Adolphus Busch Orthwein

Adolphus Busch Orthwein was born on September 2, 1917, in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] His father was Percy Orthwein and his mother, Clara Busch.[1][2] His maternal great-grandfather, Adolphus Busch, was the founder of Anheuser-Busch.[1] He grew up at Grant's Farm in Grantwood Village, Missouri and summered at Red River Farm in Cooperstown, New York.[1]

Orthwein was kidnapped by Charles Abernathy, an unemployed realtor, "a lone negro with a revolver" according to the New York Times, on New Year's Eve in 1930, when he was thirteen years old.[2][3][4] His abductor's father, Pearl Abernathy, returned Orthwein to his family on New Year's Day.[3]

Orthwein graduated from Yale University in 1940.[1] During World War II, he served as an intelligence officer in the United States Navy, tracking German submarines in the Caribbean Sea.[3] He served in the United States Naval Reserve in St. Louis and retired as Lieutenant Commander.[3]

Orthwein joined the family business, Anheuser-Busch. He served as vice president of operations until the late 1950s.[2] Additionally, he served on its board of directors until 1963.[2] He considered running the company as a birthright.[5]

In the 1960s, Orthwein acquired Starbeam Supply Co., later known as Starbeam Supply Company.[2] The company, headquartered in Olivette, Missouri, sells lighting for large industrial spaces.[2]

Orthwein died of lymphoma on November 25, 2013, in Huntleigh, Missouri. He was ninety-six years old.[1] His funeral was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ladue, Missouri.[2] Another ceremony was held in Palm Beach, Florida.[3] He was buried at Sunset Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Affton, Missouri, where his father was buried too.

Orthwein was a three-goal polo player.[3] He played polo until he was eighty-one.[2] He was inducted into the Missouri Horseman's Hall of Fame.[1]

Orthwein was the Master of the Hounds of the Bridlespur Hunt, a fox hunting club in Huntleigh, Missouri.[1] He was also a duck hunter.[1]

Orthwein was married twice. His first wife, whom he married in 1941, was Ann "Nancy" Thornley.[1][3][6] They had four sons together (Adolphus Busch Orthwein Jr., Stephen A. Orthwein, Peter Busch Orthwein, and David Thornley Orthwein) before they divorced.[3] She subsequently married David Metcalfe.[7]

Orthwein was married to his second wife, tennis player Nancy Morrison, for fifty-one years.[1] They had one son, Christopher DaCamara Orthwein.[3] They resided in Huntleigh, Missouri and summered at their family estate in Cooperstown, New York.[1]

Orthwein was a member of the St. Louis Country Club and the Log Cabin Club, two private members' clubs in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] He was also a member of the Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach, Florida and the Cooperstown Country Club in Cooperstown, New York.[1] He was a former member of the Everglades Club.[1] He enjoyed playing tennis, chess and poker.[1][3] He carried a pistol for safety.[2]

• List of kidnappings
• List of solved missing person cases