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A SPECIAL PUBLICATION TO REPRINT THE LAST MONTH’S OBITUARIES | OCTOBER 2019
Rosemary Harbison PRINCETON — Rosemary Harbison, 88, of Princeton, passed away on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, at River Oaks Health Campus in Princeton. She was born Aug. 3, 1931, in Velpen, Indiana to parents, Herschel Sullivan and Katherine (Robinson) Sullivan Howard. She married Joseph J. Harbison and he preceded her in death in 2009. Rosemary earned a master’s degree and worked as a music teacher and also a business teacher for over 25 years. She was a member of Hillside United Methodist Church and with her love of music, she sang in the choir and served as choir director in years past. She also directed the choir at St. Marks U.M.C. She enjoyed bowling, traveling, shopping and watching birds. She was a former member of the Cosmos Club, Women’s Fund of Gibson County, and the Retired Teachers Association. She was loved and will be missed by all who knew her. Rosemary is survived by her children, Michael (Sandy) Harbison of Indianapolis, Susan (John) Woods of Princeton, Tammy Harbison of Princeton, and Lisa Harbison of Evansville; six grandchildren, Ashley (Mike) Taillard, Andrew (Erica) Harbison, Christi (Chad) Bennett, Bradley Woods, Craig Woods (Brittany Brummett) and Chelsea Rosignol (Josh Whitehead); nine greatgrandchildren and sister,
INDEX Gilbert Ray Adcock .......................................... Page 3 Randall Lee Armstrong.................................... Page 2 Danny A. Beadles ............................................. Page 4 Sherry Anne (Smith) Brown .......................... Page 3 James E. Catt .................................................... Page 3 Bobby Joe Corn ................................................ Page 4 David C. Crabtree ............................................ Page 4 Esther Mardell Decker.................................... Page 4
Carol Jean (Tom) Blake; brother-in-law, Leonard (Jerilou) Harbison; several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and brother, Jerry Sullivan. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, at Hillside United Methodist Church in Princeton officiated by Pastor Curtis Bond. Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery in Princeton. A visitation will be held from 4 until 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at Hillside United Methodist Church in Princeton. Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton is handling the arrangements For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Hillside United Methodist Church Memorial Fund. Envelopes will be available at the church. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle in memory of Rosemary at www.colvinfuneralhome.com. Colvin Funeral Home is honored to serve the Harbison family.
Colvin Funeral Home 425 N. Main St., Princeton•812-385-5221 www.colvinfuneralhome.com
Dorothy D. Douglas ......................................... Page 4 John C. Field ..................................................... Page 4 Loann French ................................................... Page 4 Linda J. Gamblin............................................... Page 2 Mary Louise Greenwell ................................... Page 4 Donald Gross .................................................... Page 4 Kathryne S. Hanold ......................................... Page 4 Rosemary Harbison ......................................... Page 1 Larry E. Hillyard .............................................. Page 3 Mitchell G. Houchins....................................... Page 4 Paul David Kendle............................................ Page 1 Dorothy Knapp ................................................. Page 2 Veda Lee ............................................................ Page 2 Merle Morris .................................................... Page 3 James Truman Parke....................................... Page 2 Jean Riedford .................................................... page 2 Mary Jo Rumble ............................................... Page 5 Mark K. Scott.................................................... Page 2 Kenneth Silkey ................................................. Page 4 Vivian H. Townsend ......................................... Page 3 Ralph H. Walters .............................................. page 3 Heather Michelle Ota-Watson ........................ Page 2 Shayna Lee Ann Jessica Wheatley ................. Page 3 Mary Alice Whitehead .................................... Page 3 Elizabeth J. ‘Betty’ Wonning ........................... Page 2
Here For You And Your Family
Paul David Kendle FRANCISCO — Paul David Kendle, 82, of Francisco passed away Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, at the Linda E. White Hospice House in Evansville. He was born Aug. 21, 1937, in Gibson County to William Franklin and Mary Alice (Conner) Kendle. Paul lived in Gibson County most of his life. He was a self-employed carpenter, working part-time then later full time for over 50 years. He had previously worked at Potter and Brumfield. He served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1958. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, boating, and waterskiing. He especially enjoyed spending time with his family doing many of these things and being with his grandchildren. He also enjoyed quilting. Paul is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jane Ellen Kendle of Francisco; three sons, Paul David Kendle Jr.(Jayne) of Benton, Kentucky, Jeffrey Carl Kendle (Gina) of Princeton and Rodney William Kendle (Tina Marie) of Petersburg; brother, George Kendle of Evansville; two step-sisters, Billie Alvis of Princeton and Beverly Clark (Don) of Owensville; nine grandchildren, Lindsey Gruber, Justin Michael Kendle, Wesley Kendle, Amanda Smith, Zach Kendle, Cody
Kendle, Dennis Kendle, Michael Creel and Amber McGee; 14 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Danny Kendle, and sisters, Barbara and Helen. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, at the Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton, with Pastor Eddie Gene Martin officiating. Burial will follow in the Columbia “White” Church Cemetery. Visitation will be from 12 p.m. until service time on Wednesday. Military graveside services will be conducted by Retired Military Veterans. Memorial contributions may be made to the Linda E. White Hospice House, 611 Harriet St., Evansville, IN 47710. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home. Condolences may be made or you may light a candle in memory of Paul at www.colvinfuneralhome.com. The Colvin Funeral home is honored to serve the Kendle family.
Corn-Colvin Funeral Home 323 N. Main St., Oakland City•812-749-4021 www.corncolvinfuneralhome.com
Memories 2 Princeton Daily Clarion
James Truman Parker NEWBURGH — James Truman Parker, 84, of Newburgh, and formerly of Oakland City, passed away at home with his wife Karen and son Barry by his side on Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. He was preceded in death by his parents Howard and Henrietta Parker of Winslow, and brother Bud of Oakland City. Jim graduated from Winslow High School in 1953 and Purdue University School of Pharmacy in 1960. His college career was interrupted by service in the U.S. Army where he served two years in the Army Radio Corps based in Seattle Washington. His Army unit’s main function was to protect the Boeing airplane factory during the Korean War. He began his pharmacy career at H.A. Woods Drugstore in Haynie’s Corner in Evansville. Jim then moved out west to practice pharmacy in Phoenix, Arizona and Oceanside, California before moving back to Indiana to share ownership in Parker’s Rexall Drug with his brother Bud in Oakland City. Jim worked as a pharmacist at the Rexall Drug for over 30 years. He also worked as a relief pharmacist in neighboring communities and the Oakland City Wirth Hospital. Jim was involved in civic community leadership in both Oceanside and Oakland City. He served in the Jaycees as president and treasurer in both communities. Jim also served as president of the Oakland City Business Association. One of his proudest moments was helping to lead the planning of the Oakland City Bicentennial Celebration in 1976. Jim is survived by his wife of 55 years Karen (Larson), sons Steve (Jodi) of Shiocton, Wisconsin and their sons Josh, 19,
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Heather Michelle Ota-Watson PRINCETON — Heather Michelle Ota-Watson, 41, of Princeton, passed away Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, at Linda E. White Hospice House. Heather was born in Columbus, Georgia on July 31, 1978, to Mark and Greta (Kolle) Ota. She was a third-grade school teacher at Princeton Community Intermediate School, where she created and coached the Dancing Tigers. Heather made others smile and loved people more than herself. During prom season she enjoyed helping girls do their hair. Heather was a published poet and loved camping and going to the drive-in theatre. She was a member of Hillside United Methodist Church. Heather always wanted to be a mom and loved her children dearly. Heather is survived by her husband, Paris Maurice Watson of Princeton; daughters, Parielle Watson and Kimiko Watson both of Princeton; sons, Brandon Watson and Jordan Watson both of Princeton; parents, Mark and Greta (Kolle) Ota; siblings, Karen Marie Jolly (Curt) of Hazelton, Kenny Ota of Evansville, Tim Ota (Megan) of Princeton, Mary Ota of Evansville, and Jonelle Ota (Jorge) of Hazelton; mother and father-in-law, Regina and Paris Watson; sisters-in-law, Keshia, Parisha, Mattie, and Stacy Watson all of St. Paul, Minnesota; 16 nieces; 17 nephews; and many cousins. A celebration of Heather’s life will be held at noon on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at Browning Funeral Home, 738 Diamond Ave., Evansville,
Jean Riedford
PRINCETON — Jean Riedford, 89, of Princeton, passed away Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, at University Nursing and Rehab in Evansville. She was born July 22, 1930, in Princeton to Paul J. and Gertrude (Jost) Farny. Jean worked at Siegel’s in Evansville until she was married, then became a and Tom, 14, and Barry homemaker and helped (Leslie) of Newburgh on the family chicken and his children Larson, farm and also did 16, and Berkeley, 13, and babysitting in her home. sister Linda Troxler of She had resided in the Jasper. Princeton area since Jim loved theater, 1965, moving here from both performing and Francisco. She was a attending. He had member of St. Joseph leading and supporting Catholic Church in roles in local theater Princeton. companies stretching She is sur vived by a from Mount Carmel, daughter and son-in-law, Henderson, Kentucky, Mar y and Don Koester of IN, 47711 with Pastor and Evansville. Some of St. Wendel; two sons and Curtis Bond officiating. his favorite roles were daughters-in-law, Michael Burial will follow at Oak as the rabbi in “Fiddler Hill Cemetery. and Gail Riedford of on the Roof,” the doctor Friends may visit from Princeton and Mark in “The Good Doctor,” 2 until 8 p.m. on Friday, and Maria Riedford and the resort owner Sept. 6, 2019, at Browning of Owensville; eight in “Farce of Nature.” Funeral Home and again He was a paid extra on grandchildren, Shawna from 11 a.m. until service several Hollywood films Reed, Sheri Mueller, time Saturday. shot in the tri-state area Nicholas Riedford, Laura The family would like and helped with lighting Boldt, Emily DeFelice, to thank North Gibson and stage management and Andrew, Scott and School Corporation, with the Evansville Civic Jennifer Riedford; eight Hillside United Methodist great-grandchildren, Theater. Church, and the Princeton Jade, Tad, Sage, Br yn, Jim was in a weekly community for all their card game for more than Nash, Emma, Weston and support of Heather. The 50 years. He loved playing Miles; two sisters, Betty family would like to also poker, bridge, canasta, Smith of Paxton, Illinois thank her sister, Karen, euchre, and hearts. He and Ruth McKiernan of and all of Heather’s friends “shot the moon” in hearts South Bend, Indiana. and family for the love they every time he could. Jean was preceded in have shown her over the From childhood, Jim death by her parents; past few months. always loved dogs. He and her husband of 54 years, Memorial contributions his wife Karen volunteered Raymond J. Riedford on may be made to Gilda’s to foster parent animals Aug. 4, 2007; a grandson, Club, 5740 Vogel Rd., and were frequent Christopher Riedford; Evansville, IN 47715 or adopters of dogs and cats Chemo Buddies, 3700 from local shelters. Bellemeade Ave., Suite Funeral service will 118, Evansville, IN 47714. be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, VINCENNES — Condolences may be Sept. 15, at Lamb-Basham Elizabeth J. “Betty” made online at www. Memorial Chapel in Wonning, 92, of browningfuneral.com. Oakland City. Visitation Vincennes, passed away will be from 1 p.m. until on Thursday, Sept. 26, services. Dr. Douglas Low 2019, at River Oaks will be officiating. FORT BRANCH — in Princeton, seven In lieu of flowers, Dorothy stepped over into days short of her 93rd the family asks that heaven on Sept. 10, 2019. birthday. contributions be made to Dorothy was born to She was born Oct. Gibson County Animal Michael P. and Julia Marie 3, 1926, in Vincennes Services in Jim’s name. (Naas) Kiesel on Oct. to Royce and Lauren 15, 1928, in Fort Branch, (Kensler) Turbett. Indiana. Betty was a Her faith in God led her homemaker and a HAZLETON — Randall in life and in her peaceful partner on the family Lee Armstrong, 53, of transition to the next life. farm. A member of the St. Hazleton, passed away Dorothy took great pleasure Peter Lutheran Church, unexpectedly Thursday, in life, always smiling, she enjoyed playing cards Sept. 19, 2019, at Deaconess always happy, always ready and watching sports, Midtown Hospital in for the next adventure. She Van Buren, Peggy (Duane) especially basketball and Evansville. loved to travel, see new Elpers, Joe (Kathy) Knapp. the St. Louis Cardinals. Randy was born to places and meet new people. She has 20 grandchildren, Sur viving are her Howard Lee and Heidi Dorothy loved music and to 37 great-grandchildren, and children, Randa Brown Ingrid Armstrong on sing as she worked. Lyrics one great-grandchild. and her husband David of Oct. 22, 1965, in Chicago, were never a concern; she The family worshipped at Princeton, Teresa Miller Illinois. He was a 1984 just inserted her own as St. James Catholic Church and her husband Roger graduate of O’Fallon High needed. Dorothy inspired in Haubstadt. Dorothy was of New Castle, Robert School and received his happiness in everyone she a long-time member of the Brad Wonning and his welding certificate from nephews, Desiree, Raven, met. She was at all times a Daughters of Isabella and wife Diane of Vincennes, Belleville Community Jess, Macray, Dawson, gracious lady. the St. James quilters. and Suzanne McCurdy College. Isaac, Caleb and Ella; Walter Knapp was A Mass of Christian and her husband He worked at Nidec great-nephew, Isaac; Dorothy’s lifelong love and Burial will be on Friday, Larr y of Richmond; Corporation (Hurst great-niece, Arielle; and her husband of 62 years. He September 13, 2019, at 10 a brother Dar win Manufacturing) in many adored cousins and made his journey to heaven a.m. at St. James Catholic Turbett of Vincennes; Princeton. Randy was proud friends. Randy also leaves 10 years ago. Dorothy filled Church in Haubstadt with her grandchildren, to be a volunteer firefighter behind his much-loved the last 10 years with family Father Kenneth Betz as the Julie Holzmeyer and for both the White flock of chickens and his and friends. Her wonderful celebrant. A Rosary service her husband Jayme, River-Hazleton and Union three dogs Lily, Toby, and lady friends filled her life will be on Thursday, Sept. Chad Brown, Aimee Community Volunteer Fire Moose. with love and laughter; they 12, 2019, at 1:45 p.m. at Day and her husband Departments. He greatly Funeral service will be Stodghill Funeral Home. Steve, Jamie Alexander enjoyed the outdoors and held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, played cards, tried new restaurants, and went to Visitation will be and her husband Matt, was an avid deer hunter. He Sept. 26, 2019, at Colvin on Thursday, Sept. 12, Scott Miller and his wife spent many cold mornings Funeral Home in Princeton church activities together. She also loved going on 2019, from 2 to 7 p.m. at Amanda, Brandon Miller, in the woods with his dad officiated by Pastor Sam vacation with her family, Stodghill Funeral Home Lindsey Morrison and and nephew Jordan waiting Polito. Burial will follow at it did not matter when or in Fort Branch and again her husband Joe, Audra on the “monster buck”. the Mt. Olive Cemetery in Car y, Jeff Wonning and Preceding him in death Mt. Olympus. Visitation will where, as long as they were on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, together. at St. James Catholic his wife Angela, Alan were his grandparents, be Wednesday, Sept. 25, Dorothy and Walter lived Church from 9 a.m. until Randall “Pete” and Camille from 4-8 p.m. and Thursday, on a farm in Haubstadt service time. Burial will Armstrong; step-father, Sept. 26 from 9 a.m. until where they raised eight be at St. James Cemetery. Richard “Dick” Henderson; service time at the funeral children who loved them Donations in Dorothy’s father-in-law, David “Mike” home. (All times are CST.) PATOKA — Mark K. dearly; Connie (Tony) name can be made to St. True; and nephew, Jordan Memorial contributions Scott, 64, of Patoka, died Goedde, Kathy (Roger) Hall, James Catholic Church. Lee Armstrong. may be made to the family Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, Bill Knapp, Rick (Vicky) Expressions of sympathy Randy is survived by to assist with funeral at Deaconess Gateway Knapp, Helen (David) can be made at stodghill his wife, Maggie; daughter, and medical expenses. Hospital in Evansville. Dilbeck, Debbie (Eddie) funeralhome.com. Megan Armstrong of Memorial envelopes will He was born Oct. 13, Evansville; parents, Howard be available at the funeral 1954, to Thurman Scott (Barb) Armstrong of Patoka home. and Betty (Sinkhorn) and Heidi Armstrong You may leave a Scott. of Fort Branch; sisters, message of sympathy or OAKLAND CITY — son Kenneth V. Gamblin of He is sur vived by Ingrid (George) Robinson light a candle in memory Linda J. Gamblin, 71, of Wadesville, Indiana; sister his mother and father; and Sharon Armstrong of Randy at www.colvinOakland City died Sunday Vangie Scott of Fort Branch; brother Mike Scott; Sept. 8, 2019, in Evansville four grandchildren; one (Bob Toth), all of Fort funeralhome.com. Colvin stepbrothers Gar y, She was born March 12, niece; and one nephew. Branch; brother-in-law, Funeral Home is honored Jerr y, and Larr y Tice; 1948, in Gibson County to Service will be 2 p.m. John (Melissa) True of to serve the Armstrong stepsister, Tammy Orris and Berta (Blevins) Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, at Bruceville; nieces and family. Williams; two nieces; Young. Lamb-Basham Memorial three nephews; one She was member of Chapel with Burial in great-niece; and Oakland City American Montgomery Cemetery. father-like figure, Dwight Legion Post 256 Auxiliary Rev. Charles Sams will be PRINCETON — Veda September 9th, 2019. and Oakland City Eagles officiating. Visitation will be Fisher. Lee, of Princeton, died Burial was at Cup Creek He was preceded in Auxiliary. from 11 a.m. until service on Sept. 6, 2019. Cemetery in Pikeville, death by his stepmother, She was preceded in Saturday. Veda was born on Indiana. Entrusted through death by her parents and a Martha Scott; uncle, Family and friends may January 30th, 1926. Gill Funeral Service In sister Sharon Williamson. send messages of comfort to Dale Sinkhorn; and She was laid to rest on Washington, Indiana. grandparents, Charles She is survived by a www.lambbasham.com
three brothers, Ernest, Earl and Herbert Farny; and two sisters, Mar y Martin, and Dorothy Hopkins. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 410 S. Race St., Princeton, IN 47670. There will be a rosar y by the D of I at 3:30 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Visitation will be from 4 until 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 at Colvin Funeral Home, 425 N. Main St., Princeton, IN 47670 and again on Tuesday at the church from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemeter y in Princeton. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to St. Joseph Catholic Church. Envelopes will be available at Colvin’s and the church. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle in memor y of Jean at www.colvinfuneralhome.com. Colvin Funeral Home is honored to ser ve the Riedford family.
Elizabeth J. ‘Betty’ Wonning
Dorothy Knapp
Randall Lee Armstrong
Wonning and his wife Caitie, Lee Swihart, and Allison Swihart and her fiance Josh Clark ; and several great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Carl Robert Wonning, whom she married on Sept. 15, 1946, and preceded her on March 6, 2005; two sisters, Helen Newell and Irma Johnson; a grandson Brian Swihart; a great-granddaughter Candice Car y. Funeral ser vice will be held at noon Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at St. Peter Lutheran Church with Rev. Nathan Rastl officiating. Friends may visit from 10 a.m. until the time of the ser vice. Burial will follow in the church cemeter y. Memorial contributions may be directed to the St. Peter Lutheran Church. Goodwin Funeral Home is honored to ser ve the family of Betty Wonning.
Mark K. Scott
Linda J. Gamblin
Veda Lee
and Thelma Sinkhorn and Kern and Edna Scott. A funeral ser vice will be at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, at Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton. Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemeter y in Princeton. A visitation will be held from 1 p.m. until funeral ser vice time at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be given to Maple Hill Cemeter y. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a memorial candle in memor y of Mark at www.colvinfuneralhome. com.
Princeton Daily Clarion Memories
Saturday, October 19, 2019
James E. Catt
Ralph H. Walters
PRINCETON — Rev. Ralph H. Walters, 102, of Princeton, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, at River Oaks Health Campus in Princeton. He was born Jan. 2, 1917, in Troy Grove, Illinois to Dr. Marvin and Ella Mae (Kelsey) Walters. He served his country in the Navy, as a Fleet Marine and Coast Guard as a Navy Chaplain during WWII and the niece Kim (Eric) Lane Korean Conflict. He was a of Vincennes, and graduate of Carroll College cousin Patty Malotte of in Waukesha, Wisconsin Petersburg, and special and McCormick friend Cliff Vinson. Theological Seminary in He was preceded in Chicago, Illinois. He was death by his son James a Presbyterian Pastor his Kevin in 2014, brother entire lifetime and served and sister-in-law Doyle many churches, including and Shannon Catt, the United Presbyterian sister Vicky Howard Church in Princeton from and sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Joretta and 1961-1967 and Union Bethel Presbyterian Louis Bouchie. Funeral ser vice will be Church near Mt. Olympus held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, from 1998-2012. He was a former member Sept. 18, 2019, at Colvin of the Masonic Lodge, Funeral Home in Odd Fellows Lodge Princeton. Visitation will be 1 p.m. (I.O.O.F.) and the Rotary International. He had until the ser vice time at resided back in Princeton 4 p.m. Wednesday at the since 1994. funeral home. Ralph is survived by In lieu of flowers, his wife, Alice Walters, donations can be made to whom he was married to the Good Samaritan on Feb. 3, 1945, in New Foundation in support London, Wisconsin; two of Cancer Patient Care. sons, Gerald R. Walters Envelopes will be of Moberly, Missouri available at the funeral and Dr. David P. Walters home. You may leave a (Anita J.) of Princeton; six message of sympathy or light a candle in memor y grandchildren; eight greatof James at www.colvin funeralhome.com. Colvin Funeral Home is honored to ser ve the Catt family. PRINCETON — Sherry Anne (Smith) Brown, 47, of Princeton, died Sept. 12, 2019, in Evansville. She was born Nov. PATOKA — Gilbert Patoka; son, John Adcock 28, 1971, in Allegan, Ray Adcock, 77, a longtime (Stella) of Princeton; Michigan. resident of Patoka, died brother, Gene Adcock of She is survived by Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, Evansville; sister, Marilyn Willie “Pops” Spraggins; at Deaconess Gateway Pike of North Carolina; her husband Vernell Hospital in Newburgh. and several nieces and Brown; children He was born Jan. 17, nephews. CheVaughn Chavis 1942, in Evansville, to He was preceded in and Nolan Chavis; one Taylor and Rose (Gray) death by his parents; one grandchild; siblings, Adcock. brother; and one sister. He retired from Service will be held at a Crickett (Michael) Overton, Shawn Madison, Whirlpool after 40 years. later date. Colvin Funeral Juan Madison, Kimberly He was a U.S. Army Home in Princeton is (Jonathan) Evans, Angela Veteran during the handling arrangements (Marlon) Evans, Pamela Vietnam Era. He was a and is honored to serve Braggs, Tracey Taylor, member of the VFW and the Adcock family. Cheryl (Madison) Pope; served on the funeral You may leave a and several nieces and detail. message of sympathy or nephews. He is survived by light a candle in memory She was preceded in his wife of 53 years, of Gilbert at www.colvin Martha Jean Adcock of funeralhome.com.
HAZELTON — James E. Catt, 82, died Sept. 15, 2019, at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was born April 20, 1937, and is preceded in death by his parents Maurice and Louise Catt. Jim graduated from Hazelton High School Class of 1955 and was a member of the basketball team. He was employed by Vinson and Phillips Farms for 46 years, retiring in 2016. He and his wife loved Gatlinburg Tennessee and vacationed there ever y year for 52 years. They also enjoyed trips to Quincy, Massachusetts, and dog sitting their granddogs in Indianapolis. He enjoyed watching Nascar and cheering for IU Sports on TV. He is sur vived by his wife of 63 years, Sue (Kirk); son and daughter-in-Law Kerr y and Cristy Catt of Indianapolis; and grandchildren Farrah (Matt) Osborne of Quincy, Massachusetts Braden (Carolyne) Catt of Seattle, Washington, Sarah Catt of Anderson, Indiana, Kevin A. Catt of Evansville, Amber Barnett of Evansville, and great-granddaughter Chloe Osborne. Other family includes nephews Kirk (Becky) Bouchie of Vincennes, Kent (Claudia) Bouchie of Bicknell, Indiana;
Mary Alice Whitehead
MOUNT CARMEL — Mary Alice Whitehead, 90, formerly of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at Helia Healthcare of Benton, Illinois. She was born Oct. 17, 1928, in Princeton to parents, Arnett Woods and Esther (Ransford) Woods. She married Bobby Joe Whitehead on June 27, 1947, and they have been blessed grandchildren; and 20 with 72 years together. nieces and nephews. She was a member of the He was preceded in VFW Auxillary and was of death by his parents, the Protestant faith. She a son, Rev. Donn Lee enjoyed sewing, cooking Walters in April of 2012, and making the lives of the three brothers, and one people around her happier. sister. She was a great mother and A funeral service will grandmother and will be be held at 12 p.m. (noon) missed by all. Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, Mary is survived by at Colvin Funeral Home her husband, Bobby Joe in Princeton, with Rev. Whitehead; children, Jerry Larry Dodge officiating. (Marcia) Whitehead, Vickie Visitation will be from (Ralph) Connor, Becky 10 a.m. until the hour of Benjamin, and Cathy (Billy) service on Saturday. Burial Smith; 10 grandchildren; 20 will follow at Montgomery great-grandchildren; four Cemetery in Oakland sisters; one brother; and City, with military rites by many special nieces and Retired Military Veterans. nephews. In lieu of flowers, She is preceded in death memorials may be made by her parents; daughters, to Princeton Presbyterian Church. Envelopes will be available at Colvin’s. You PRINCETON — may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle Vivian H. Townsend, born in Snake Run (near in memory of Ralph at Providence Church) on Oct. www.colvinfuneralhome. com. Colvin Funeral Home 7, 1925, to Bertis and Faye Riley, passed away Sept. 22, is honored to serve Rev. 2019. Walters family. She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, R. Dean Townsend in 2013. death by her parents, Vivian is survived by her Kenneth “Ick” Madison, daughter, Connie Nelson and Gail (Smith) Madison; of Granger, Indiana; son, and grandparents, Bob (Judy) Townsend Barbara, and Lyle Smith, of Princeton; three Annie Bolden, and John grandchildren, Stephanie and Bernietha Booth. Scalise, Brett (Kate) A funeral service Nelson and Eric (Tom Hill) will be held at 2 p.m. Townsend; four great-grandFriday, Sept. 20, 2019, children; sister, Marilou at Colvin Funeral Home Stilwell; and brother, Jerry in Princeton. Burial Riley. will follow at Sand Hill She was preceded in Cemetery in Princeton. death by a son-in-law, Visitation will be held Stephen Nelson; sisters, from noon until funeral Ruth Shelton and Dorothy service time at Colvin Thurgood and brother, Funeral Home. Charles (Bud) Riley. You may leave a Vivian was a member message of sympathy or of the First Baptist Church light a memorial candle in Princeton. She enjoyed in memory of Sherry at an active life with family, www.colvinfuneralhome. friends, church, and com. gardening. The family would like to send a special thanks to her five devoted caregivers, the
Tammy and Trudy; son-in-law, Dick Benjamin; and grandson, Ty Benjamin. A funeral service will be held at noon Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton officiated by Pastor Jack Gaston. Burial will follow at Center Ridge Cemetery in Sullivan, Indiana. A visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until service time, noon Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 at Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle in memory of Mary at www.colvinfuneralhome. com. Colvin Funeral Home is honored to serve the Whitehead family
Vivian H. Townsend
Sherry Anne (Smith) Brown
Gilbert Ray Adcock
Merle Morris OAKLAND CITY — Merle Morris, 87, of Oakland City died Friday, Sept.6, 2019, at Deaconess Midtown Hospital. He was born June 7, 1932, in to Harr y and Arlene (Lorrison) Morris. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers. He ser ved in the United State Army during Vietnam and was a member of the Oakland City American Legion Post 256. Also, he was retired from the Whirlpool
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Corporation in Evansville after several years, and a life member of Local 808. He is sur vived by sisters, Carol Sue Phillips of Oakland City and Ruth Ann Hill of Huntingburg, Indiana; and nieces and nephews Graveside ser vice will be 10 a.m. Friday, Sept.13, 2019, at Montgomer y cemeter y. Jim Trentham officiating. Family and friends will meet at cemeter y for ser vices. Family and friends may send messages of comfort to www.lambbasham.com
Shayna Lee Ann Jessica Wheatley PRINCETON — Shayna Lee Ann Jessica Wheatley, 19, died Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, in Princeton. She was born on June 27, 2000, in Washington, Indiana. She was employed at SQ Global Toyota. She was preceded in death by her grandfather Jerr y Coleman and greatgrandfather Elwood Pride. She is sur vived by her mother Tammy Mayes; sisters Rebecca, Amber and Heather Wheatley all of Oakland City; and her brother Jason Kane of
Columbia City, Indiana; her grandmother Cindy Coleman of Oakland City; and great-grandmother Helen Pride of Algiers, Indiana. Also, her aunt Brenda Julian, uncles Zach and Edward Julian. Graveside ser vices 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, at Willis Cemeter y near Willisville, Indiana. Bro. Ron Vickers and Bro. Bob Shepherd will be officiating. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday at the chapel. Family and friends may send messages of comfort to www.lambbasham.com
staff of River Oaks, and the staff of Heritage Hospice Per Vivian’s request, there will be no visitation. The family will hold a private graveside service at a special time. In lieu of flowers please send contributions to the R. Dean & Vivian Townsend Scholarship Fund at Gibson County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 319, Princeton, IN, 47670 or Heritage Hospice, Suite 107 1202 W. Buena Vista Rd., Evansville, IN 47710 You may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle in memory of Vivian at www.colvinfuneralhome. com. Colvin Funeral Home is honored to serve the Townsend family.
Larry E. Hillyard WINSLOW — Larry E. Hillyard, 74, of Winslow died Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, at The Timbers of Jasper. He was born on March 17, 1945, in Mount Carmel to John Leland and Dorothy Marie “Davis” Hillyard. He served in the United State Army and retired from IPL in Petersburg after several years of service. Survived by his wife 55 years Patsy “Anthis” Hillyard; son Larry
Hillyard Jr. of Winslow; daughter Brigette Wayne of Henderson, Kentucky; sister Barbara Ann Havill of St. Francisville, Illinois; and six grandchildren. Celebration of Life will take place on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. Lamb-Basham Memorial Chapel with Dr. Marcus Daly officiating. Visitation from 3 p.m. until service on Sunday. Family and friends may send messages of comfort to www. lambbasham.com.
Memories 4 Princeton Daily Clarion
Kathryne S. Hanold MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — Kathryne S. Hanold, 100, of Mt. Sterling, Illinois passed away Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, at Heritage Manor Nursing Home. She was born Oct. 17, 1918, in Gibson County, a daughter of William and Effie (Lee) Symonds. She married Paul A. Hanold Dec. 24, 1937, in Fort Branch, and he preceded her in death Sept. 13, 1995. She is survived by two sons Larry (Phyllis) Hanold of Mt. Sterling, Illinois; and Max (Laura) Hanold of Ft. Branch; three grandchildren, Jeff (Linda) Hanold of Mt. Sterling, Illinois; Jennifer (Steve) Petersen of Springfield, Illinois; and Gregory Hanold of Haubstadt, Indiana; five great-grandchildren, Sarah Shafer, Sabrina (Aaron) Graff, Stephanie and Dylan Petersen, all of Springfield, Illinois; and Rachel Hanold of Haubstadt; and six great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters in infancy, sister Helen Buckles, brothers Harry, James, Charles, and Robert Symonds.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Loann French
PRINCETON — Loann French, 93, of Princeton, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, at Good Samaritan Home in Oakland City. She was born Sept. 19, 1925, to Fred H. and Leola (Rogers) Kirk in Gibson County, where she lived most of her life. She was a secretar y for Potter & Brumfield and Hurst Manufacturing. She was a homemaker She attended the Church and enjoyed fishing, of God in Princeton. boating, camping, travel, She enjoyed cooking for and sports, especially family events and sewing. Cardinal baseball. Loann is sur vived by Kathryne was a two children, Connie graduate of Fort Branch High School Class of 1938. Gray of Fort Branch Visitation will be 9 a.m. and James “Joe” Vegh Jr. of Princeton; four until 11 a.m. Saturday, grandchildren, Courtney Sept. 28, 2019, at the Edwards (Dan), John Koehler Funeral Home, Julian (Brandi), Pam 304 E. Main, Boonville, Murnahan (Rick) and Indiana. Tabatha Whittington; 10 Services will be at 11 great-grandchildren; two a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at the funeral home great-great-grandchilwith the Rev. Bill Tennyson dren; four sisters, Wanda officiating. Burial will be Stewart of Oakland City; in Maple Grove Cemetery Thelma Holtzclaw (Jack) in Boonville immediately of Oakland City, Dixie following services. McClure of Oakland City Friends unable to attend and Barbara Bassett of may send a condolence to Oceanside, California. the family at www.Koehler FuneralHome.com
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Roy “Ted” French in 1980; and a sister, Louise Cutright. A graveside ser vice will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, at Walnut Hill Cemeter y in Fort Branch. There will be no visitation. Family and friends will meet at the cemeter y. Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton is handling arrangements and is honored to ser ve Loann’s family. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle in memor y of Loann at www.colvin funeralhome.com.
Dorothy D. Douglas OCALA, Fl. — Dorothy D. Douglas, 90, of Ocala, Florida passed away Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019. She was born June 6, 1929, in Gibson County to Arthur Gudgel and Lurah (Epperson) Gudgel. Dorothy graduated from Owensville High School in 1947. She retired from Hansen Corporation after many years of ser vice. Dorothy was a member of Owensville First General Baptist Church before moving to Florida. Dorothy is proceeded in death by her parents; husband Darrell Douglas; and siblings Ruth Denning and Robert Gudgel. She is sur vived by her daughter Judith (Dick) Taylor of The Villages, Florida; grandchildren Brooke Taylor of Chicago, Illinois, Somer
Adams of Bonita Springs, Florida, and Jereme (Jennifer) Taylor of Nashville, Tennessee; and great-grandchildren Jacob and Ryan Adams. Holder’s Funeral Home is honored and privileged to be entrusted with the care of Mrs. Douglas. Private graveside ser vices will be held at Clark Cemeter y with Bob Douglas officiating.
Danny A. Beadles
EVANSVILLE — Danny A. Beadles, 70, passed away Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Evansville, Indiana. Danny was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on Nov. 10, 1948, to Otho Bob and Hilda Jean (Bush) OWENSVILLE — Beadles. He worked as a John C. Field, 62, of maintenance planner at ARVADA, Colo. —We Owensville, passed Hoosier Energy. Danny are saddened to announce away Sept. 28, 2019, served in the Army during that Bobby Joe Corn, surrounded by his family. the Vietnam War. owner of Arvada Appliance, He was born July 3, Danny is survived by passed away peacefully on 1957, in Evansville, to his wife, Julie Beadles; Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Paul Field and Virginia son, Jason (Melissa) Bobby Joe was preceded (Maddex) Field. Beadles; daughter, in death by his parents John was in the Chrissy (Michael) Homer Lee and Mildred first graduating class Corn, a brother Billy Jean, Serafini; two sisters, at Gibson Southern and sister Donna Kay High School, 1975. He Karen (Glen) Ross and Bruce (Jerry). attended the University Connie (Boyd) Ross; He is survived by his of Evansville and Pauletta (Michael) seven grandchildren, wife of 61 years, Carol obtained his associate’s Hillebrandt, and Don Michael, Mia and Mara Jean, and his five children, City, on Nov. 28, 1936. degree in business. John (Betty) Field; and several Serafini, and Alexsus, Angela Edrington, Theresa Bobby worked at Coors worked in the banking nieces and nephews. Hudson, Della, and Holder-Morrison (Ron industr y until 2005. He Holder’s Funeral from 1962 to 1976. He Maggie Beadles; a Morrison), Anita Smith was a member of First Home is honored and and his wife Carol started nephew; and four nieces. (Mike), Brad Corn General Baptist Church privileged to be entrusted Arvada Appliance in Danny was preceded (Deedee), and Brian Corn 1969. This year Arvada and the Masonic Lodge with the care of Mr. in death by both of his (Natalie). Field. Visitation will be Appliance is celebrating its 632 of Poseyville and parents. He was blessed to have 50th year. ser ved as a Shriner. John held Tuesday, Oct. 1, Funeral services will 13 grandchildren, Jason enjoyed woodworking, 2019, at Holders Funeral Bobby was a 32° Edrington (Monique), playing music, and Home from 4 p.m. - 8 Mason, Raised in 1962 in Becky Harris (Tommy), spending time with his p.m. with Masonic Westminster Lodge 176, he Josh Holder, Jessica Brown family. He will be deeply ser vice at 7 p.m. Funeral was also a member of the (Brian), Natalie Youngs missed. will be Wednesday, Oct. El Jebel Shrine. He was an PRINCETON — Mar y (Greg), Kaeleen Miller John is preceded in 2, 2019, at 10 a.m. with amazing man who loved Louise Greenwell, 77, (Beau), Justin Edrington death by his father Paul Bob Douglas officiating the Lord, and his family passed away Saturday, (Alicia), Preston Smith Field. and interment at was his pride and joy. He Sept. 21, 2019, at the (Megan), Christian Corn, He is sur vived by his Owensville Cemeter y. will be missed beyond Linda E. White Hospice Landon Smith, Keanna mother; Virginia Field; Memorial House in Evansville. Smith, Brandon Corn, and words until we meet children Isaac Thomas Contributions can be She was born June again...We love you with all Field and Benjamin Arial Smith. made to any local High of our hearts. He has 10 great(Tori) Field; siblings School music program of 24, 1942, in Princeton to John and Eliza (Powers) His service will be held Martha (Robert) Mounts, your choice. grandchildren. He is also Brock. on Thursday, Aug. 15, survived by his younger She had lived in brother, Darrell Corn from 2019, at 11 a.m. at Grace Princeton all of her Church, 6969 Sheridan Oakland City. life. She retired from He was born in Oakland Blvd Arvada, CO 80003. Hurst Manufacturing “honorary” daughter, HAUBSTADT — in Princeton, having Mary (Mike) Sorg, seven David C. Crabtree, 78, previously worked at formerly of Haubstadt died “grandchildren,” and two PETERSBURG — Terrell D. (Shelley) the G.C. Murphy store. “great-grandchildren.” Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, Mitchell G. Houchins, Houchins of Washington, She was a member of at the Heritage Center in A Mass of Christian 62, of Petersburg, died Indiana; and his sister St. Joseph Catholic burial will be 10 a.m. Evansville. Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, Thessa Wichael of Church. She loved He was born March Monday, Sept. 9, 2019, at his home in Petersburg. Firestone, Colorado; and cooking, working jigsaw 17, 1941, in Evansville at Sts. Peter and Paul He was born on Dec. two grandchildren. puzzles and enjoying her Catholic Church. Burial to Berthold and Naomi 27, 1956, in Oakland City Services will be at grandchildren. (Stallings) Crabtree. He will follow in Oak Grove to Forrest Dewayne and 12 p.m. (Pike Time) on She is sur vived by six Cemetery near Owensville. formerly worked as a Wanda Lee “English” Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at children; Lee Anna Roll custodian at Deaconess Friends may call from 8 Houchins. He was Lamb-Basham Memorial of Huntingburg, Diana Hospital. to 10 a.m. Monday at the preceded in death by his Chapel, with burial in Denbo (Alec) of Bandera, church with a Rosary He was a member father. Walnut Hills Cemetery in Texas, Joedy Greenwell of Sts. Peter and Paul service beginning at 9:30 He had worked at IPL Petersburg. Rev Andrea (Carrie) of Princeton, a.m. Catholic Church, the for 25 years. Clegg will be officiating. The family would like to Greg Greenwell (Kelle) of Knights of St. John 345 and Survived by his Visitation will be from 10 Knights of Columbus 2215 thank the staff of Heritage Princeton, Mar y Parker children, Jason, and a.m. (Pike Time) until Preceding him in death Center for their passionate (Darrell) of Princeton, Stephanie Houchins services on Monday at the were his parents, and two care. Richard Greenwell both of Petersburg; and chapel. Online condolences (Janet) of Fort Branch; his mother Wanda Lee Family and friends may brothers, Robert and Allen may be made at wadefhinc. English Houchins of send messages of comfort Crabtree. He is survived by his com. Washington; brother to www.lambbasham.com
John C. Field
Bobby Joe Corn
be held Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at 10 a.m. at Harris Funeral Home in Petersburg, Indiana. Jeremy Ross will be officiating the services. Burial will immediately follow at Beadles Cemetery in Winslow, Indiana. A military service will be performed at the graveside by the VFW Post 3587. Visitation will be Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. A Masonic Service will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. by Masonic Lodge 121.
Mary Louise Greenwell
David C. Crabtree
Mitchell G. Houchins
Kenneth Silkey DALE, Ind. — Kenneth Silkey, 91, of Dale, Indiana formerly of Evansville, Indiana, died at Deaconess Gateway Hospital in Newburgh on Sept. 2, 2019. He was born to Courtland and Maxine (Redman) Silkey on July 27, 1928, in Fort Branch. He was a Boilermaker for the Local 374 Boilermaker’s Union and also ser ved in the U.S. Army. He was also a member of the Charolais Cattle Association for 40 years. Besides his parents, he is preceded in death by two children, Samuel
Silkey in 1979 and Frederick Silkey in 1984; and two siblings, Charles Redman and Dorotha Hidey. He is sur vived by his wife of 62 years, Margaret (Starnes) Silkey of Dale, and a son, Christopher Silkey of Dale. Ser vices will be on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at 12 p.m. at Stodghill Funeral Home in Fort Branch, with Pastor Steve Akins officiating. Visitation will be on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, at Stodghill Funeral Home from 4 to 8 p.m. Expressions of sympathy can be made at stodghillfuneralhome.com
Donald Gross WINSLOW — Donald Gross, 86, of Winslow died Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, at his daughter and son-in-law Kathy and Joel Wilhite in Oakland City. He was born Oct. 25, 1932, in Petersburg, to Crodel and Noma “Frentress” Gross Weisheit. He married Donna Belle Hamm on Dec. 3, 1954. He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Donna Belle Gross; sons Paul (P.K.) and David Gross; siblings Velma, Lloyd, Joe Gross, Dorothy (Fields), Crillis and Marvin Gross. He is survived by
daughters Debbi (Dan) Rodden of Buffalo, Illinois and Kathy (Joel) Wilhite of Oakland City; sister Helen Onyett of Petersburg; 10 grandchildren; 11 greatgrandchildren; and one great-great-grandson. Graveside services will take place at 2 p.m. (Oakland City Time) on Tuesday Oct.1, 2019, at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery near Winslow. The family has entrusted Lamb-Basham Memorial Chapel for personal assistance. Family and friends may send messages of comfort to www. lambbaham.com.
www.pdclarion.com
brother, John Brock Jr. of Florida; sister, Sue McCraw of Florida; 19 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Robert “Jerr y” Greenwell in 2014, and a son, Robert Greenwell in 2018 Funeral ser vices will be held at the graveside at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, at the St. Joseph Cemeter y in Princeton, with Fr. Brian Emmick officiating. Visitation will be from 1 until 3 p.m. Friday at the Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton, followed by a procession to the cemeter y for the graveside ser vice. Condolences may be expressed or you may light a candle online in memor y of Mar y Louise at www.colvinfuneralhome.com. The Colvin Funeral Home is honored to ser ve the Greenwell family.
Esther Mardell Decker
PENDLETON — Esther Mardell Decker, 98, of Pendleton, died Sept. 30, 2019, at Community Hospital, Anderson. She was born Aug. 12, 1921, in Hamilton County to Ulysses and Bernice (White) Moser. She retired as an office manager at Amick Electric after 30 years of service. She volunteered preparing taxes for senior citizens for 20 years. She is survived by her children, Wayne (Mary) Decker of Alexandria and Frances (David) Owens of Princeton; three grandchildren; two greatgrandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ralph Decker; son, Dennis Decker; and seven siblings. A funeral service will be held Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, at 1 p.m. at Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton officiated by Pastor Jack Gatson. Burial will follow at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Mt. Olympus. A visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until service time, 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, at Colvin Funeral Home. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle in memory of Esther at www.colvin funeralhome.com.
Memories 5 Princeton Daily Clarion
Saturday, October 19, 2019
At cemeteries, visiting with the dead is just one aspect of the experience DAVID MONTGOMERY
WASHINGTON POST FEATURES
It’s easy to forget that cemeteries were made for the living. Where first we may come in sorrow, seeking consolation, we often return again and again for something else. We discover that places of eternal rest have many moods and designsm yet in whichever idiosyncratic refuge we linger awhile, we sense the dead watching and taking our measure as well, keeping us company as much as we keep them. “I just came to say ‘Hi’ to my dad,” says Christina Incognito, 53, eating a picnic salad with her son, Tyler, 20, on a blanket spread over the Arlington National Cemetery grave of Robert Eugene Bornsheuer, senior master sergeant, U.S. Air Force (May 21, 1927-April 5, 2012). They drive down often from suburban Mar yland to happily reminisce about the depar ted veteran. Incognito is awed by the crisp beauty of the ranks of white stones that seem paused in a timeless march. “It gives me hope,” she says. “That there’s still kindness, that people take care of people who are not here.” Hope is a concept that Romantics, V ictorians and plutocrats brought to cemeter y design in the 19th century. Before then, urban burial grounds were dismal, overcrowded labyrinths wedged into churchyards, scarcely meeting the minimum requirements of either municipal sanitation or reverent remembrance. Car ved stone skulls and images of stalking Death adorned the tombs like dire warnings. Romantic designers with Victorian taste and plutocratic capital launched the movement toward so-called garden cemeteries or rural cemeteries within the city. Monuments and mausoleums were set along curving paths within picturesque landscapes, the more topography the better. Stones were decorated with cherubs and angels and hopeful messages of gone-but-not-forgotten. These gr een oases became the first largescale parks of gr eat American cities, places to stroll and court and relax, before actual parks came along, inspired in part by the restorative and aesthetic possibilities of cemeteries. The absence of the dead is a park’s loss, and their presence is our gain as we hike to the summit of Mount Olivet, where the stone cross of the Dominican Fathers and the graves and vaults of bishops and parishoners insist on an existence no less solid and perpetual than the one embodied by the Capitol dome visible across the urban valley from here. The writing on tombs — names, dates, messages — is like the information cards next to paintings in a museum. We might begin our visit reading every one; then inevitably we star t skipping. In a cemetery, some messages draw us in and get us thinking about people we never knew, such as Thomas Evans, “a native of England,” who died in 1884 at the age of 58, according to his monument in Oak Hill. The inscription asser ts: “To live in hear ts we leave behind is not to die.” Does Thomas Evans still live in anyone’s heart? Unclear. But at least for a fleeting moment he is on our minds. Beneath a sheltering
oak, three generations of Nairn women are sprucing up the family plot established by Joseph W. Nairn, who died May 27, 1875. He owned a drug store downtown and lived on H Street NW. Later, a family farm became part of Wheaton Regional Park. A column topped by a stone urn carries the names and dates of ancestors, surrounded by the graves of several Nairns. To the women, the monument is like a book, each name a chapter. It gives them a sense of who they are, especially now that family members have scattered across the country. “No one lives here anymore, but the memories are here,” says Holly Simmons, 28, a graduate student at the University of Maryland. Her grandfather, William Nairn III, a career Army officer, was buried in the family plot in 2013. Now there is room for only one more Nairn. Janice Nairn, 85, widow of William, seems untroubled to stake that claim. In fact, she has made ar rangements. “I’ll be back,” she says in a chipper voice, standing over a stone that carries her name and date of bir th. Just one piece of data is yet to be chiseled. By the late 1980s, there was widespread national concern that cemeteries were moribund. People stopped visiting. It’s not that cremation rates have now reached a record high of 49%. Ashes can still be buried, or visited in the cemetery’s columbarium, which can feel like paying respects before a library card catalogue. Modern families have just become too transient, unsentimental, agnostic and forgetful to spend much time in graveyards. “Once the families stop visiting, the personal touch, the scrubbed look, and the feeling of human presence are gone, and the ordinar y cemeteries ‘lose their soul,’ ” Kenneth Jackson and Camilo José Vergara wrote in “Silent Cities: The Evolution of the American Cemetery.” Many cemeteries have been lost over the centuries. Some that sur vive are fading, with headstones becoming illegible or broken, and vegetation encroaching. Still, evidence of the ravages of time, a touch of the ramshackle, add drama to a cemetery and richness to our musings. At the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemeter y, magnificent trees have grown up to disrupt the chalky ranks of markers. The trunk of a tulip poplar has ingested two graves so that the edges of the stones jut out from the bark on either side like hip bones. Life goes on. To survive, a cemetery needs a gimmick. The little graveyard at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Mar yland, found one when it accepted the remains of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. The writer — whose full name suggests his Mar yland roots: Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald — originally was denied burial there in 1940 among other Fitzgeralds and Scotts because he had not gone to confession and taken communion regularly. Three decades later, church officials relented, and the graves were relocated from Rockville Cemetery. Now admir ers and necrotourists make their way here, where they take selfies before the gravestone etched with the last line of “The Great Gatsby,” per fect for a cem-
etery: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Congressional Cemeter y was in decline in the 1990s when neighbors and cemeter y leaders began transforming it into a community crossroads like no other cemetery in the city. Residents chipped in money to cut the grass. The cemeter y welcomed dog owners to unleash their animals to chase and romp amid the tombstones. Now there are 770 canines registered for an annual fee, plus a wait list of more than a year, while other owners pay a daily rate. The cemetery hosts weddings, bar mitzvahs, a yoga group, a book club (Tombs and Tomes), chamber music (Notes From the Cr ypt) and a Twitter feed (@CongCemetery), and the gift store is stocked with jars of honey harvested from beehives on the grounds. The cemeter y has about 1,000 plots left. It sells 30 to 40 a year for $4,000 to $8,800. After they’re gone, then what? Already most of the graves have no contact from descendants. “We needed people to care,” says Margaret Puglisi, vice president of the Association for the Preser vation of Historic Congressional Cemetery. “This is a living space.” The dead and the predead are in on the crusade to save Congressional and other cemeteries. They are adding personality, which is to say life, to their tombs, turning cemeteries into community bulletin boards, etched with battle cries, résumés, sports teams, jokes. “When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.” “Chairman of the House Foreign Af fairs Committee.” “Templeton Prize.” “Sweet to the Core.” “At Home with the Dogs.” “First African-American Rhodes Scholar.” “Come sit awhile.” In the end, cemeteries give us what we’re looking for, but we’re looking for different things. Arlington is at least three cemeteries in one. It has a superficial identity as a tourist attraction, where death is spun into a national epic. It is also the resting place of veterans such as Christina Incognito’s father who went on to live full lives. And it contains tragic groves like Section 60, where those who ser ved the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried, men and women who scarcely saw their 20s. Here the grief is particularly raw. Jennifer W illiamson crouches by the grave of Marine 1st Lt. Mark Steven Williamson (March 28, 1986-May 4, 2011). “This is my brother,” she says. She visits as often as she can, all the way from Massachusetts, because “going to Arlington is a reminder that all of us are par t of something larger than ourselves.” She also comes to thank her brother, she adds later in an email, “however strange that may seem. ... His ending sparked a revolution in my heart, and ... also opened my eyes to the beauty that was still left, and that I could contribute. I want to make the most of this life, to honor my brother and to honor myself.” A couple of rows away, Yumiko Southard spreads a blanket on the grave of her son, Senior Airman Julian Seiji Scholten (Oct.
17, 1985-Feb. 18, 2012). He helped pioneer a new field of airbor ne intelligence and was on his third tour when the plane he was in crashed. The Air Force named an award for commando of the year after him. His mother always sets out excited at the prospect of a visit, accompanied by her husband. Penetrating the tourist throngs is surreal, then a familiar heaviness descends. She lights a candle, places a picture of the young man, lays out sushi — his favorite food — and a bottle of Coors Light, his beer. On cold days, she might bring something warm in which to wrap the white stone. “He is in here,” she says, indicating the grave, and she wants him to understand that “Here’s Mom, and I’m here to come see you.” She gave bir th to six children, and when someone asks how many she has, she still says six. As the sun sets, she packs the sushi and beer and pushes herself to her feet. She kisses her fingers and r ubs them on the top of the stone. Her fingers linger, flesh on marble, a moment of contact filled with one last feeling that we sometimes have in a cemeter y, when the air goes out of these majestic spaces and they are reduced to their essence — the fulfillment of a timeless exchange between the living and the dead. The mother passes through the gates of the cemeter y, reflecting on her already well-lived life, and says, “I would take his place.”
Janet D. Kramer FORT BRANCH — Janet D. Kramer, 84, of Fort Branch, died in Evansville on Sept. 3, 2019. She was born to Earl and Loretta (Brown) McGregor on May 16, 1935. Besides her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, John H. Kramer; a daughter, Delores Ann Kramer; and son, Jay Kramer. She is survived by two children, Joy (Jeff) Barrett and Joe (Daphne) Kramer both of Fort Branch; daughter-in-law, Judy Kramer of Fort Branch; honorary son, Gary (Marcia) Hall of Fort
Branch; sister, Sue Huffine of Evansville; eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Service will be on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at Stodghill Funeral Home in Fort Branch at 2 p.m. with Brian Holzappel officiating. Visitation will be Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until service time with burial to follow at Walnut Hill Cemetery in Fort Branch. Donations in her honor can be made to the Gibson County Relay for Life. Expressions of sympathy can be made at stodghillfuneralhome. com.
Mary Jo Rumble CYNTHIANA — Mary Jo Rumble, 80, of Cynthiana, died Sept. 17, 2019, at North River Health Campus. She was born Dec. 16, 1938, to Bernard and Esther (Steckler) Gries, in Haubstadt. She married Don Rumble on Dec. 26, 1959. She is survived by her husband; sons, Robert of Cynthiana, David (Tess) of Haubstadt; two grandsons and a granddaughter; brothers, Harold (Clara) Gries of Newburgh, Paul (Mary Jo) Gries of Haubstadt, and Charlie (Tanya) Gries of Bowling Green, Kentucky; sisters, Carolyn
Gries of California, Barbara Hargrove of Evansville, Bernadine (Mike) Welickovitch of Pennsylvania and Margaret (Jim) Mullen of Alabama. She was preceded in death by her parents; a nephew; and brother-in-law Bob Hargrove. Visitation will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at Wade Funeral Home in Haubstadt with a Rosary service at 1:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
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Memories 6 Princeton Daily Clarion
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Why I keep my dead father’s shoes KEN BUDD
WASHINGTON POST FEATURES
The white golf shoes sit on a shelf in my bedroom closet, in a plastic emergency room bag labeled “Personal Belongings.” They’ve resided there for 14 years, since a muggy June day when my 65-year-old dad finished 18 holes of golf. As his friends entered the clubhouse, my father sat on a bench and collapsed from a fatal hear t attack. The shoes, for reasons I no longer recall, wound up in my closet. I rarely think of them until I’m rummaging for something on the shelf and spot the clear bag by a pile of wrinkled T-shirts. I really should get rid of those shoes, I tell myself. And almost instantly I think ... Nope. Can’t do it. In her Netflix series and best-selling book, “The LifeChanging Magic of T idying Up,” Marie Kondo preaches a simple decluttering strategy: If an object doesn’t bring you joy, get rid of it. But what if an object brings you pain? And what if pain is the reason you keep it? Is that unhealthy? Is it normal to keep a 14-year-old symbol of loss? Or just morbid? I’m hardly alone in clinging to a loved one’s possessions. A friend keeps a tweed hat and scarf that belonged to her father, who died in 1979. “To lose those objects,” she said, “is to lose the connection.” Another friend, who lost her father 25 years ago, treasures his handkerchief: “It still carries his scent — or maybe I’m imagining it — and the cloth is soft on my cheek. Just like when I was a child and needed to be comforted.” Yehuda Jacobi, author of
the grief memoir “Beyond the Opened Door,” has kept his mother’s bottle of Chanel No. 5 for 19 years. “It is mostly evaporated, but when I smell what little scent is there, it is almost as if she is in the room,” he said. My dad’s golf shoes do not evoke such pleasant memories. So why keep them? Megan Devine, a psychotherapist in Portland, Oregon, has addressed this question in her own life. In 2009, Devine’s par tner dr owned, three months before his 40th birthday. The brown T-shirt he wore that day is still in a drawer. “I’ve moved four times,” she said. “It’s not going anywhere.” Too often, she says, grief is pathologized and treated like an illness. Yet not all pain is bad. “Those golf shoes ar e a reminder of what happened,” said Devine, author of “It’s OK That You’re Not OK” and founder of the companyRefuge in Grief. “Sometimes you need evidence that your person lived, evidence that this happened, especially in a culture that wants to erase the person, par ticularly after a sudden or traumatic death.” Erase the person? Really? That seems harsh, but when we grieve, we’re often pressured to stop feeling sad and move on with our lives, she says. Remarkably, at her par tner’s funeral, people asked Devine when she would star t dating again. “There is a cultural idea that any kind of pain, but especially grief, is something you’re supposed to master quickly,” she said. “And the implication of that cheerleading — Be strong! Push through this! Put
the past behind you! — is that One night she got sick, and as if you still miss your person Kehler cleaned the mess, she after six weeks, there’s some- realized the pillow had to go. thing wrong with you. We don’t She felt anxious about it. But talk about grief and pain and she also knew what her father sadness as nor mal, would say: “It’s just a healthy things, so we As time passes, pillow.” don’t know how to our connection I’m sur e my dad respond. And when would say the same w e t e l l s o m e o n e , to objects can thing about his shoes, ‘Don’t you think it’s diminish, as but he wore them as time you’ve moved grief counselor he took his last steps on?,’ that’s a shaming Claire Bidwell on Ear th, and those r esponse based on links to final moments Smith has our own discomfort.” car r y a power ful, We also engage in found. When emotional weight. what she calls inter- Bidwell Smith As time passes, our nalized shame. connection to objects was 18, her “I can hear it in can diminish, as grief mother died, c o u n s e l o r C l a i r e the language you used,” she told me. followed by Bidwell Smith has “ ‘Isn’t it time I do her father’s found. When Bidwell this? Isn’t this kind of death seven Smith was 18, her ridiculous?’ ” died, followed years later. An mother Discarding loved by her father’s death ones’ things can often only child, she seven years later. An spur a second round experienced only child, she experio f l o s s , s a y s L o s despair, enced despair, depresAngeles decluttering depression and sion and anxiety after expert Tracy McCubtheir deaths. bin, author of “Mak- anxiety after “As a grief counseli n g S p a c e , C l u t t e r their deaths. or, I believe that you Free.” “Clients often can never fully be pretell me, when they say good- pared, but I really was not,” bye to someone’s stuff, they’re she said. “My mom had largely saying goodbye to that person been in denial about how sick all over again,” she said. she was, which meant that I Ironically, our lost loved was also in denial. With my ones probably don’t expect father’s death, it was a double us to cherish their stuf f. Kelli whammy.” Kehler, the executive editor of Bidwell Smith kept a variety DesignSponge.com, lost her of her mother’s possessions, father to cancer in 2011 and including a large ceramic Mextells the stor y of one of his pil- ican ser ving bowl. Two years lows. ago, she broke the bowl while “When you have cancer and scrubbing it in the sink — and you have a lot of pain, your couldn’t bring herself to throw comfor table positions become away the pieces. the center of your life. So this “It’s like the only proof that was his special silver pillow,” she was real, that our time she said. In the years since his together was real, because it’s death, her 5-year-old daughter so long ago now,” said Bidwell had kept the pillow on her bed. Smith, author of “Anxiety: The
Missing Stage of Grief.” “When these things break, all I see around me are objects from the life I’ve led without her.” And yet in recent years, as Bidwell Smith and her family have moved to different cities, she has said goodbye to certain objects. “The meaning has dissipated a bit over time,” she said. She’s even ready to relinquish the broken bowl as her family moves from California to South Carolina. In my own case, I think I understand now why I’m so reluctant to give the up the golf shoes. If I give away his shoes, I’m severing a final emotional link to my father’s life. And if I lose that link, it’s like I fur ther lose him. Pain is real. Pain lives on. I can feel it when I see the shoes and the tag on the bag with his name and date of death. I’m not ready to lose that raw reminder. And according to grief exper ts like Devine and Bidwell Smith, that’s fine. As McCubbin said, you have to ask yourself: Why do I value this? “Maybe ever y once a while, you need to touch it or smell the leather,” she said. “I know it’s funny coming from the declutter exper t, but I don’t think we always have to get rid of something.” Maybe, Devine suggested, the question is not whether something brings you joy, as Kondo believes, but whether it feels important. For me, the golf shoes still feel important. And so they will continue to sit in my closet, largely forgotten, until I’m again reminded of a special man and a ver y bad day. And I will welcome the pain.
Death certificates often don’t tell the whole story MICHAEL OLLOVE
WASHINGTON POST FEATURES
Rober t Anderson may know more about death than anybody else in the countr y. Anderson is chief of mor tality statistics for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information about death flows into his suburban Mar yland of fice from all over the countr y, detailing not only how many Americans have died, but also the causes of those deaths. Researchers use the information to learn what kills Americans, and public of ficials use it to craft policies to improve health and safety. On the best death certificates, the information is accurate and complete. That would mean, for example, that the death cer tificate would say not only that someone had died of a dr ug overdose but also that the dr ug had been heroin. If the departed had died of cardiac ar rest, the cer tificate would say that death r esulted fr om a hear t attack and it would disclose that the person had been a lifelong smoker and over weight. Unfor tunately, many death cer tificates are incomplete or inaccurate. With thousands and thousands of cases, such gaps can translate into a faulty understanding of mor tality and affect how money is spent on research and prevention. “You might be developing programs that aren’t addressing the real problem, in which case you are wasting money instead of really targeting it where it needs to go,”
Anderson said. Unlike most countries, the United States does not have a centralized of fice of vital statistics. Instead, all 50 states — plus the District of Columbia and New York City, as well as five U.S. territories — have their own of fices, which collect information on births and deaths and send it to Anderson’s office. W ith some prodding fr om the CDC, states have begun improving the accuracy and timeliness of the data, mainly through the adoption of electronic systems. A study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that death cer tificates related to motor vehicle accidents often failed to mention the involvement of alcohol. Fr om 1999 to 2009, death certificates reported that alcohol was involved in 3.3% of traffic deaths. By contrast, the federal Fatality Analysis of Repor ting System, which collects information on car accidents, reported alcohol involvement in more than 20% of fatal accidents. Similar studies have noted the under repor ting of conditions such as dementia and diabetes. Medical researchers and statisticians say people who complete death cer tificates often leave out some details because they want to spare relatives fr om distr essing infor mation. They also attribute deficiencies in death cer tificates to the absence of autopsies in the vast majority of cases
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and to insuf ficient training of those who fill them out. Death cer tificates are largely standardized across the countr y, but the people responsible for filling them out var y from state to state and even jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The apparent cause of death is the main determinant of who will fill out a death cer tificate. With nonnatural deaths, including homicides, suicides and accidents, as well as with infant deaths and deaths from undetermined causes, it is generally up to a medical examiner or coroner to fill out the death cer tificate. For the vast majority of people who die a natural death, the last medical provider attending the deceased — usually a physician, a physician assistant or a nurse — fills out the death certificate. But most physicians aren’t trained how to do this cor rectly and comprehensively, Anderson said. It doesn’t help that in most cases, they must
fill them out without the benefit of an autopsy, which is the most definitive method of determining the cause of death but costs several thousand dollars. As a result, many death cer tificates lack the specificity that would help researchers studying the prevalence and causes of deaths. The details matter. Complete and correct statistics on death are essential for understanding fatal diseases and injuries, said Marcus Nashelsky, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners and a professor of pathology at the University of Iowa. “Research using local, regional, state or national death statistics is a vital component of public health activities — ranging from education and prevention strategies for hear t disease, diabetes, infectious diseases, injuries and so on,” he said. The CDC’s Anderson, who trains hospital workers to fill out death certificates, said medical residency programs should
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provide such training and doctors should be required to take online c o u r s e s i n d e a t h c e rtificates as par t of their continuing education requirements, although it is up to medical licensing boards in each state to establish such requirements. Several states are tr ying to improve the quality of reporting on death certificates, most notably through state-r un electronic systems. According to the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, 35 states plus the District and New York City have searchable, electr onic death certificate databases. In those jurisdictions, a funeral director typically begins the death cer tificate pr ocess by providing identifying infor mation about the deceased. After that, the system alerts the medical provider who last saw the
patient to fill in the cause and manner of death. Anderson’s staf f at the CDC is developing an online ser vice that will walk pr oviders through the process of filling out death certificates. Melissa Bird, chief of the Iowa Bureau of Health Statistics, said her agency’s electronic system enables it to track pending cer tificates and to nudge or assist medical providers who are lagging. Since Iowa’s system was introduced in 2014, she said, the average time it takes to complete a death cer tificate has been cut from more than two weeks to six days. A speeded-up process also helps sur vivors, who often need death cer tificates to gain access to financial accounts, safe deposit boxes, insurance proceeds and more. In some states, a death certificate is needed before burial or cremation.
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