Obituaries

Jack L. Swartz, age 71, of Lamar, died Friday July 31, 2009 at St. John’s Regional Medical Center after short illness.   He was born January 21, 1938 at Lamar, to LeRoy and Margaret (Nelson) Swartz.  Jack graduated Lamar High School 1955 and served as a Tank Sergeant in the National Guard.   On January 10, 1959 at Odessa, Mo., he...

Myrl E. Davis, age 90, of Lamar, died Sunday, August 2, 2009 at Lockwood, MO after a short illness. He was born August 18, 1918 at Montezuma, KS to Clarence E. Davis and Etrulia E. Meyer.  He was a lifelong area resident and spent most of his life as a Cattle Farmer.   Myrl is survived by one sister, Elsie...

David G. Carpenter      David G. Carpenter, age 62, of Liberal, died Monday, July 27, 2009 at Barton County Memorial Hospital following a brief illness.         David was born March 6, 1947 at Oskaloosa, to Willie A. & Carrie (Guss) Carpenter.  A life-long area resident, he graduated from Liberal High School in 1965 and attended Ozark Christian College in...

Marjorie Faulkner      Marjorie F. Faulkner, age 92, of Lamar, passed away Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at Barton County Memorial Hospital.        Marj was born August 23, 1916, at Lamar, to Charles and Mattie (Mitchell) Gould.  After graduating from Lamar High School in 1934, she earned a degree in cosmetology in Kansas City.  In addition to being a devoted...

Claude Earl Baston, age 88, of Iantha, Missouri passed away at 12:10 a.m. Sunday, July 19, 2009 at Barton County Memorial Hospital.      Claude was born February 4, 1921 in Barton County to George and Laura Blanchard Baston.  As a young man during the hardships of the depression, Claude worked in the C.C. Camps and was involved in the construction...

Mildred Lucille Diggs, age 90, of Lamar, passed away Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at Barton County Memorial Hospital.        Mildred was born December 22, 1918, in Mindenmines, Missouri, to G. Cleve and Bertha (Sterling) Hale.  A life-long Barton County resident, Mildred graduated from Lamar High School in 1936 and began working at Meyer Drug Store.  She worked as a...

Grace Elaine Arnold, age 80, of Lamar, passed away Saturday, June 27, 2009, surrounded by her family at Barton County Memorial Hospital.        Gracie was born January 1, 1929, at Campbellsport, Wisconsin, to William and Helen (Breyman) Martin.  After graduating from high school in Milwaukee in 1946 she moved to Lamar where, on June 21, 1947, she married Clarence...

Clarence Wesley “Bud” Abts, age 86, of Liberal, Missouri, passed away Thursday, June 25, 2009 at Truman Healthcare Center in Lamar.        Bud was born March 29, 1923, in Brule, Nebraska, one of the ten children of Clyde and Dena (Fritzen) Abts.  He graduated from Big Springs Nebraska High School and served in the U.S. Army during World War...

Melvin O. Worley, age 87, of Lamar, Missouri, passed away Friday, June 26, 2009 at his home.        Melvin was born October 9, 1921 at Mammoth Springs, Arkansas to Silas & Nellie (Flynn) Worley.  He served his country in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945.   On September 19, 1942 he married Eileen Withrow at Nevada, Missouri.  He...

Norma June (Epple) Curtis, age 62, passed away on June 24, 2009 at Barton County Memorial Hospital. Norma was born July 3, 1946 to George L. Epple and Hattie L. (Smith) Epple. She graduated from Lamar High School in 1964 and was a lifetime resident of Lamar, Missouri.  On September 29, 1972, she married Warren L. Curtis and her only...

Dr. R.W. “Docky” Dimond        Dr. Ralph Wilson “Docky” Dimond, age 88, of Lamar, passed away Friday, June 19, 2009, at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin.        Docky was born September 19, 1920, in his family home in Lamar, to Dr. Walter & Emma (Booten) Dimond.  After graduating from Lamar High School in 1938, Ralph attended Missouri State...

Dr. R.W. “Docky” Dimond        Dr. Ralph Wilson “Docky” Dimond, age 88, of Lamar, passed away Friday, June 19, 2009, at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin.        Docky was born September 19, 1920, in his family home in Lamar, to Dr. Walter & Emma (Booten) Dimond.  After graduating from Lamar High School in 1938, Ralph attended Missouri State...

Philip G. Jeffries, age 79, of Lamar, died at his home, Sunday June 14 after a 2 year illness. Mr. Jeffries was born October 19, 1929, in Lamar, Missouri, to James N. and Effie Caroline (Gordon) Jeffries.  He was the youngest of 13 living siblings.  During high school he worked at F.M. Thorpe Manufacturing Company.  He graduated from Lamar High...

Della Joy Ford, age 59, of Lamar, passed away Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin.        Della was born January 9, 1950, at White Earth, Minnesota, to Lawrence and Corrine (Antell) McKenzie.  She grew up in Lengby and Big Falls, Minnesota, graduating from Gimmil High School and completing two years of college. When she was...

Charlene Lynn Turner, age 64, of Lamar, passed away at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday, June 2, 2009, at St. John’s Medical Center in Joplin following a short illness.        Charlene was born December 11, 1944, at St. Francis, Kansas, to Emil and Dorma (Shaul) Schorzman.  She graduated from Lamar High School in 1962 and was married the following September 30th...

Helen Florence Whitchurch, age 86, formerly of Lamar, passed away Thursday, May 28, 2009, at St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, California.        Helen was born September 12, 1922, at Ponca City, Oklahoma, to William and Madeline (Rhoads) Gough.  She married Marcus J. Brockman and he preceded her in death in 1954.  Helen was married to Claude “Cotton” Whitchurch...

Edwin L. Van Dorn, age 69, of Mindenmines, passed away Thursday, May 28, 2009, at Landmark Hospital in Joplin.        Edwin was born June 3, 1939, in Lamar, Missouri, to Harry and Hazel (Corben) Van Dorn. Edwin joined the U.S. Army in 1964 and served in Germany.  In addition to farming, he had worked for various factories including Harvest...

Betty Morey, age 81, of Lamar, Missouri, died Saturday, May 23, 2009 at Truman Healthcare Center.  She was born October 12, 1927 to Alfred and Myrtle Thomas at Newport, Missouri.   In 1945, Betty worked at Travelers Hotel in Lamar at a waitress and later at a chicken plant in Lamar breaking eggs to make scrambled eggs for the Army. ...

Gary Lee Waltz, age 56, of rural Jasper, died in a hunting accident Friday, May 8, 2009 in rural Barton County.      Gary was born August 10, 1952 at Carthage , MO to George and Genevieve (Pennington) Waltz.  After graduating from Jasper High School in 1970, he earned an associates degree in drafting engineering from Pittsburg State University in 1972. ...

Randy Blaser        Randall Dean “Brillo” Blaser, age 57, of rural Lamar, passed away Tuesday, April 28, 2009, at Barton County Memorial Hospital.        Randy was born June 23, 1951, at Lamar, to Dean and Dolores (Turvey) Blaser.  Graduating from Lamar High School in 1969 he farmed until 1971, then was drafted into the Army and served in...