Grace Lucille Whitson Long, daughter of the late Joseph W. Whitson and Laura Edna Barry Whitson, was born on July 26, 1913, in Hickman, Kentucky, and departed this life at Winchester Place in Bernie, Missouri, on October 25, 2012, at the age of 99.
Mrs. Long was a member of the Bernie Church of Christ. She taught in several school districts ending her career of nearly 45 years in the New Madrid County School District. She belonged to the Retired Teachers Association and was a volunteer for the Dexter Hospital Auxiliary, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Red Cross.
She often spoke of the people that helped her make decisions at turning points in her life – the ones that encouraged her to go to high school and then on to college. Only heaven knows how many times she was able to pass that encouragement on to a new generation.
She is survived by three daughters, Linda Vincent of Phoenix, Arizona, Brenda Campbell and her husband, Larry, of Phoenix, Arizona, Robbie Burnett, and her husband, John, of Campbell, Missouri; by her son-in-law, Tony Lape; by eleven grandchildren, Courtney Vincent, Susannah Gobler, Caroline Culpepper, Chad Campbell, Todd Campbell, Hallie Campbell, Whitney Brothers, Meredith Peirick, Ian Lape, Martha Hutchens and John Burnett; and by seventeen great-grandchildren.
Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by one daughter, Danna Lape; six brothers, John Barry Whitson, William Daniel Whitson, Edward Carmack Whitson, Joseph Allen Whitson, Earl Jackson Whitson and Jesse Floyd Whitson; and by one sister, Minnie Myrtle Whitson.
Friends may call at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Sunday, October 28, 2012. Funeral services will be conducted by Rev. Stan Dauck on Sunday, October 28, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel. Interment will follow at Mounds Memorial Park in New Madrid, Missouri.
She was raised in Southeast Missouri and had lived in Arnold and St. Louis, Missouri before moving back to Parma, Missouri 13 years ago. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Parma.
She was married to Harold Simmons and he preceded her in death on January 4, 2005.
Surviving are two daughters, Lisa Scott of Parma, Missouri, Lori Null of Villa Ridge, Missouri; eleven grandchildren, two great grandchildren; one brother, Kenneth Boyer of Bonne Terre, Missouri; one sister, Joyce Keen of Bonne Terre, Missouri. Other relatives and friends also survive.
In addition to her parents and husband she was preceded in death by one daughter, Melissa Simmons and one son, Eric Dewayne Simmons.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, after 11:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Parma, Missouri.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 12:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Parma, Missouri.
Interment will be in the Mounds Park Cemetery near New Madrid, Missouri with Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Parma, Missouri in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.watkinsfuneralhome.com
Watkins & Sons Funeral Service
info@watkinsfuneralhome.com or phone 573 624 3548
Elizabeth W. Rose, daughter of the late William Nash and Nora Jennings Nash, was born on April 8, 1916, in Dudley, Missouri, and departed this life at the Cypress Point Skilled Nursing in Dexter, Missouri on October 14, 2012, at the age of 96.
Mrs. Rose was a member of the First Church of the Nazarene in Dexter, Missouri, and was employed by Stovall’s Department Store.
She was united in marriage to Carl A. Rose on April 29, 1939, in Dexter, Missouri.
She is survived by one son, Joe Rose of Dexter; by one daughter, Carlene Hartle of Dexter; by 7 grandchildren, Danny Fraser, Samantha Pearson Mehan, Tim Rose, Tod Rose, Jeffrey Rose, Stephanie Credille and Amy Rose; 5 step-grandchildren, Eric Hartle, Emily Tidwell, Natalie Ries, Candi Spear and Shawn Young; and by 15 great-grandchildren.
Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband; by one son, Jim Rose; and two brothers, Thomas Nash and Sam Nash.
Friends may call at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter from 9:30 A.M. to 11:00 A.M., Wednesday, October 17, 2012. Funeral services will be conducted by Rev. Roger Wooten on Wednesday, October 17, 2012, at 11:00 A.M. at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel in Dexter. Interment will follow at the Dexter Cemetery in Dexter, Missouri.
On April 8, 1983, she was married to Mirel Bledsoe in Dexter, Missouri. He preceded her in death on March 28, 1997.
Surviving are two sons, Roy Harkness of Ripley, Tennessee, Danny Harkness of Des Arc, Missouri; five grandchildren; five great grandchildren; and one sister, Annette Gray of Covington, Tennessee. Other family and friends also survive her. She was preceded in death by three brothers, Bryan Roy, Jr., Tommy Roy and Franklin Roy; and one sister, Pauline Glenn.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, after 1:30 PM at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Dexter, Missouri.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, at 2:30 PM at the Watkins & Sons Chapel in Dexter, Missouri.
Interment will be at the Hagy Cemetery in Dexter, Missouri with Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Dexter in charge of arrangements.
Memorials may be made to the Crossview Baptist Church, PO Box 227, Ripley, Tennessee 38063.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.watkinsfuneralhome.com
Watkins & Sons Funeral Service
info@watkinsfuneralhome.com or phone 573 624 3548
Shawn Byron Smith, son of Daniel A. Smith, of Bloomfield, Missouri, and the late Karen Ruth Gillett Smith, was born on May 29, 1975, in Dexter, Missouri, and departed this life on September 6, 2012, in Dexter, Missouri, at the age of 37.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Lighthouse Christian Center in Dexter, Missouri, and he was employed as a mechanic for Hollister Lube and Oil in Hollister, Missouri.
In addition to his father and step-mother, Barbara Kaye Smith, he is survived by two sons, Triston Smith and Kyle Smith of Dexter, Missouri; by one daughter, Emily Smith, of Dexter, Missouri; by two brothers, Daniel Smith, Jr., of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Kevin Wayne Smith, of Desloge, Missouri; by one sister, Jennifer Ann Smith, of Columbia, Missouri; by two step-sisters, April Lambert, of Bloomfield, Missouri, and Dawn Freeman, of Poplar Bluff, Missouri; and by his paternal grandmother, Jo Ann Gibson, of Dexter, Missouri.
Friends may call at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., on Wednesday, October 17, 2012.
Memorials may be made to the Shawn Smith Family in care of the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter.
