Potter Co. TX - Obits from Amarillo Online Newspapers 21 August 1998 Copyright, http://www.amarillonet.com/ ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Thanks to the Amarillo Newspapers for allowing us to place their online obits in the USGenWeb Archives ==================================================================== Last updated; Friday, August 21, 1998, 6:11 AM Amarillo Doretta Odom Swift Doretta Odom Swift, 80, of Amarillo, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Graveside services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Memory Gardens Cemetery at Interstate 27 and McCormick Road. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2820 Virginia Circle. Mrs. Swift was born in Washburn and moved to Amarillo in 1924 where she graduated from Amarillo High School. She was an artist, dollmaker and doll collector. She was a member of International Doll Makers Association and International Federation of Doll Makers as well as several local and national doll organizations. She owned Doretta's House of Dolls and, prior to that, she owned a child-care business for 20 years. She married Arthur Noel Swift in 1938. He died in 1985. Survivors include two sons, Leon Swift and Wayne Swift; a sister, Florene Webb Bahls of Hardy, Ark.; a brother, Oris L. "Pete" Odom; five grandchildren; a great-grandson; and a stepgranddaughter. The family suggests memorials be to Baptist St. Anthony's Hospice and Life Enrichment Center, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Building Fund or a favorite charity. Emma Jean McIlroy Emma Jean McIlroy, 77, of Amarillo, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Central Church of Christ Chapel with Carroll Thomason, senior adult minister, and Bob Crass, elder, officiating. Burial will be at 3 p.m. in Plainview Memorial Park Cemetery in Plainview by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2820 Virginia Circle. Mrs. McIlroy was born in Carey and had lived in Amarillo since 1967. She was associated with Furr's Cafeteria for 29 years before retiring. She was a member of Central Church of Christ. She married Adrian Clinton McIlroy in 1940 at Childress. He preceded her in death in 1967. Survivors include a daughter, LaWana Boyd of Amarillo; two sisters, Barbara King of Childress and Pauline Moyer of Arlington; two grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. The family will be at 7600 Cervin. They suggest memorials be to Harrington Cancer Center, 1500 Wallace Blvd., Amarillo, TX 79106. John Henry Clupny John Henry Clupny, 78, of Amarillo, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998. Rosary will be said at 7 p.m. today at Colonial Funeral Chapel, 1010 W. Ninth Ave. Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in St. Hyacinth's Catholic Church with the Rev. Bert Horvath officiating. Burial will be in Llano Cemetery. Mr. Clupny was a member of St. Hyacinth's Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He married Gertrude Clupny in 1947 at Wichita, Kan. Survivors include his wife; several brothers and sisters; and several nieces and nephews. Nelson Harry Shappell Nelson Harry Shappell, 86, of Amarillo, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in Schooler-Gordon Funeral Directors, Bell Avenue Chapel, 5400 Bell St., with the Rev. James Hawthorne, retired Methodist minister, officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Mr. Shappell was born in Lima, Ohio. He moved to Amarillo in 1974 from Costa Mesa, Calif. In 1971, he retired as a director of operations of the aerospace division of McDonald Douglas in Santa Monica, Calif. He was a Mason for 40 years and was a member of Mar Vista Masonic Lodge in California. He married Helen Irene Shappell in 1938 at Los Angeles. She preceded him in death in 1982. Survivors include a daughter, Nancy Gerard of Amarillo; a brother, James L. Shappell of Amarillo; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. The family requests memorials be to Gary Gerard Respiratory Care Scholarship, c/o Amarillo College Foundation, P.O. Box 447, Amarillo, TX 79178. Elsewhere Brenston Staggs ABILENE - Brenston Staggs, 82, died Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1998. Services will be at 10 a.m. today in the New Beginnings UPC Church with the Rev. Floyd Leverton officiating. Burial will be in Potosi Cemetery by ElliottHamil Funeral Home. Mr. Staggs was born in Brown County and moved to Abilene in 1954 from Coleman. He attended school in Coleman. He worked for the WPA during the war and at Eddie Krieger Pharmacy. He worked for the Abilene State School as a foster grandparent from 1979-1998. He was a guitar and harmonica player and belonged to a band called the Texas Three for a number of years. He was a member of Liberty Baptist Church. He married Martha Downey in 1936 at Coleman. She preceded him in death. He also was preceded in death by a son, Clarence Staggs. Survivors include four sons, Gerald A. Staggs and Jackie D. Staggs, both of Abilene, Raymond D. Staggs of Belton and Brenston H. Staggs of Coleman; two daughters, Thelma J. Hubbard and Frances Paige, both of Abilene; a brother, Tillman Staggs of Burkett; a sister, Joan Pearce of Fredericksburg; 21 grandchildren; and 58 great-grandchildren. The family requests memorials be to the American Heart Association, 149 N. Willis, Abilene, TX 79603. Marvin Eugene Bintliff ROSEVILLE, Mich. - Marvin Eugene Bintliff, 62, died Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1998. Memorial services will be at 7 p..m. today Dodson of Wills Point and Eddie Harrison of Arlington; 10 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Gary Brinkley CLEBURNE - Gary Brinkley, 36, of Fort Worth, died Tuesday, Aug. 18, 1998. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Crosier-Pearson-Mayfield Funeral Home with Dr. Ebbie Smith officiating. Burial will be at Blum Cemetery in Blum. Mr. Brinkley was born in Fort Worth. He was employed as a truck driver and member of Garden Acres Baptist Church. He was a widower. Survivors include two daughters, Whitney Brinkley and Baele Brinkley, both of Crowley; two stepsons, Cory Brazil of Crowley and John Gonzales of Fort Worth; two stepdaughters, Vanessa Gonzales and Valerie Gonzales, both of Fort Worth; his father and stepmother, Wayne and Grace Brinkley of Fort Worth; a brother, Greg Brinkley of Fort Worth; a sister, Leisha Brinkley Faulkner of Amarillo; and his grandparents, Donald and Mary Taylor of Keene. Visitation will be from 7 until 9 p.m. today in the funeral home. Oklahoma Delbert Franklin Hill FORGAN, Okla. - Delbert Franklin Hill, 86, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998, in Liberal, Kan. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Midway Cemetery in Floris. Arrangements are by Clark Funeral Service in Beaver. Mr. Hill was born in Clifton, Kan. He was employed by Liberal Iron and Metal Works before he retired. He married Zaidee Berniece Gonser in 1934 at Clay Center, Kan. Survivors include his wife; his son, Earl Duane Hill of Forgan; two daughters, Ruby Hitchcock of Tyrone and Lenora Francis of Geneseo, Kan.; a brother, Eldon Hill of Clay Center; a sister, Cordelia Hedberg of Clifton; 12 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild. Arthur N. Howe BEAVER, Okla. - Arthur N. Howe, 91, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Pioneer Cemetery in Beaver. Arrangements are by Swaim Funeral Home in Dodge City, Kan., and Clark Funeral Home of Beaver. Mr. Howe was born in rural Beaver County near Logan. He was an abstractor in Wichita, Kan., for 28 years. He was a 52-year member of Wichita Civitan Club and a lifetime member of Odd Fellows Lodge in Beaver. He married Letha H. Kachel in 1934 at Beaver. They retired to Dodge City Manor of the Plains in 1997. Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Carolyn Harner of Dodge City; a sister, Jo Hartman of Post Falls, Idaho; and two grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to Wichita Civitan Club, 901 Porter, Wichita, KS 67203. New Mexico Grover L. Cleveland CLAYTON, N.M. - Grover L. "Alex" Cleveland, 73, died Monday, Aug. 17, 1998 in Phoenix. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Amistad Cemetery in Amistad with the Rev. Andy Husted, pastor of Amistad United Methodist Church, officiating. Arrangements are by Hass Funeral Directors of Clayton. Mr. Cleveland was born in Amistad and was a 1943 graduate of Clayton High School. He served in the Navy from 1943 until 1946. He moved to California in 1953 where he was a supervisor at a chemical plant in Brea. Mr. Cleveland retired in 1982. After his retirement, he lived in Prescott, Ariz. He married Nina Miller in 1946 at Clayton. Survivors include his wife; four sons, Jim Cleveland of Susanville, Calif., Kenneth Cleveland of Eureka, Calif., Jack Cleveland of Valencia, Calif., and Gary Cleveland of Danville, Calif.; a daughter, Terri Bailey of Lake Arrowhead, Calif.; a brother, E.A. Pete Cleveland of Dumas, Texas; 10 grandchildren; and two greatgrandchildren. Visitation will be this evening in the funeral home. The family requests memorials be to any hospice program. Area Daniel Harrison Farley Sr. GROOM - Daniel Harrison Farley Sr., 86, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998, at Weatherford. Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Groom First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Tom Moore, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in the Groom Cemetery by Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors of Pampa. Mr. Farley was born in Berkey, Ohio. He had been a resident of Pampa from 1957 until 1966, when he moved to Kuwait for three years while working for Cooper Bessemer Oil Co. He returned to the United States in 1970 and lived in Odessa. He had lived in the Groom area from 1972 until moving to Granbury in 1989. He was a Navy veteran of World War II, a member of the First United Methodist Church and the Groom Masonic Lodge 1170 AF&AM. He married Sarah L. Barber in 1956 at Raton, N.M. She died in 1994. Survivors include a son, Daniel H. Farley Jr. of Weatherford; a stepson, Ben Collard of Granville, Ohio; three stepdaughters, Nancy Hilliard of Flower Mound, Jean Collard of Austin and Ann Burke of Stratham, N.H.; a brother, Robert Farley of Lake Charles, La.; a sister, Ruth Campbell of Malabar, Fla.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. The family requests memorials be to the American Cancer Society. The family will receive friends from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at the funeral home. John Dennis Risinger QUANAH - John Dennis "J.D." Risinger, 85, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. today in Quanah Memorial Park Cemetery with the Rev. John Spangler, minister of the Trinity Baptist Church, and Randy Akers officiating. Arrangements are by Price-Jackson Funeral Home. Mr. Risinger was born in Hardeman County and had lived in Quanah all of his life. He was an Army veteran of World War II. For more than 20 years, he owned and operated service stations in the area. He was a Baptist. Survivors include a daughter, Janet Risinger Jones of Quanah; two sons, Dennis D. Risinger and Spencer Earl Risinger, both of Quanah; three brothers, Fred Risinger of Paris, W.L. Risinger of Hugo, Okla., and Carl Risinger of Houston; a sister, Tollie Bee Pool of Hugo; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Nick P. Craig DALHART - Nick P. Craig, 80, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Dalhart Church of Christ with Gaylord Cook, minister, officiating. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery by Hass Funeral Home, Inc. Mr. Craig was born in Vernon where he graduated from high school. In 1940, he received his bachelor's degree in art from Abilene Christian College. He moved to Dalhart in 1953 as president of the Dalhart Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Craig was active in 4-H where he was coach of a state champion demonstration team, Future Farmers of America and Boy Scouts. He was two-term president of Band Boosters, secretary of the XIT Rodeo and Reunion and an organizer and first secretary of Interstate Fair. The Lions Club awarded him the Lions Share award in 1983 and named him a lifetime member in 1997. Mr. Craig was active in the Dalhart Church of Christ where he served as elder for many years, was song leader and fillin minister for Dalhart, Boise City, Stratford, Clayton, Channing and Holly, Colo. He was active in prison ministries and a mentor for the Dalhart Prison Unit called "New Life Behavior." In 1959, Mr. Craig was employed by Rita Blanca Electric Cooperative. He retired as administrative assistant in 1983 after 24 years of service. He married Audra Abston in 1945 at Fort Worth. Survivors include a son, Andy Craig of Mesquite; a daughter, Claudia Traux of Independence, Mo.; a foster son, Willie Jones of Dalhart; and two grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to High Plains Children's Home and Family Services, Inc., P.O. Box 7448, Amarillo, TX 79114. Jo Buse SUNRAY - Jo Buse, 55, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Services will be at 2 p.m. today in Sunray Baptist Church with the Rev. Philip Hilton, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Lane Memorial Cemetery by Morrison Funeral Directors. Mrs. Buse was a former longtime resident of Texhoma, Okla., where she graduated from high school. She had been a Sunray resident since 1967 and was a homemaker. She married Johnny Buse in 1963 at Clayton, N.M. Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Christi Adams of Amarillo; three sons, Mark Buse of Amarillo, Mike Buse of Sunray and Stephen Buse of Harlingen; two brothers, Jerry West of Dalhart and John West of Tyron, Okla.; two sisters, Peggy Culver of Guymon, Okla., and Belinda Tanquary of Texhoma; and nine grandchildren. The family will be at 1018 Ave. P in Sunray. They suggest memorials be to American Heart Association, c/o Teresa Chastain, P.O. Box 1208, Dumas, TX 79029. Edgar J. Wilson FRIONA - Edgar J. Wilson, 63, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in First Church of God in Christ with the Bishop W. Charles Green officiating. Burial will be in Mission Garden of Memories in Clovis by Muffley Funeral Home of Clovis. Mr. Wilson was born in Bellville. For 27 years, he worked for Excell Beef Packing. He was a member of the Salvation Army Church. He married Dorothy A. Ransom in 1969 at Farwell. Survivors include his wife; two sons, Edgar Wilson Jr., of Eagle Lake and James J. McClendon Jr., of Clovis; four daughters, Rachel L. Wilson of Hereford, Camelia R. McClendon of Fort Worth, Minnie J. Albert of Silverton and Dorothy Marie Baldwin of Lovington, N.M.; three brothers, John Wilson and Eugene Wilson, both of Houston, and Curtis Wilson of Brenham; five sisters, Katherine Blackmon of Hempstead, and Christine Ray, Inez Wilson, Johnnie Mae Wilson and Willie Mae Williams, all of Houston; and 11 grandchildren.