Luevenia Kemp

Luevenia McCraney Kemp was born early Sunday morning November 25, 1934 (90 years ago) to Anna Branch Bronner and MB McCraney in rural Perthshire, Mississippi. She was the oldest of ten children. Many years later in the mid-forties the family relocated to St. Louis, Missouri with her brothers and sisters. Luevenia attended the St. Louis Public Schools and found her passion in culinary art and the childcare industry. At an early age, Luevenia gave her life to Christ and was baptized by the late Rev. Hanley of the Good Hope Baptist Church. In later years, she united with the Fellowship Baptist Church and became a very loyal, involved, and lifelong member.

Luevenia met Louis Kemp, and he became the love of her life. They married in the fall of 1955. To their union, two daughters Elnora Jean (who preceded her in death) and Diana Marie.

For many years, Luevenia became very serious about her culinary art skills and began working with her cousin, the Master Chef Flem Jones at the St. Louis Chicken House Restaurant. After acquiring additional skills, Luevenia became an assistant chef at the Stan Musial and Biggie's Restaurant. She was well known as the barbeque queen. All of her family and friends have testified that her style of satisfying their taste buds was out of this world, along with an array of delicious sides. Again, she was known for making her own BB sauce and named it Lue's Original. One of Luevenia's favorite pastimes was planting flowers and after so many, many years she became known as the flower lady. She strongly believed that digging in the natural soil with her bare hands was next to Godliness as she was planting seeds.

For many years Luevenia was a childcare mother. She cared for so many children while their mother was at work. Of them were her own grandchildren, relatives, and personal friends. While caring for the children, she gave each of them a special/forever and lifelong name. It was a sweet and fun name that each of them still liked being called by the name Lue Kemp gave them.

Often during her conversations with family and friends, she would say that during her long lifetime, she had two important sayings that were very meaningful to and for her, the first one is "I am so glad that the Lord has been good to me" and the other one was "everyone must pull their own red wagon."

Luevenia was a lover of music and had a wide selection of all genres. Music was always playing as she was listening to her favorite Blues and R/B singers. None of the recording artists could match her lover boy Johnny Mathis. After hearing his first song (Chances Are) she was hooked. He became her favorite and attended numerous concerts and a lifelong member of his fan club. Throughout her home she also had framed pictures of him.

When the trumpet sounded on Saturday, December 21st, Luevenia answered our Heavenly Father's call. Her parents Anna Bronner and MB McCraney, her daughter Elnora Jean, brothers Willie, Jerome, Kenneth and Mark preceded her in death. She leaves to cherish her memory; her beloved daughter, Diana Marie Walton; grandchildren Dana Walton, Darneice Walton, Darwin Walton, Darnell Walton; great-grandchildren Channel Walton, Brierra Walton, Darron Roberts, De Airra Walton, Destini Walton, Diezel Walton, Amaris Walton, Justice Walton, Zion Walton; and great-great grandson Ka'son Amari Murphy; her loving and caring siblings Henry B. Bronner (Ruth Ann), Geneva Atwater, Esther Ray, Laura Myles, Carole MeLaughlin, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, lifelong friends and neighbors.