the large Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. She hired a Captain and his female assistant and they set sail for the Cape of Goodhope, South Africa. Most sailors like to sail east to west for the prevailing winds, but Julia decided to go to South Africa, West to East. She later stated everything was fine until they hit the “Roaring Forties”. These were also called the “Horse Latitudes” as it was said that once a boat carrying many horses was forced to jettison the horses because they were on the verge of sinking in a storm. After visiting South Africa, they sailed on to Phuket, Thailand and Tom joined her there. They spent time enjoying the people and touring the country. After a while her husband Tom, being very busy with his Aerospace and Banking Business returned back home. When Julia was getting her boat ready to leave Thailand, she was approached by a young lady whose boat was missing. It had apparently slipped its anchor and disappeared. Julia promised the lady she would contact her if she had any information. They were approximately 400 miles west of Phuket on the Adaman Sea and Julia was asleep in her cabin when she heard the engine stop. She went forward and the Captain told her there was a strange boat with no sail and not moving. There is piracy out on the high seas and the Captain approached the boat cautiously and made out the boats name. It was the missing “Wind Walker” and he then boarded the boat and found no one was aboard. They called on the radio and said they had found the missing boat. She said the radios came alive and everyone with a short wave radio was trying to call her boat for more details. They attached a tow line and towed the boat to Shri Lanka. Abandoned boats in international waters are subject to salvage rights by the finders. Her crew wanted to claim the boat but the boat’s owner was waiting in Shri Lanka. Julia would have no part of this plan but did accept $10,000.00 from the owner which she gave to her crew. She explained later that to do anything else would have subjected her to ridicule and lose the friendship of the sailing community. From Shri Lanka, they sailed to Aden on the south end of the Yemen Peninsula where they stopped for supplies. As usual, Julia wanted to explore so she hired a so called taxi and they went north toward North Yemen. There had been a recent war and she remarked about the burned out tanks, trucks and other detritus of war. Just before she took this tour she had contacted a so called factor, called Omar, who would arrange a money exchange. She had been advised by some of her sailing friends that this Omar was as good as she could get and was recommended to deal with. On her return from North Yemen a small boy ran out and told the taxi driver Omar was in jail. She went inside the police station and there sat Omar behind bars lamenting on being caught exchanging money and arrested. He sadly explained he would probably never see his wife and children again. Julia did not know what to do so her Captain had a chat with the police and then he asked Julia if she had $30.00. She had the money and her Captain talked with the police and left. Later she learned he had bailed out Omar and that Omar took $15.00 and the guards took $15.00 and all was well. That is how a Baksheese, also known as a bribe, works in certain countries. While Julia was in Hergoba, a small town on the Egyptian side of the Gulf of Aden, she visited a lady who had asked to meet a beautiful American lady. This grandmother had a granddaughter who was getting married the next day and wanted Julia to accompany them to the wedding. Julia was delighted so they painted her nails, both fingers and toes, and outfitted her in the proper dress. This was her first Muslim wedding and she described it as a beautiful experience. The next day, Julia obtained a photographer’s permit and set out to take some photos. She had stopped at a small village and was taking a picture when a rough hand grabbed her hand and took her camera. They were two rough looking guards and she reached into their vehicle to retrieve her camera. One guard kept saying “I punish you, I punish you” and rolled up the window of the vehicle. Julia, all 110 pounds, started beating on their window and called them names no Muslim likes to hear. She told her Captain who was staying on the boat and the next morning the Captain appeared with an official dressed in a crisp uniform and explained to her that he was sorry, that his men had no business taking her camera since she had a proper permit. He apologized profusely and stated he would exile them to the far side of the Sudan. She never found out, but apparently her grandmother friend had quite a bit of clout with the police. Also while in Hergoba she ventured into a pyramid like building and went down into the lower part where 10 men were sitting around a table with an oil lamp. They were apparently smoking a bong and were passing it around. One of the men spoke English and she asked what they were smoking. She pointed to the bong and one of the men indicated she wanted to touch the bong. She not only touched it but took a drag from the pipe they were passing around. They were astounded and the one who spoke English kept praising this beautiful American lady who shared their bong. When she left they all arose, bowed and the English speaking one told her how they had been honored by this beautiful American woman. Julia and her niece, who had joined her near Alexandria, Egypt, proceeded to sail to the Ancient City of Troy that was made famous by Homer’s Iliad. She had decided to visit Mt. Ararat, where Noah was supposed to have landed the Ark. They were stopped by the Kurds and were not allowed to proceed further. Julia thought it would be a great thing if she and her niece could find the Ark. It had been sought by many explorers including one of our astronauts. Her husband Tom mentioned this experience to illustrate her love of adventure and willingness to explore. Later, Tom joined her in Rome, Italy and they explored the eternal city. There were many more adventures including returning to the states, selling her beloved “Julie’s Nomas” and acquiring a larger boat called the “Julie’s Nomas II”. This boat was 49 feet in length, air conditioned and a beauty to sail. Julia and Tom sailed it thru the Panama Canal and when through, Tom returned home and Julia set sail this time east to west to continue her trip around the world. “Happy Sailing Julia, May Your Sails Always Be Filled With the Wind”