Oltmann Funeral Home

Garvey, 78, passed away Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. He was living in Noel, Mo.A Union native, Garvey served the city for two terms, from April 1969 to April 1973.He was a businessman in Union and owned Johnnie’s Dairy Kreme on Washington Avenue (now Northside convenience store) and the Totem Pole, a drive-in on Highway 50.Having been elected at age 30, Garvey is believed to be the youngest elected mayor for the city.The year following his election, in 1970, Garvey was named the city’s Outstanding Young Man at the Distinguished Service Awards banquet.The city formed its first ambulance service under Garvey’s leadership, according to Leroy Strubberg, who was one of the “original seven” who organized the ambulance service.The Union Area Ambulance District website says that a Feb. 1, 1969, Federal lawsuit entitled ambulance workers to a minimum wage when on call at their homes.“This suit had far-reaching financial (implications) for small funeral home-based ambulance services,” it says.A bill proposed in the Missouri Legislature also required minimum standards for ambulance equipment and personnel.The cost could have been as much as $7,000 per ambulance.The Oltmann family of Union, which owns Oltmann’s Funeral Home, was providing ambulance service for the Union, Villa Ridge and part of the Gray Summit area.When the Oltmann family decided to discontinue providing ambulance service, Strubberg said Garvey called on him to help continue providing ambulance services in Union.“The city was in an emergency situation,” Strubberg said, adding that he and six others formed the Union Community Ambulance Service.The service was supported financially by billing insurance companies approximately $5 for a trip to Washington and $15 for a trip to St. Louis. The service was completely volunteer run for several years.“He wanted to see that the city would have ambulance services,” Strubberg said.Garvey also was mayor when the Franklin County Courthouse was bombed, which Strubberg said was the first real test of the ambulance service.According to Missour... (The Missourian)