Obituaries

Gaylord Wayne Smith, age 80, of rural Milford, Missouri, passed away early Thursday morning, May 12, 2016, surrounded by family at his home.      Gaylord was born December 19, 1935, at his family home near Golden City, Missouri to Norval and Katie (Wright) Smith.  After graduating from Lockwood High School in the spring of 1954, he married his high school...

Esther M. Rhoden, age 94, of Liberal, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, May 10, 2016, at Joplin Health and Rehabilitation Center following a long illness.      Esther was born April 14, 1922, in Stark City, Missouri to the late Henry and Lottie (Carpenter) Cummins.  She graduated from Liberal High School.  While working as an aide at the Garrison Street Hospital in...

Bobbi Gaye Jones, age 55, of rural Lamar passed away Saturday, May 7, 2016 at her home.      Bobbi was born May 23, 1960, at Elkhart, Kansas, the fourth of the five children of Virgil and Genevieve (Davis) Williams.  She moved with her family to Missouri in 1962, attended Walker Grade School and graduated from Nevada High School in 1978. ...

Daniel Lewis Slotterback, Jr., age 58, of Lamar, Missouri, died Monday, May 9, 2016 at Freeman Hospital West, Joplin, Missouri.      Daniel was born, February 7, 1958 at Abington, Pennsylvania to Daniel Lewis Slotterback Sr. and Anna (Almonrader) Slotterback.  He graduated Abington High School in 1976 and had attended college.  He had worked in sales for a semi-trailer parts company...

Juanita Rookstool, age 74, Nixa, MO, died Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at Mercy Hospital, Springfield.      Juanita was born December 4, 1941 at Everton, Missouri, to Lee Thomas Stump and Rita Faye (Ford) Stump.  She graduated from Lockwood High School in 1959 and on June 2, 1962 she married Lawrence H. Rookstool at Kansas City, Missouri.  Juanita and Larry lived...

Heather Joleen Dunagan, age 39, of Lamar, passed away Saturday morning, April 16, 2016 at Freeman West Hospital in Joplin.       Heather was born September 3, 1976 at Humansville, Missouri to Doyle and Suzi (Strong) Dunagan.  She graduated from Lamar High School in 1994 and went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Missouri Southern in 2012. ...

Robert Maurice Raines, Jr. age 54, of Lamar, Missouri, died unexpectedly at his home, Wednesday, April 13, 2016.      Robert was born July 1, 1961 at Jefferson City, Missouri to Robert Maurice Raines Sr. and Loretta Louise (Bemboom) Raines.  He attended Stockton High School and was a driver for Murphy Farms for 13 years. Robert had also worked at the...

Leroy Manford Franklin, Jr., age 29, of Joplin, Missouri, passed away Friday, April 1, 2016 at his home after a short illness.      Leroy was born December 22, 1986 at Nevada, Missouri to Leroy and Gaylene Franklin.  He grew up in Lamar, Missouri and graduated from Lamar High School in 2005.  He loved farm equipment, tractors, toys and his family....

Clifford H. Seaton, age 69, of Liberal, Missouri, passed Thursday, March 31, 2016 at Freeman Hospital West, Joplin, Missouri.      Clifford was born August 28, 1946 at Nevada, Missouri to Howard Mortimer Seaton Jr. and Edith Naomi (Yoast) Seaton.  Growing up, he had the opportunity to live in several different Lighthouses, because his father was in the Coast Guard. On...

Forest Don Johnston, age 95, of Golden City, Missouri, died Monday, March 28, 2016 at Good Shepherd Nursing Center, Lockwood, Missouri.      Don was born March 3, 1921 in Adair, Oklahoma to Audie Ray and Allie Mae (Madole) Johnston.  In 1933 at the age of 12, he and his family moved to Barton County, Missouri where he lived out the...

Shirlee Lue Miller, age 78, of Joplin, Missouri passed away Saturday, March 26, 2016 at her home following a long illness.      Shirlee and her twin sister, Sharron, were born September 30, 1937 in Saint Francis, Kansas to Glenn and Gladys (Fisher) Shaul.  In 1947, the Shaul family moved to Lamar, Missouri where Shirlee graduated from high school.  On November...

Lloyd Albert VanGilder, age 85, of Lamar, passed away Friday, March 25, 2016 following a brief illness.      Lloyd was born June 14, 1930 in Lamar, one of four sons of J.T. and Opal (Reiley) VanGilder.  Lloyd’s work ethic and sense of responsibility was evident throughout his life. He entered the U.S. Army in 1952 and served in Korea. Lloyd...

James Marion Fast, age 82, of Lamar, passed away Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at his home following a long illness.      Jim was born May 7, 1933 near Iantha, Missouri, the second of four children of Monte Cristo and Alice (Miller) Fast.  He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Jack Fast; a sister, Patricia Johnson; a son,...

Margaret Rose Couch, age 100, of Lamar, Missouri, died Monday, March 21, 2016 at Truman Healthcare Center.      On October 12, 1915 Margaret Rose Sheppard was the first of five daughters to be born to Hayden and Grace (Moore) Sheppard of Kenoma, Barton County, Missouri.  She would begin her lifelong calling in the nursing field 18 years later after graduating...

Frank O. Hildebrand, age 83, of Lamar, Missouri went home to be with the Lord Thursday, March 17, 2016 at his home surrounded by his family.      Frank was born February 6, 1933 in Wyandotte, Oklahoma, one of the eight children of Sam and Alice (Harris) Hildebrand.  He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Pauline (Hildebrand)...

Robert Paul Nelson, age 81, of Lamar, Missouri passed away Friday, March 11, 2016 at Mercy Hospital in Joplin following a lengthy illness.      Robert was born January 12, 1935 in College Springs, Iowa to Paul and Monterey Nelson.  He graduated from high school in Clearmont, Missouri and proudly served his country for six years in the Army National Guard. ...

Colee Townsley-Grubb, age 26, of Joplin, Missouri passed away Thursday, March 10, 2016 at Freeman West Hospital.      Colee was born April 14, 1989 in Lamar to Lance and Jerri (Soma) Townsley.  She graduated from Lamar High School in 2007 before attending MSU and later pursued a degree in radiology at Missouri Southern.  In addition to being a devoted wife...

Abel Dale Herbert, son of Jonathan Herbert and Bessie Howard, was stillborn, March 5, 2016 at Mercy Hospital, Joplin, Missouri.   He is survived by his parents; one sister, Autumn Nilcole; paternal grandparents, Jimmy Herbert, state of Washington, Carol Lutz, state of Mississippi, maternal grandparents, Johnnie Howard and Awanda Howard of Lamar, Missouri; great-grandparents, James and Anna Tremaine of Cool,...

Julia Anne Carter, age 58, of Lamar, Missouri passed Friday, March 4, 2016 at Freeman Hospital West, Joplin, Missouri.      Julia was born to William “Bill” Heathman and Mary Anne (Davenport) Heathman, August 2, 1957 at Nevada, Missouri.  She graduated high school at Metz, Missouri and on September 10, 1975, she married Wendell E. Carter.  Julia was a homemaker and...

David Loyd Arles, age 56, of Golden City, Missouri, passed away Thursday, February 25, 2016 at his home.      David was born April 4, 1959 at Arkansas City, Kansas to Oscar and Wilma (Spurgeon) Arles.  He had lived in several states and graduated from Luezinger High School in Hawthorne, California.      Survivors include his five brothers and their families, Kenneth...