PARMA - J.D. Bratcher, 71, died Oct. 24, 2004, at his home.
Born May 3, 1933, in Catron, son of the late Dennie and Viola Blair Bratcher, he lived in St. Louis before moving to Parma in 1980. He was a retired farm laborer and veteran of the U.S. Army.
On Oct. 12, 1962, in St. Louis, he married Marie Barton who survives of the home.
Other survivors include; one son, David Ray Bratcher of Parma; 12 daughters, Kathy Clark of Malden, Sharon Spoon of Poplar Bluff, Estella Bates of Tampa, Fla., Barbara Lynn of Valley Park, Melinda Wheeler of Dittmer, Bertha Sherritze of Bernie, Karen Keown of Madisonville, Ky., Rose Berend of Arnold, Kathy Goad of Illinois, Anita Watkins of Festus, Mary Hunt of New Madrid and Millie Ghattas of Fenton; four sisters, Berniece Ward of Fisk, Bertha Mae Buck of Braggadocio, Lois Dingman of South Dakota and Edna Ratican of Parma; and 43 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by one son, Dennie Bratcher; one daughter, Carol Ann Earnheart; and one brother, Phillip Bratcher.
Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Parma where services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Rev. Jimmy Gilbert of Kewanee will officiate.
Burial will follow in the Parma City Cemetery.