Obituaries

Mary Jo (Frow) Harris, age 89, of Lamar, Missouri, passed away Thursday, May 28, 2015, at Truman Healthcare Center.    Mary Jo was born June 11, 1925 at Lamar, Missouri, the daughter and only child of Major James Archibald and Cora Belle (Griffin) Frow.  She attended Lamar Schools and graduated high school in the class of 1943. After high school...

Jesse Frank Thrasher, age 91, of Lamar, passed away Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at Freeman West Hospital in Joplin.      Frank was born November 7, 1923, in Gravette, Arkansas, one of the eight children of Eddie and Myra (Jesse) Thrasher.  He was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers, Dave, Paul, Marion, and Doug Thrasher; and his sister, Anna...

Dixie Marie Sparks, age 85, of Lamar, MO died Friday, May 22, 2015 at her home following an illness. Dixie was born June 30, 1929 at El Dorado Springs, MO, to Royston Thompson and Gladys I (McCudy) Thompson.  She grew up and attended school in El Dorado Springs.  On November 15, 1952, she married Lindsey Clyde Sparks at Nevada, MO...

Lori Ann James, age 55, a long time Barton County resident, passed away Thursday, May 14, 2015 at Good Shepherd Nursing Home in Lockwood, with her daughter, Leah, at her side.      Lori was born February 11, 1960, in Oceanside, California to Ronal and Karen (Clubb) Campbell.  She was preceded in death by her mother and a special uncle and...

Don was born August 17, 1935 at Lamar to Roy and Marry (Hooper) Miller and was a life-long Barton County resident.  Empowered by common sense, a strong work ethic and a “can-do” attitude, he met and conquered challenges in his working career and personal life as a leader.  As a general contractor, Don could build a quality barn, garage, or...

Darlene Joan Gardner, age 92, of Lamar, MO, died Monday, May 11, 2015 at Mercy Hospital, Joplin.  Darlene was born April 22, 1923 at Milford, Missouri to Luther Alexander Runion and Leonora Fannie (Onwiler) Runion.  She attended school at Milford.  On March 23, 1981 she married Bill Gardner and he preceded her in death March 11, 2011.     Darlene had...

Betty Lee Swanberg, age 78, of rural Lamar, Missouri, passed away Thursday, May 7, 2015 at her home.      Betty was born April 9, 1937, in Kansas, Illinois, one of three daughters of Chauncey and Ruby (Tomes) Suddeth.  She was preded in death by her parents and a sister, Norma Hofbauer.      After moving to Barton County, Missouri, Betty worked...

Lou A. Scroggs, age 89, of Lamar, passed away Saturday afternoon, May 9, 2015 at Barton County Memorial Hospital.      Lou was born August 5, 1925, near Piedmont, Oklahoma, to L.A. and Ona (Stephens) Hampton.  She graduated from Piedmont High School in 1943 and moved to California during World War II.  In 1949, Lou married Bub Rix and they made...

Mary Louise Pritchard, age 80, of Lamar, passed away May 8, 2015 at her home.      Mary was born March 25, 1935 at Iantha, MO to Sidney Percy and Della (Baston) Percy. At the age of six, she and her family moved to California. After graduating high school she married Harold E. Cowley and together they had two sons.  She...

Mitchell “Mitch” Eugene  Miles, age 69, of Lamar, Missouri, died unexpectedly Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Barton County Memorial Hospital.     Mitch was born March 14, 1946 at Arcadia, Kansas to Eugene Miles and Shirley Dean (Kirksey).  He graduated Arcadia High School in 1965 and went on to receive bachelor degree in music from Pittsburg State University.  On February 10,...

Norman LaFountain, age 55, of Lamar, passed away May 4, 2015 at his home.      Norman was born in Boston, Massachusetts where he spent his childhood and graduated from high school.  He had lived in Lamar for the past eight years and had worked as a fork lift operator at Thorco Industries.  After retiring due to declining health, Norman had...

William Jason “Jay” Darrah, age 45, of Lamar, Missouri died at Barton County Memorial Hospital, Tuesday, May 5, 2015.      Jay was born May 29, 1969 at Kansas City, Missouri to John Merrick Darrah and Marilyn (Frazier) Darrah.  He attended Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri and had worked as a welder for J&W Trailers before becoming disabled.    ...

Rose Marie Stewart, of Lamar, Missouri passed away at the age of 101 in her home on April 29, 2015.       Rose was born January 10, 1914 in Sanford, Maine and spent most of her childhood in Maine.  She enjoyed many activities including going on clam digs, playing basketball in high school, playing piano, singing, dancing and reading.  She loved...

Deana Marie Morrow, age 55, of Lamar, passed away Friday, April 24, 2015 at Truman Healthcare Center.      Deana was born October 2, 1959 in Lamar to James and Wanda (Eversoll) Lewis.  A life-long Lamar resident, Deana loved the outdoors.  She had a deep appreciation of nature and animals, especially quarter horses.  Her natural talent for horse training became apparent...

Barbara Ann Davis, age 84, of Sheldon, Missouri, died Friday, April 24, 2015 at Barton County Memorial Hospital.      Barbara was born November 21, 1930 to Claude and Elma (Patton) Green and attended Bakers Grove Country School.  On August 16, 1952, she married Jack A. Davis at Bentonville, Arkansas and together they raised their six children.  She had worked as...

Norman Charles “Norm” Frock, age 76, of Lamar, passed away Monday evening, April 20, 2015 at Mercy Hospital Joplin.      Norm was born January 20, 1939 in Green County, Arkansas to Albert and Bertha (Goedecke) Frock.  Moving to Lamar with his family, he graduated from Lamar High School in 1959 and began a 35 year career with Finley Engineering and...

Thomas "Tommy" Lee Rives, age 26, of Lamar, MO died Friday April 17, 2015 in an automobile accident.     Tommy was born July 27, 1988 at Kinsley, KS to Clark and Teraysa (Henderson) Rives.      Tommy graduated Harrison, AR High School in 2007 and worked as a diesel mechanic for KRD Trucking.  He loved hiking and fishing and enjoyed hunting...

James Curtis Allen, age 92, passed away on April 10, 2015, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MO.  His loving wife of 68 years, Juanita, preceded him in death November 5, 2012. He was born June 7, 1922, in Winston, MO, the son of Minor and Carrie Belle Allen.  His father died when he was six years old, and Jim was...

Jessie Leon Taylor, age 59, of Lamar, passed away Thursday, April 9, 2015 at his home.      Jessie was born March 3, 1956, in Kansas City, Missouri to Jessie W. and Mary (Leister) Taylor.  He served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged as a Private E-1 October 20, 1981.  Jessie had worked for Sprouls Construction in Lamar, owned...

Don A. Compton, age 87, passed away Monday, April 6, 2015 at Truman Healthcare Center where he had been a resident for the past week.      Don was born July 27, 1927 in Springfield, Missouri, the oldest of the four sons of Vernon and Elsie (Fuhr) Compton.  After graduating from Central High School in Springfield in 1945, he enlisted in...