Solving a mystery about a Kerrville grave

The Tivy Family Cemetery at the top of Tivy Mountain.
Did you know there are four graves up there?
Click on any image to enlarge.

My long-time friend Sandy Wolfmueller recently gave me a book I’d never seen before: “Admiral of the Hills: Chester W. Nimitz,” by Frank A. Driskill and Dede W. Casad. It was published in 1983 by the Eakin Press of Austin.

Its nearly 300 pages tell the life story of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz – from his birth in Fredericksburg, to his long and spectacular career in the U. S. Navy.

The book also solves a little mystery about a Kerrville grave. More on that in a bit.

It might surprise some readers, but Kerrville can stake a very good claim as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’s boyhood home.

Whenever one thinks of the admiral’s early beginnings, one generally thinks of Fredericksburg – Nimitz was born there, and they have the wonderful Nimitz Hotel on Main Street which now anchors the National Museum of the Pacific War.

Chester Nimitz, 1905
at the U. S. Naval Academy

According to Bob Bennett, “the future admiral was born at Fredericksburg on February 24, 1885, the son of Chester B. and Anna Henke Nimitz. Both parents descended from the sturdy German pioneers who came to Texas with Baron John O. Meusebach in 1846 and founded Fredericksburg.”

Here’s the part you might not have known: Anna, and her second husband William Nimitz (brother of her late husband) moved to Kerrville when young Chester was about 5. Chester attended Kerrville public schools, entering “the year the new building was completed and named in honor of Capt. Joseph A. Tivy.” His classmates in Kerrville included Charles Lockett, H. E. Williams, Arthur Mueller and L. A. Enderle, Mrs. R. A. Shelburne, Mrs. Aimee Garrett Schmerbeck and Miss Harriet Garrett.

In 1901, several weeks before Nimitz was scheduled to graduate from Tivy, he received a congressional appointment to attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He graduated from Annapolis in 1905, seventh in his class.

September 2, 1945

From there he had a fantastic career with the navy, but he’s probably most famous for accepting the formal surrender of the Japanese aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay September 2, 1945, ending World War II.

So, from birth to about age 5, Nimitz lived in Fredericksburg; from age 5 until about 16, Nimitz lived in Kerrville. Fredericksburg might have been his birthplace, but one could argue Kerrville raised him, educated him, and helped prepare him for his place in history.

Kerrville even gave Chester Nimitz a nickname: "Cotton," for his light-colored hair.

St. Charles Hotel

Nimitz’s family came to Kerrville to run the St. Charles Hotel which was once on the corner of Water and Sidney Baker streets, where the former Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital used to stand. Today the corner is part of Peterson Plaza.

Nimitz’s story might have been different if there hadn’t been a “surplus of army cadets from Texas in 1901.”

Here is Nimitz’s own account of what happened:

“I was born in Fredericksburg on February 24, 1885, and, after a few years sojourn at that place, moved to Kerrville, where I attended the public schools and from which place I secured my appointment to the naval academy. My choice of the naval academy was largely accidental because my aspirations had been toward West Point, primarily because the army was then well-represented in my part of Texas and very little was known of the navy. Lack of vacancies at West Point and impending competitive examinations for the naval academy appointment settled the matter for me. I was fortunate enough to get the appointment.”

Tivy Hotel

During his midshipmen days, his “sea-going aspirations were very nearly obliterated by a Sunday excursion across the bay to Kent while in one of Capt. Burgis’ sailing boats. I got frightfully seasick and must confess to some chilling enthusiasm for the sea.”

A humble beginning for a man so honored by his country for his naval service. On December 4, 1944, by act of Congress, the grade of Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy was created. The following day Franklin Roosevelt nominated Nimitz to this position, which was approved by the Senate. Nimitz took the oath of that office on December 19, 1944.

After the war, Nimitz made official visits to Kerrville and Fredericksburg.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, with
his sister, Dora Reagan, during
"Nimitz Day" in Kerrville.

15,000 people celebrated in Kerrville on October 13, 1945 when the community which raised him celebrated “Nimitz Homecoming Day.” During the celebration, Tivy High School presented him with the diploma he’d earned but never received when he left for Annapolis.

After the war, Nimitz served as Chief of Naval Operations, administered the plebiscite that would determine the fate of Jammu and Kashmir for the governments of India and Pakistan, and served as a regent of University of California from 1948-1956.

He died February 20, 1966, and is buried in California.

Back, now to the mystery of a Kerrville grave.

Those who’ve visited small family cemetery at the top of Tivy Mountain will remember four graves: Joseph A. Tivy; his wife, Ella Tivy; his sister, Susan Tivy; plus an unusual grave: “Feline Tivy.”

I’ve previously reported the cat buried on Tivy Mountain belonged to Ella. The book corrects that reporting: the cat belonged to Susan Tivy, the captain’s sister who never married. I’ve also repeated a rumor: the cat was buried there by Chester A. Nimitz, as a favor to Miss Tivy.

Here’s what the book says:

When Miss Tivy’s cat died, it broke her heart. She was living alone at the St. Charles Hotel, when Nimitz’s stepfather and mother managed the hotel. She asked young Chester Nimitz to find a place to bury her cat, where it would not be disturbed.

According to the book, Chester Nimitz buried the cat in the family plot on Tivy Mountain, and placed a wooden marker on its grave.

“Miss Tivy was surprised,” the book states, “but pleased whin Chester told her where he had taken [her cat]. ‘Why not?’ Chester asked. ‘He’s part of the family and belongs there.’”

One other little detail is shared in the book: The cat was a male, with white fur, and around fifteen years old.

Though the marker at the top of Tivy Mountain omits it, the cat’s name was Herman.

Susan Tivy died in 1901, the same year Nimitz left Kerrville for the Naval Academy. She is buried near Herman.

Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who has officiated at several cat funerals, though he never buried a cat in solid stone such as that found at the top of Tivy Mountain. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead September 5, 2024.

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