OBIT: John Melvin DERR, 2004, Tyrone, Blair County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Sharon Miller Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/blair/ _________________________________________ JOHN MELVIN DERR Mr. John Melvin Derr, age 91, a guest at Colonial Courtyard, Tyrone, died Friday, December 10, 2004 at 12:40 p.m. He was born December 27, 1912 in Tyrone, the son of Melvin Larrence and Josephine Uzzell Derr. On November 25, 1933 he was married to Mary Elizabeth McNaul who died May 20, 1954 and on May 28, 1955 at Lewistown he was married to Shirley Batcheler Stryker who survives. Also surviving is one son, Robert Allan Derr and wife Shirley of Duncansville, two step-sons, Steven H. Stryker, Cape Canaveral, FL and Ronald Lee Stryker of Tyrone; six grandchildren, Kimberly, Sean, Sandra, Arlene, Allan and Barbara and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, John David Derr. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Tyrone where he had served as a Deacon and Elder, a member of F. & A.M. #494 of Tyrone, the Altoona Consistory, Jaffa Shrine, a life member of VFW Post #4559, a life member of B.P.O.E. #212, a member of AARP, a member of the Descendants of Civil War Veterans, a life member of the Marine Corp Association, a member of the Marine Corp League, Mountain Cities Detachment of Pennsylvania. Mr. Derr was a graduate of Tyrone High School Class of 1930 and had attended Franklin and Marshall College. He was a veteran of service with the U.S. Marine Corps, serving as a Corporal in the Pacific Theatre at Midway and Tarawa Islands. He retired in 1969 from the Tyrone Post Office as a window clerk after 30 years service. Following retirement the Derrs moved to Cape Canaveral, FL where they resided until three years ago when they returned to Tyrone. When in Florida he was a member of the Riverside Presbyterian Church of Cocoa Beach and a charter member of Azan Temple Shrine. A Memorial Service for Mr. Derr will be held Wednesday, December 15, 2004 at 11 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church with Reverend Robert Dunkelberger officiating. Interment at Blair Memorial Park will be private at the convenience of the family. Contributions in his memory may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 102 W. 13th Street, Tyrone, Pa 16686. Arrangements are under the direction of the Richard H. Searer Funeral Home Inc. Tyrone Daily Herald, December 13, 2004