Huffaker
Anderson, Mo.
Mildred Kathleen "Kathy"Wood, 64, of Anderson, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, Mo., following a sudden illness. She was born Nov. 27, 1943, in Seattle, Wash., to Bert Nelson and Mildred Todd Nelson.
She married Merlin Wood on Dec. 27, 1962, in Milwaukee, Wis. She moved to Anderson in 2000 from Bloomington, Ill. She served in the U. S. Air Force. She was a member of the Pineville (Mo. ) Christian Church and a member and supporter of the Republican Club. She was an accomplished cook and began the Pepper Club in Pineville. She enjoyed fishing, collecting many types of toys and baseball cards, watching mystery shows and the Food Network, and attending her grandchildren's sporting events. Survivors include her husband of 45 years, Merlin Wood; a son and daughter-in-law, Mike Wood and Debra Wood of Pineville, Mo.; a daughter, JoAnna Wood of Bloomington, Ill.; a sister, Jeanine Bierman of Milwaukee, Wis.; two grandchildren, Jacob Wood and Kayla Wood; and two nephews, Mark Bierman and Steven Bierman. A remembrance celebration will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Pineville Christian Church in Pineville, Mo. Arrangements are by Walker-Dowd Funeral Home of Anderson. Memorials may be made to the Pepper Club, in care of Walker-Dowd Funeral Home.
Bella Vista
Flossie Mae Harlow, 88, of Bella Vista, Ark., died Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008, at Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville, Ark. She was born June 15, 1920, in Meta, Mo., to Charles William Welsh and Emma Parthena Woody Welsh.
She moved to northwest Arkansas in August 1981 from St. Louis, Mo. She married M. Lee Harlow on Jan. 29, 2004. She was a member of the Bella Vista Baptist Church, the Five-Hole Golf League and the Ceramics Club of Bella Vista. She was a volunteer for Village House in Bella Vista.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, William Barton, on July 29, 2000; two brothers; and four sisters.
Survivors include her husband, M. Lee Harlow; a son, Gary Richard Barton of Lenexa, Kan.; a daughter, Judith Mae Stewart of St. Louis, Mo.; and seven grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Bella Vista Baptist Church with the Rev. Michael McCauley.
Arrangements are by the Bella Vista Funeral Home and Crematory.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bella Vista Baptist Church, 50 E. Lancashire Blvd., Bella Vista, AR 72714.
Robert L. "Bob"Huffaker, 93, of Bella Vista, Ark., died Friday, Oct. 3, 2008, at his home. He was born June 3, 1915, in Anderson, Mo., to Robert Huffaker and Minnie Huffaker.
He was educated in the McDonald County, Mo., public schools, where he was an accomplished athlete. His baseball skills earned him a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He received a basketball scholarship to Centenary College and received an undergraduate degree from Southwest Missouri State College. He was a teacher and basketball coach at Noel (Mo. ) High School, Goodman (Mo. ) High School and Anderson High School. During the 1941-42 season, his Anderson basketball team won the conference and regional championships and advanced to the state championship for the first time in the history of the school.
After several years of service with the U. S. Army Reserve, he entered the U. S. Army in 1942. He completed Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Military Police Corps in 1943. During his 35-year military career, he served throughout the world and rose to the rank of full colonel. During World War II, he served in the Military Police, the 2 nd Calvary Division and the 770 th Military Police Battalion. He also served in the Headquarters 8 th Army in Korea; at the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala.; in the 4 th Armored Division in Germany; as associate professor of military science at the University of Texas; and in Vietnam under Gen. William Westmoreland. He received the Legion of Merit Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Merit Medal of the Republic of Vietnam and numerous other service medals and campaign ribbons.
After retirement from the Army in 1968, he began another career in Florida with a prominent real-estate development company. He became a vice president with the company while living in Palm Bay, Fla. In 1990, he retired permanently and moved to Bella Vista, where he lived until his death. He was a mentor and counselor to many friends and acquaintances. He enjoyed keeping informed on current events and debating the issues of the day.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Howard Huffaker; and a sister, Grace Morris.
Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Robert Huffaker and Kitty Huffaker of Montgomery, Ala.; a daughter and son-in-law, Susan Dunham and Michael Dunham of Oklahoma City, Okla.; three grandchildren, Robert Austin Huffaker, Matthew Lee Huffaker and Michael Drew Dunham; several greatgrandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at Ozark Funeral Home of Anderson, Mo.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Circle of Life Hospice, 901 Jones Road, Springdale, AR 72762; or to the McDonald County Schools Foundation, in care of the Superintendent's Office, 100 Mustang Drive, Anderson, MO 64831. Arie Poldervaart Arie Poldervaart, 68, of Bella Vista, Ark., died Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008, at his home. Arrangements are pending with the Benton County Memorial Park Funeral Home of Rogers, Ark. Bentonville Edward Eugene Garrett Edward Eugene Garrett, 61, of Bentonville, Ark., died Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, at a local nursing home. He was born Dec. 7, 1946. Arrangements are pending with Epting Funeral Home of Bentonville.
Gentry
Edwin Frederick Schwerin, 82, of Gentry, Ark., died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, at Quail Ridge Living Center in West Siloam Springs, Okla. He was born May 8, 1926, in Mediapolis, Iowa, to Henry Herman Schwerin and Marie Louise Moehle Schwerin. He graduated from Mediapolis High School in 1943 and was a U. S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He married Mary Esther Sutcliffe on Oct. 24, 1947, in Mediapolis. He was a farmer and a Presbyterian. He was preceded in death by a son, Randall Schwerin; and two brothers. Survivors include his wife, Mary Esther Schwerin; three sons and two daughters-inlaw, Dennis Schwerin and Marlene Schwerin, Daryl Schwerin, and Kerry Schwerin and Jacquelyn Schwerin, all of Gentry; a daughter-in-law, Joan Schwerin of Colcord, Okla.; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12, at Wasson Funeral Home of Siloam Springs, Ark.
Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, at the First Presbyterian Church in Siloam Springs with the Rev. Breck Castelman.
Burial will be at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Siloam Springs. Lee's Summit, Mo.
Ona Eylene Ellison, 98, of Lee's Summit, Mo., died Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008. She was born May 18, 1910, in Mills County, Iowa, to Winfield Scott and Ona M. Edie Scott.
She was a longtime resident of John Knox Village in Lee's Summit, where she was also a volunteer. She retired to the Kansas City area in 1982 from Greeley, Colo., where she was a community-service representative for Capers Weekly for more than 30 years. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Lee's Summit.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Jessie Lee Ellison, in 1954; two sisters; and three brothers.
Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, James Lee Ellison and Virginia Lee Ellison of Bella Vista, Ark.; a daughter, Jimmie Charlene Herbst of Kansas City, Mo.; four grandchildren, James Ellison Jr. of Pleasanton, Calif., Christy Massey of Vista, Calif., Doug Ellison of Bella Vista and Mike Herbst of Rhome, Texas; eight great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at St. Theodore's Episcopal Church in Bella Vista, Ark. Arrangements are by Mount Moriah Terrace Park Funeral Home of Kansas City, Mo. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 1801 Forest Hills Blvd., Suite 200, Bella Vista, AR 72715.
Rogers
Maxine L. Phipps, 92, of Rogers, Ark., died Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008. She was born July 29, 1916, in Rogers. She was a homemaker and did volunteer work and sang for local nursing homes. In California, she worked for Sears and co-owned a landscaping business with her husband. She had been a member of the Open Door Baptist Church in Rogers since 1976. She was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Kenneth Cecil Phipps, in 2001; a son, Ronald Phipps; and a sister, Geraldine Langston. Survivors include a daughter, Joan Luker of Rogers; two sisters, MaryAnn Lasater of Pea Ridge, Ark., and Barbara Estep of Ukiah, Calif.; two brothers, Ralph Murphy of Rogers and John D. Murphy of Arizona; three grandchildren, Rene Gale of Pea Ridge, Jeana Caporimo of Arizona and Subrina Holley of California; and 11 great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, at the Benton County Funeral Home in downtown Rogers. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, at the Benton County Funeral Home with Pastor Al Maines. Private interment will be at the Oakley Chapel Cemetery in Rogers.
Seligman, Mo.
Jimmie Ray Fletcher, 63, of Seligman, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, at his home. He was born April 28, 1945, in Barry County, Mo., to Harold B. Fletcher and Lois S. Mahurin Fletcher. He was employed by Mc-Donald County, Mo., as a road grader for 13 years before his retirement in 2007. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and working in his yard, and was known in the area for his outdoor Christmas display. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Lorene Tidwell and Marcella Fletcher. Survivors include his wife, Sharon Kay Fletcher; three daughters, Cynthia Kay Kesler of Guthrie, Okla., and LaDena Marie Wilson and Virginia Faye Ferrell, both of Springdale, Ark.; a stepdaughter, Crystal Lavina Gentry of Pea Ridge, Ark.; a son, Jimmy Dale Fletcher of Pea Ridge; a sister, Evelyn Fletcher of Pea Ridge; three brothers, Edward Fletcher and Gene Fletcher, both of Lockwood, Mo., and Ernest Fletcher of Jacket, Mo.; and 17 grandchildren. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, at Sisco Funeral Home of Pea Ridge, Ark. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the New Life Church in Pea Ridge with Brother Jamey Cope. Burial will be at the Roller Cemetery on Highway 90 in Missouri.
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