Obituaries

SIKESTON — Dantwan Aaron O'mar Johnson Sr., 34, died Oct. 10, 2019, at Saint Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Born Feb. 23, 1985, in Sikeston, son of Sandra Lee Vaughn of Sikeston and Michael Simmons of Cape Girardeau, he attended Sikeston Senior High School...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — Albert Herman Eftink, 98, died Oct. 13, 2019, at Chaffee Nursing Center. Born Dec. 13, 1920, in Portageville, son of the late John H. and Josephine Glastetter Eftink, he was a self-employed farmer all of his life. He was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Chaffee and St. Ambrose Men’s Club...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Aline Allen, 64, died Oct. 10, 2019, at Universal Hospital in Columbia. Born June 12, 1955, in East Prairie, daughter of the late Jack and Reviue Allen, she was a 1974 graduate of Charleston High School and a resident at Parkside Manor nursing home in Columbia...

SPOKANE, Wash. — Bryan Lee Powell, 46, died Oct. 8, 2019. Born April 10, 1973, son of the late Marvin James Powell and Patsy Powell Hunt, he graduated from East Prairie High School in 1992. In 1994, he moved to Spokane and had worked for Schwan's, Sherwin Williams, Overall Laundry and BNSF, where he worked the past 14 years as an engineer...

SIKESTON — Everett P. Taylor, age 79, a resident of Sikeston, passed away Oct. 12, 2019, at the Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born June 28, 1940, in Caraway, Ark., to the late Harrison P. and  Fannie Nelson Taylor. Everett held the rank of Private First Class with the United States Army where he served as a sharpshooter before his honorable discharge in 1969...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Opal Boone, 89, died Oct. 11, 2019, at Breeze Park in Weldon Spring. Born March 21, 1930, in Portageville, she was the daughter of the late Ada Mae Taylor Pigg and James Pigg.     

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. – Michael James Kimble, 46, died Oct.11, 2019, at his home in East Prairie.  Born July 21, 1973, in St. Louis, son of Lou Kimble of East Prairie, he was a mechanic for Craftsman Trailer. A 1992 graduate of East Prairie High School, he was a member of First Baptist Church of East Prairie.

DANDRIDGE, Tenn. — James “Jim” Ashley left this earth on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2019, at his home in Dandridge. Jim was preceded in death by his loving wife and exceptional mother of his children, Catherine “Wolfe” Ashley as well as his parents, James and Opal Williams Ashley of Charleston, Missouri...

CHAFFEE, Mo. — On Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, Lucille Modglin Halter departed this life at Chateau Girardeau Skilled Nursing Facility at the age of 95 years. She was born on Nov. 28, 1923, in Thebes, Ill., to William Albert and Dora Emilia Baumunk Modglin. She and Albert Leo Halter were united in marriage on July 14, 1948. He preceded her in death on June 7, 2010...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Susan Estes Spencer, 68, died Oct. 9, 2019, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Survivors include: one daughter, Missi (Claudie) Cook of Portageville; two sisters, Patty Johnson and Myra Estes of Portageville; four brothers, Virgil Estes and Jack Estes of Portageville, Dennis Estes of Sequin, Texas, and John R. “Sonny” Burns of Montgomery, Texas; and three grandchildren...

THE VILLAGES, Fla. — John A. Bloecher Jr., 66,died Aug. 25, 2019 at his home in The Villages. Born April 6, 1953, in St. Louis, Mo., son of John A. Bloecher Sr. and the late Patricia R. Dyke, he graduated in 1971 from Pattonville, Mo., High School. On Sept. 27, 1975, in St. Louis, he married Cynthia A. McClintock, who survives of the home...

KEWANEE, Mo. — Nathan Gunther Jr., age 95, a resident of the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau, passed away Oct. 8, 2019. He was born Nov. 4, 1923, in Kirkwood Springs, Ky., the only child of Nath and Cecillia Capps Gunther. Nathan moved with his parents to Pemiscot County in 1936 and he graduated from Wardell High School in 1942. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the European Theater of Operations, he was a retired farmer and a retiree of Noranda Aluminum...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — David Dale Waters, son of Joyce Waters of Dexter and the late Columbus “Jack” Waters was born on Aug. 25, 1951, in Canalou and departed this life on Oct. 9, 2019, at St. Louis University Hospital in St. Louis at the age of 68 years...

SIKESTON — Beulah Mae Parker, 83, died Oct. 9, 2019, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born March 2, 1936, in Johnson County, Ark., she was the daughter of the late Gabe and Jewel Willis Shipp. On July 1, 2000, she married Junior Ray Parker, who preceded her in death on July 23, 2018...

SIKESTON — Billie Wayne Moore, 62, died Oct. 1, 2019, at his home in Sikeston. Born June 28, 1957, in New Madrid County, son of Earlean Moore of New Madrid and the late Tom Moore Jr., he was a U.S. Army veteran. Survivors include: five children, Orlando, Demetrius, Billie, Antwon and Jason; and siblings, grandchildren and great-grandchildren...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Alberta Moody Gardner, 95, formerly of Sikeston, died Sept. 28, 2019, at her home in Columbia. Born Jan. 17, 1924, in Holly Grove, Ark., daughter of the late Frank and Lady Gaye Johnson Moody, she was a longtime member of West End Missionary Baptist Church and Traveler's Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Sikeston. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Comedora Nelson Clark, 95, died Oct. 3, 2019, at his home in Portageville. Born Sept. 19, 1924, Bokerton, son of the late Bertie Territt Clark and Chapter Clark, he was a 60-year mason and retired from the Carpenters Union in Illinois. He had owned several businesses in Portageville and Illinois.  ...

SIKESTON — Timothy Noel 'Tim' Bell, age 65, passed away Oct. 8, 2019, at his home in Sikeston. He was born Jan. 21, 1954, in Cape Girardeau, to the late Richard and Alma Fischer Bell. Tim was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and had been a route driver for Triple L. Contracting (FedEx) before retiring. He was assistant coach of youth baseball and soccer teams and enjoyed reading and studying the Bible...

SIKESTON — Michael Ray Jeffries, 55, died Oct. 5, 2019 in Sikeston.  Born Sept. 3, 1964, in Sikeston, son of the late Billy D. and Ruth A. (Crawford) Jeffries, he grew up in Sikeston and was a member of Tanner Street Church of God. He received a bachelor’s degree from Southeast Missouri State University; he then received his juris doctorate from Jones University in Montgomery, Ala. ...

SIKESTON — Getty Moy, age 87, passed away Oct. 4, 2019, at Delta South Nursing Center in Sikeston. Born Feb. 12, 1932, in Canton, China, she was the daughter of the late Andrew and Fong Me Yuen. On Aug. 7, 1955, in China, she married Chi Cheung Moy, who preceded her in death on April 5, 2015.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Pauline Hamilton, 75, died Oct. 2, 2019, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Born June 28, 1944, in Ridgely, Tenn., daughter of the late Willie D. and Mary Ella Johnson Hopson, she had been a homemaker. She married Charles Hamilton in Charleston, and he preceded her in death...

MONROE, Ga. — Calvin Douglas Pullen Sr., 68, formerly of Bell City, Mo., died Sept. 26, 2019, at Piedmont Walton Hospital in Monroe. Born Dec. 18, 1950, in Bell City, son of the late Elder J.C. and Elnora Shannon Pullen Jr., he attended high school in Bell City and then Three Rivers Junior College in Poplar Bluff. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Cora Ellen Gremard, 87, died Oct. 5, 2019, at Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Born May 22, 1931, in Portageville, daughter of the late Katie Mae Tharp and William R. Jones, she earned her credential as an optometric assistant while living in California and had worked with her husband in several businesses and as an artist. ...

SIKESTON — Frank Owen Wright, age 74, passed away Oct. 3, 2019, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He was born Feb. 16, 1945, in Kennett, Missouri, son of the late Walter and Maudie Wright. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served during the Vietnam War, and worked as an electrician for the IBEW Local No. 1 before retiring...

EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. — Betty Dillard, 79, died Oct. 2, 2019, at Bertrand Nursing Center in Bertrand. Born Dec. 22, 1939, in Lawrenceville, Ill., she was the daughter of the late Dave Martin and Emmer Elizabeth Smith Phillips. Her husband, Clarence Dillard, preceded her in death...

ARLINGTON, Tenn. — Opal Gasser, 98, died Oct. 2, 2019, at the Methodist North Hospital in Memphis. Born Oct. 23, 1920, in Crowder, daughter of the late Alonzo and Irene Strong Waldrup, she had lived in Dudley, where she and her husband were farmers until moving to Arlington in 1997. She attended the Baptist Church and was a member of the Eastern Star...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Danny Lee Graham, 59, went home to be with the Lord on Sept. 22, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 26, 1960, in Cairo, Ill., to the late Joseph Claude “Toots” Graham and Veda Mae Peevyhouse Graham of Charleston. He lived in Charleston most of his life and worked as a construction laborer for Robinson Construction...

HARRISON, Ark. — James Hearold Adams, formerly of rural Sikeston, Missouri, died Sept. 30, 2019, in Harrison. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Ponder Funeral Home in Sikeston, where services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday.

LILBOURN, Mo. — Jeremy Duty, 34, died Sept. 30, 2019, in Lilbourn. Born Oct. 23, 1984, in Hayti, he was the son of Peggy Sue Duty of Lilbourn and William Duty of Piggott, Ark. Survivors include: three children, James Ethan Duty, Christopher William Duty and Keraston Duty of Lilbourn; two brothers, Jason Duty and Derrick Duty of California; and his former wife, Kimberly Gray of Portageville...

SIKESTON — Maxine Hicks, 93, died Oct. 2, 2019, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center in Sikeston. Born Feb. 2, 1926, in La Forge, she was the daughter of the late Ernest and Ellinore Boyette Lee. In December 1942 in New Madrid, she married Walter Weldon Hicks, who preceded her in death...

O’FALLON, Mo. — John B. Stark Barney, 79, died Oct. 1, 2019, at NHC Healthcare in Town and Country. Born May 17, 1940, in Malden, son of the late John and Gladys Beer Stark and adopted by the late Anson and Amah Julian Barney, he had moved to St. Louis in 1965 and O'Fallon in 1995. He had worked for Lincoln Engineering as a group leader. He was of the Baptist belief...

SIKESTON — Lila J. Harden, 99, died Oct. 1, 2019, at the Sikeston Convalescent Center in Sikeston. Born March 25, 1920, in Canalou, she was the daughter of the late Cyrus and Susan McKinney Pointer. On Oct. 20, 1935, in New Madrid County, she married James Louis Harden, who preceded her in death on Oct. 6, 1982...

WYATT, Mo. – Gladys Brown Sevic, 99, died Oct. 1, 2019, at her home in Wyatt.

SIKESTON — Thelma Hill West Tanksley, 85, died Oct. 1, 2019, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. Born Nov. 23, 1933, in New Madrid, Mo., daughter of the late Otis and Eula Mae Hill, she was of the Christian belief and a member of West End Missionary Baptist Church, where she served on the Mother's Board, Choir Director and Secretary. ...

HOUSTON, Texas — Vicki Marlene Whistler, 71, died Sept. 21, 2019, in Houston. Born July 29, 1948, in Borger, she was the daughter of the late Harvey Leonard and Anna Jean Dorsey Davis On Feb. 8, 1969, she married Stephen P. Whistler, who preceded her in death on Aug. 27, 2011...

SIKESTON — Ramona Owens, 89, died Sept. 30, 2019. Born Nov. 7, 1929, in Lilbourn, daughter of the late Raymond and Bessie (Taylor) Lloyd, she was a member of the Concordia Lutheran Church in Sikeston. She worked in education all of her life. She began her career in Wardell, then Lilbourn and finally Sikeston Public Schools where she taught first grade at Southeast Elementary until her retirement in 1991. ...

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Terrez D. Taylor, 21, died Sept. 25, 2019, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Born Feb. 24, 1998, in Sikeston, he was the son of Otis and Tosha Maxwell Taylor of Howardville. In addition to his parents, survivors include: one daughter, Kymlee Nicole Taylor of Poplar Bluff; three sisters, Latrisha Resonna of St. ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — Bernadette Mary Teresa Fuwell, 80, died Sept. 28, 2019, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Born July 9, 1939, in Chicago, daughter of the late Leo Lucas and Rose Coones Lucas, she was a homemaker. On Aug. 15, 1959, in Chicago, she married Buford Roy Fuwell Sr., who preceded her in death on May 19, 2009...

SIKESTON — Mary Corinthia Childers Hamilton, 84, died Sept. 26, 2019, at her home in Sikeston. Born Jan. 11, 1935, at Wolf Island, to the late Eddie Leon Childers and Joyce Valentine Collins Childers, she had lived many years in Bernie where she taught Head Start at Bernie Schools. ...

ROCKFORD, Ill. — Ruth Ann Eilders, 81, died Sept. 16 at The Arbors at Autumn Creek in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Born Oct. 15, 1937 in Stephenson County, Ill. to the late Elmer W. and Helen Shadle Gartner, she graduated from Lena High School in 1955 and was a bookkeeper who enjoyed crocheting and knitting...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Heidi Neiland Hall, 49, a former employee of the Democrat Advertiser in Sikeston, died Sept. 25, 2019. Born Dec. 18, 1969, in Wilmington, Delaware, to the late George Travis Nieland and of Claudia Dunne Haley and Randy Haley, her stepfather, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, she was raised in Sikeston, beginning her rise through the newspaper industry at the Democrat Advertiser. ...

DEXTER, Mo. — Maxine Daniel, 95, died Sept. 19, 2019, at the Winchester Nursing Center in Bernie, Mo. Born March 24, 1924, in St. Louis, Mo., to the late Leslie Harrison and Frona Francis Stuart, she lived in Dexter most of her life where she worked as a bank teller and bookkeeping department supervisor and caseworker with the Stoddard County Family Service office. She was a member of the First Christian Church in Dexter where she taught youth and adult Sunday School, sang in the...

SIKESTON - Albert Lee Cox, age 72, passed away Wednesday, September 25, 2019, at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He was born January 4, 1947, in Sikeston, Missouri to the late J.F. Cox, Jr. and Alberta Masters Cox. He was a member of Trinity Baptist Church of Sikeston, graduated from Sikeston High School in 1964, received a degree in accounting from Southeast Missouri State University, as well as a law degree from Memphis State. ...

BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. — John Christopher "Chris" Jenkins, 45, died Sept. 20, 2019, at Beaumont Hospital in Trenton, Mich. Born May 27, 1974, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., the son of Johnny Lee Jenkins and the late Kim Darlene Dodd Morgan, he lived in Dexter most of his life and worked as a welder at a steel mill...

SIKESTON — C. Alex Abatti Sr, age 88, passed away September 21, 2019 at the Delta South Nursing Facility in Sikeston, Missouri.  He was born September 18, 1931 in Imperial Valley, CA, to the late Batista and Antonia Abatti. He served in the United States Army from 1953 until 1955 and held the rank of a Specialist Third Class.  He had a great love for his country and especially for our 40th President, Ronald Reagan.  Alex served as an advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture during the Reagan Administration. . ...

BERTRAND, Mo. - Betty Chappell, 89, died Sept. 24, 2019, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston. She was born Aug. 22, 1930, in Blodgett, Mo., to the late Chester and Esther Caul Wagoner. She was a member of the Baptist faith and had worked as a waitress for Harvest Cafe before retiring...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Bradley Cooper Warren, 57, died Sept. 23, 2019. Born Feb. 26, 1962, at Sikeston, to Pam Warren Crawford and the late Lynn LaPlant, he was a graduate of Charleston High School and a member of First Baptist Church of Charleston and was retired from Ameren UE. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Jewell Deere Burgess, 105, died Sept. 20, 2019, at Missouri Delta Hospital in Sikeston.  Born April 18, 1914, in Lexington, Tenn., to the late Sylvester and Daisy (Todd) Deere, she received a teaching certificate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and a BS in Education degree in 1952 from Arkansas State College. ...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Bertha Smith, 74, died Sept. 12, 2019 in Cape Girardeau. Born Aug. 24, 1945 in Steele, Mo., to the late Junior Simpson and Vinia Holloman Willis. Survivors include: one daughter Ophelia Smith, one sister Evie Willis, three brothers, Leon Willis, Eugene Willis and Tommie Willis; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Verlin F. “Coconut” Copeland, 90, died Sept. 22, 2019, in Hayti, Mo. Born Nov. 4, 1928, in Arkansas, son of the late Charles F. and Cora Mae Northcutt Copeland, he worked for EBG and ADI and was a member of the Boekerton Baptist Church...