Bonnie Louise Curry of Morehouse, Missouri, daughter of the late Onus Edward Bruce and Vada Marie (Holman) Bruce born on July 14, 1941 in St. Louis, Missouri passed away on August 14, 2022 at her home in Morehouse, Missouri at the age of 81 years.
She lived in Stoddard County, Missouri for most of her life. She also resided in St. Louis, Missouri and Bowie, Arizona. Bonnie's home church was First Oneness Church in Morehouse, Missouri. Bonnie's hobbies were sewing, cooking, gardening and planting flowers as well as spending time with her grandkids.
Bonnie married Kenneth Charles Curry on October 11, 1958 in Salcedo, Missouri.
Bonnie is survived by two daughters Donna Kay (Dennis) Ledbetter of Mitchell, Indiana, Carol Ann Curry of Morehouse, Missouri; two sons David Lee Curry of Atlanta, Georgia, Allin Bradley Curry of Sikeston, Missouri; fourteen grandchildren; fifteen great grandchildren plus one more on the way; ten great great grandchildren plus one on the way; one sister Wanda Jean McClure of Bernie, Missouri; two brothers Donald Walter Bruce of Bloomfield, Missouri, Ronald James (Tim) Bruce of Bloomfield, Missouri. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband; one son Kenneth Charles Curry, Jr.; one brother John Wayne Bruce. A host of family and friends also survive.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Bloomfield, Missouri.
Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at the Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Bloomfield, Missouri with Brother James Vent of Morehouse, Missouri officiating and Watkins and Sons Funeral Home of Bloomfield in charge of all arrangements.
Interment will be held at the Bloomfield Cemetery in Bloomfield, Missouri.
Kay White, daughter of the late William Orin Phillips and Helen McCain Phillips, was born on April 19, 1947, in Malden, Missouri, and departed this life on August 15, 2022, at her residence in Bloomfield, Missouri, at the age of 75 years.
Mrs. White was the former owner of the Junk & Stuff at the Bell City Junction, she was a former bus driver for Advance Public Schools in Advance, Missouri, and she enjoyed collecting antiques
She was united in marriage to her high school sweetheart, Charles White. Mr. White survives of their home in Bloomfield.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two sons, Lance White and wife Mary Jane of St. Genevieve, Missouri, and Chance White and wife Amy of Benton, Missouri; by three grandchildren, Ayden, Truman, and Tennyson; and by her sister, Judy Kirby of Dexter, Missouri.
Other than by her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Bruce Phillips.
No services are planned.
Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.
Bonnie Jo Meritt was born in Charter Oak, Missouri, on May 10, 1926, to Terry Cunningham “T. C.” Faughn and Mary Magdalene “Maggie” Ralph Faughn. She passed from this life on August 12, 2022, while in the tender loving care of the folks at Winchester Assisted Living in Bernie. She had resided there and at Central Gardens in Dexter for several years, after having moved from her own home in Dexter.
She joins her beloved husband Roy “Poss” Meritt, who died in 1969. Bonnie will be laid to rest at his side in the Dexter Cemetery. In addition to her parents, she also rejoins brothers Mendel Sexton, John Faughn, and Philip Faughn, along with her sister, Glenadair “Lady” Gromer. Only one sister, Betty Overbey of Turlock, CA, survives to remember how the Faughn family, like many others, survived the Great Depression and World War II as hardscrabble sharecroppers to become known later as the “Greatest Generation.” For much of that time, the Faughns lived in a cabin on the Floodway “ditch dump,” barely surviving yet always thriving on grueling work and through extraordinary resourcefulness.
Bonnie and her siblings had to carefully walk over the Floodway’s railroad trestle on their way to attend school in Charter Oak, with the youngest child always being carried on the shoulders of the eldest. Upon earning her eighth grade diploma, Bonnie went on to graduate from Gray Ridge High School with the Class of 1946. That summer, she and “Poss” settled into married life, while she completed two college courses that would enable her to begin her teaching career at West Charter Oak, where she taught the ABCs,123s, geography, science, history, music, art, and physical education to children in Grades 1-8. Throughout those years, she also found time to direct countless plays, raise funds at box suppers, and organize sporting events for her students. All this time, she continued her own education through college classes at night and during summer sessions.
During the consolidation of the county schools in the 1950s, Mrs. Meritt was reassigned to the elementary building at Gray Ridge, where she taught third grade. When the Gray Ridge and Essex school districts became Richland R-1 in the early 1960s, she moved her classroom to the new campus located between the two communities. In 1966, she earned her long-sought B. S. in Education from Arkansas State and continued to work at Richland until her retirement in 1988 after 42 years as a teacher. During her long career, she also taught night classes for adults who were seeking to further their education and earn diplomas. Like all elementary teachers, Mrs. Meritt received lots of presents from her students throughout the years, delighting in each gift and proudly displaying them for all to see. Some of these gifts were costly, some not, but it was a slightly-wilted flower picked by a little boy and planted in a tin can decorated in foil that she would fondly recall long after that boy had grown to be a man. Although Bonnie was never blessed with children of her own, she considered her students to be hers, enjoying their visits and taking immense pride in their accomplishments.
After her husband’s death, she moved from Gray Ridge to Essex and then to Dexter, making friends of neighbors and enjoying decorating each of her houses and yards along the way. Always known as a “snappy” dresser in her stylish clothing and high heels, she liked her “paint and powder.” Bonnie leaves a much-loved group of nieces and nephews including Linda Dowdy of Dexter, John “Skip” Faughn of Lake Havasu, AZ; Keith Overbey of Grass Valley, CA; Terry Gromer of Malden; and Carrie Hines of Turlock, CA. Known as “Aunt Jew Jew” to this group, she played an important role in their lives and cherished each of them, their children, and their children’s children.
For the last decades of her life, Bonnie was blessed with the devotion of Dr. Leslie Williams, who provided her with love and companionship every day until his death in 2021. Her family wishes to thank each and every one of the folks at Central Gardens, Winchester Assisted Living and Elara Caring Hospice, who provided her with outstanding TLC during the last few years and up until the final moments of her long life. She would want you to know that your work is important and much-appreciated.
A gathering of friends and friends will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, August 16, at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter. The service will follow at 10 a.m. with Rev. Gary Gilbert officiating.
Effie Eloise Conner, daughter of the late Alva and Ruby Causey, was born on December 13, 1932, in rural Essex, Missouri, and departed this life on August 13, 2022, at Cypress Point Skilled Nursing in Dexter, Missouri, at the age of 89 years.
Mrs. Conner was a member of the Hopewell General Baptist Church and had attended the First Baptist Church in Dexter. She volunteered as a pink lady at Missouri Delta Hospital in Sikeston for 20 years. She was a member of the Essex Eastern Star. After graduating Essex High School, she attended cosmetology school and opened a beauty shop with her sister Louise for a couple of years. She enjoyed working alongside her husband W.L. on their family farm. She also enjoyed fishing, gardening, working outside, playing cards, cross stitching and making quilts. She was a wonderful Mom and MawMaw.
On January 17, 1953, she was united in marriage to William Loyd “Dub” Conner. Mr. Conner preceded her in death on August 28, 2017.
Eloise is survived by her son, Dale Conner of Ellsinore, Missouri; by two daughters, Diana and husband Larry Mayberry of Dexter, Missouri, and Karen Ninos of Littleton, Colorado; by her son-in-law, Dale Hardin of Parma, Missouri; by her sister, Louise Francis of Dexter, Missouri; by ten grandchildren, Jamie Dawn Kuykendall and husband Jeremy, Matthew Mayberry and wife Katie, Jeremy Conner, Sarah Lawfield and husband Jarrett, Marissa Mills and husband Matt, Casey White and husband Trey, Jessica Hunter and husband John, Alexis Payne and husband Jamie, Cody Conner and wife Lorna and John Michael Ninos; and by twenty great-grandchildren, Hayden Conner, Lanie Grey Mills, Conner Kuykendall, Hannah Rose Conner, Drew White, Lindy Lawfield, Cain Kuykendall, Emerson Hunter, Hudson White, Barrett Mills, Sawyer Mayberry, Bristol Lawfield, Sophia Payne, Johnny Hunter, Sylvia Mayberry, William Lawfield, Caroline Payne, Grace Payne, Elle Conner, and Clark Conner.
Besides her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her daughter, Linda Hardin; and by her daughter-in-law, Beverly Conner.
Memorials may be made to the Stoddard County Children’s Home, PO Box 164, Dexter, Missouri 63841.
Visitation will be held at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Monday, August 15, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
Funeral services will then be conducted in the Mathis Funeral Home Chapel on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, at 1:00 p.m.
Interment will follow in the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.
Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.
Ancel Dewayne “Bud” McKuin, son of the late Archie McKuin and Lois Heigle, was born on November 25, 1941, in Morrilton, Arkansas, and departed this life on August 12, 2022, at Southeast Health in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, at the age of 80 years.
Mr. McKuin was a Veteran of the United States Army. He was a former farmer for McKuin Farms and the former owner of McKuin Trucking. He was a member of the Bernie Church of Christ and a resident of Bernie, Missouri. He enjoyed golfing, and training and barrel racing quarter horses. He was a former baseball coach and a former basketball coach for a traveling all-star team. Bud loved playing with his great-grandchildren, working in his garden and helping Traci with the barn.
On December 18, 1965, in Bernie, Missouri, he was united in marriage to Donna Goins. Mrs. McKuin survives of their home in Bernie.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Mark Allen McKuin of Bernie, Missouri; by his daughter, Traci LeAnne McKuin Suiter of Bernie, Missouri; by two sisters, Patricia Pickrell of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Kathy Sturgess and husband Doug of Sikeston, Missouri; by three grandchildren, Bayleigh Suiter, Marcus Suiter, and Karlie Giandelone; and by four great-grandchildren, Hendryx Goode, Oakley Suiter, Grayson Psalm Giandelone, and to be born in the near future, Tatum Suiter.
Other than by his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Phillip Lee McKuin.
Visitation will be held at Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie on Monday, August 15, 2022, from 10:30 p.m. until 12:00 p.m.
Funeral services will then be conducted on Monday, August 15, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. with Stan Dauck officiating.
Interment will follow in the Bernie Cemetery.
Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie is assisting with arrangements.
