John & Elizabeth Mole Memorial

An infant boy born in northeastern Great Britain was abandoned by his mother. He was adopted and named John Mole. As a boy, John was a good student and a talented player of British “football.” (The same sport is called “soccer” in the US.) When John completed high school, he served as an indentured apprentice marine engineering fitter for five years. During this time, he met and married Elizabeth “Bette” Richardson. Bette attended business college and became an office assistant and secretary. John served in Malaya in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces for two years. When John returned to Great Britain, he returned to his work as a fitter.

A top executive of Sweetheart Cup from the United States visited the factory where John was working and offered him a position in England at Sweetheart International. The executive continued to be impressed with John’s work and asked John to relocate to Chicago. John and Bette agreed and enthusiastically settled in their new home. As John was moved to higher positions, Sweetheart also moved the couple to Wilmington, MA and then Springfield, MO. Elizabeth supported him in each move, established a new home and took secretarial positions.

John was appointed Corporate Graphics Manager of Graphic Services in Springfield. He led the team that designed the Sweetheart logo that was widely used by the company. John was recognized within the company for his innovation and high expectations. He retired in 1998.

After their retirement, John and Elizabeth continued to travel extensively both in the United States and internationally. Although they were well established as residents of the United Stated, they always maintained their British citizenship.

John had a lifelong passion for horse racing, visited many race tracks and developed several systems for handicapping races. He was also an amateur writer. He wrote and self-published seven short novels, several of which included horse racing in the plot.

Elizabeth enjoyed experimenting with new recipes, drawing and painting.

Although John and Elizabeth had decided early in their marriage that they would not be parents, they both loved children. They left the vast majority of their estate to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.