Poogie Skaggs’ life sounds a bit like a script from a Frank Capra movie: An altar boy who worked his way up from stockboy to store owner; longtime Little League coach; jolly Santa.
“Everybody loved Poogie,” said Mary Skaggs, his wife of 54 years. “He was such an outgoing person, and he knew absolutely everybody, and not just their names; he could tell you who their parents were, where they lived growing up.”
Mr. Skaggs died Jan. 24 at 83 of complications from heart disease. He was the owner of Poogie’s Antonia Market and an active community volunteer.
He grew up in Crystal City and went to Sacred Heart Catholic School and then Crystal City High School, where he played football. He served a term on the Crystal City Council as a young adult and was a longtime altar boy.
“He loved serving Mass, and did all the way through high school,” his wife said.
Mr. Skaggs had begun working at Mueller IGA in Crystal City while still in high school, working his way up to assistant manager.
He met Mary Lyons on a blind date, and the two were married in 1965. They welcomed daughters Stephanie Brueggeman in 1967 and Susie Skaggs in 1968.
“Sometime in the 1970s, Mr. Mueller sold the store, so Poogie quit and went to work for the (Missouri) Highway Department, purchasing right-of-ways,” Mary said. “In 1983, he decided he really wanted to get back into the grocery business, so he bought Antonia Market.”
Renamed Poogie’s Antonia Market, the store, at Old Lemay Ferry Road and Old Hwy. M, was a family affair, with Mary and the girls working alongside Mr. Skaggs.
“We were constantly mopping, cleaning, fixing the shelves,” Susie said. “He wasn’t really hard on us, but he definitely wanted things the way he wanted them. But he was a very good boss.”
The store was the kind of place where a down-on-their-luck person could come for credit or other help, all three Skaggs ladies said.
“We often came out on the short end of that,” Mary said. “But, you know, it didn’t deter us from helping people out.”
And the community appreciated Mr. Skaggs.
“The town absolutely loved Poogie,” Mary said. “When we retired in 1994, the whole town came to the store the last day. They presented us with all kinds of gifts and had a reception at the (Antonia) firehouse across the street.”
Despite his dedication to his business, Mr. Skaggs always made time for his family.
One week out of the year was earmarked for the family’s vacation in Lesterville.
“We went for a week to the Black River Lodge for 25 years or more,” Mary said. “We made a lot of friends, other families who came every year at the same time. It was kind of like our second family.”
Mr. Skaggs coached both daughters in basketball and volleyball throughout their school years.
“He wanted to get involved with the school, and the only thing he thought he’d be really good at was coaching,” Mary said.
Mr. Skaggs also coached Little League baseball teams for more than 20 years.
He was in charge of making kettle beef for the Our Lady Church picnic for many years, and played Santa Claus at the Knights of Columbus Hall
“He was a jolly, roly-poly guy,” Mary said with a laugh. “He was good at it. He also played Santa for Pony Bird, and the girls would dress up as elves.”
After his retirement, Mr. Skaggs had more time to do volunteer work.
“He joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and they did home visits,” Mary said. “The committee would go and assess the home situation to decide what they could do.
“Poogie might go in saying, ‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to help them,’ but then he’d meet them, hear their story, and pretty soon he’d be wanting to do the maximum amount we could.”
Mr. Skaggs believed helping others was nothing more than payback for his own blessings.
“He always talked about how grateful he was for the life he’d been given,” Stephanie said.
Mr. Skaggs was a gregarious soul and had friends everywhere.
“We’d be out in public somewhere, and if he’d see people who used to trade at Antonia Market, he’d have to go up and talk to them,” Mary said. “At the hospital, some of his friends came every day. A tech gave him a little guardian angel pin, and he wore that every day from then on.”
Mr. Skaggs started having problems with mobility and was hospitalized for most of the summer of 2019.
“After he got home in August, we worked with him, got him moving and going,” Mary said. “But he never did get out of the house after that; he couldn’t get in and out of the car.”
After celebrating what Mary calls their “best Christmas ever,” Mr. Skaggs ended up back in the hospital on Dec. 28. He suffered a heart attack in early January, recovering well at first but then beginning a day-by-day decline.
“We brought him home on the 22nd (of January) on hospice, and he died on the 24th,” Mary said. “We were all here with him.”
She said her husband will be remembered for celebrating life.
“He was a great husband, a great provider, a great dad,” she said. “He loved his grandkids, loved his friends. He was thankful, grateful and blessed.”
“Life Story,” posted Saturdays on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.