Obituaries

Patricia Anne “Pat” Williamson, age 88, of Lamar, passed away early Sunday morning, July 5, 2015 at the home of her daughter, Maria O’Sullivan.      Pat was born March 2, 1927, at Kansas City, Missouri to James and Anna Marie (Wagner) Murty.  After high school graduation, Pat attended U.M.K.C. for two years and was active in a college sorority.   On...

Herbert G. Jett, age 85, of Lamar, Missouri passed away Saturday, June 27, 2015 at Truman Healthcare Center, following a long illness.       Herb was born January 4, 1930 in Bland, Missouri to Victor D. & Bessie (Yoakum) Jett.  He graduated from High School in Bland in 1948 where he met and later married Roxy M. Fisher in 1951.  She...

Ina Maxine Morin, age 88, of Lamar, passed away Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Freeman West Hospital.      Maxine was born September 4, 1926 on the family farm near Jasper, Missouri, the oldest of the six children of Oval and Nancy (Law) Sims.  She was preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Charlie Sims; and a sister, Margaret Rea. ...

Mary “Marie” Polston, age 95, of Sheldon, Missouri, passed unexpectedly, Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at Oakview Estates in Frontenac, Kansas.     Marie was born April 12, 1920 at Cherokee, Kansas to John and Maggie (Castagno) Simon.  After graduating high school at Cherokee, Kansas, she attended Mt. Carmel Hospital Nursing School, in Pittsburg, where she graduated as a registered nurse in...

Phillip Lee Storm, age 87, of Lamar, Missouri passed away at his home Wednesday, June 10, 2015 following a long illness.      Lee was born October 25, 1927 near Oronogo, Missouri, the sixth of the ten children of Sam and Viola (Minkler) Storm.  He was preceded in death by his parents; seven brothers, Oral, Troy, Jack, Fred, Ray, Floyd and...

Jane Suzanne Bunton, age 53, of Liberal, MO died Sunday, May 31, 2015 at her home, following a battle with cancer.    Suzanne was born, July 10, 1961 in Monett, MO to Harold Dean Stockton and Anna Jane (Page) Stockton.  After graduating Aurora High School in 1979, she went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Pittsburg...

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...

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...

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...

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...