Potter Co. TX - Obits from Amarillo Online Newspapers 22 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; Saturday, August 22, 1998, 8:52 AM Area Gordon D. Bayless Sr. PAMPA - Gordon D. Bayless Sr., 73, died Sunday, Aug. 2, 1998. Memorial services will be at 5 p.m. today in Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors Colonial Chapel with the Rev. John Glover, associate pastor of First Baptist Church, officiating. Mr. Bayless was born in Springfield, Mo., and moved to Pampa in 1938. He was a 1942 graduate of Pampa High School and was a Navy veteran of World War II. He worked many years as a draftsman at Cabot Machinery Division. He was a member of the First Baptist Church and was the founder of Pampa Sea Scout Troop in the 1950s. He married Wanda LaVerne Covington in 1943. Survivors include a son, Gordon D. Bayless Jr. of Houston; a daughter, Wanetta Hill of Pampa; and three grandchildren. The family requests memorials be to Hospice of the Panhandle, Box 2795, Pampa, TX 79066-2795. The family will be at 1936 Lea. Virl H. Copeland McGrath DUMAS - Virl H. Copeland McGrath, 89, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Morrison Funeral Directors Memorial Chapel with Dr. David Bonner, minister of Central Church of Christ, and Richie Thetford, minister of the Church of Christ at Belen, N.M., officiating. Graveside services will be at 4 p.m. Monday in Fairmont Cemetery at Hollis, Okla., with Roger Grice of Hollis, officiating. Mrs. McGrath was born in Hollis and had been a Moore County resident for 60 years. She had been a resident of California for 21 years. She was a Church of Christ member and a homemaker. She married Jewel Copeland in 1925 at Hollis. He died in 1954. She married Joe McGrath in 1956 at Tucumcari, N.M. He died in 1979. Survivors include two daughters, Zelma Kennedy of Dumas and Ellen Speed of Memphis, Texas; a son, Nuriel Copeland of Oklahoma City; seven grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and seven great-great-grandchildren. Rosa Mary Hayes WHITE DEER - Rosa Mary Hayes, 80, died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998. Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. today in Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2820 Virginia Circle in Amarillo. Mrs. Hayes was born in Bethany, Ill., and had lived in White Deer 25 years. She was a retired dental assistant and a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. She married F.P. Hayes in 1935 at Sayre, Okla. He died in 1986. Survivors include a daughter, Rosa Bilderback of Amarillo; four grandchildren; a stepgrandchild; 10 great-grandchildren; and four stepgreat-grandchildren. The family requests memorials be to Baptist St. Anthony's Hospice and Life Enrichment Center, P.O. Box 950, Amarillo, TX 79176-0001. Bessie White Dunn MEMPHIS - Bessie White "Bess" Dunn, 73, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998. Services will be at 3 p.m. today in First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Neeley C. Landrum officiating. Burial will at 3 p.m. Sunday in Collinsville Cemetery in Collinsville with the Rev. Jerry Davis officiating. Arrangements are by Memphis Funeral Home. Mrs. Dunn was born in Bent County, Colo. She was a Methodist. She married Mack E. Dunn in 1947 at Childress. He preceded her in death. Survivors include a daughter, Phyllis Dunn of Memphis; and a brother, Melton White of Dalhart. The family suggests memorials be to First United Methodist Church in Memphis, Helping Hands at Memphis Convalescent Center, Memphis Preservation Foundation, or to Crown of Texas Hospice. Lucille J. Tuggle MULESHOE - Lucille J. Tuggle, 88, died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998. Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday in Eastlawn Memorial Gardens in Denver. Local arrangements are by Ellis Funeral Homes. Mrs. Tuggle was born in Sallisaw, Okla., and had been a Muleshoe resident since 1970. She moved here from Denver where she was a member of Eastern Star. For a number of years, she taught school in the YL Community near Muleshoe. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church and was a homemaker. She married Henry Tuggle at Utah. He died in 1983. Survivors include two sisters, Nobie Wimberley of Gravette, Ark., and Avalon Ringley of Muleshoe; and two brothers, Jack Brock of Ehrenburg, Ariz., and Ted Brock of Muleshoe. Gladys Baer DUMAS - Gladys "Short" Baer, 79, died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998. Services will be at 2 p.m. today in First Baptist Church with the Rev. Scott Willingham, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Dumas Cemetery by Morrison Funeral Directors. Mrs. Baer was born in Memphis and had been a Moore County resident since 1920. She retired as bookkeeper from Moore County Grain. She was a member of First Baptist Church. She married Lawson Burk Baer in 1941. He died in 1962. Survivors include two sons, Johnny Baer of Dumas and Pete Baer of Rockwall; a brother, R.O. McMurray of Dumas; four sisters, Aline Morrison of Pampa, Dink Neie of Amarillo, and Sue Lewis and Vannie Beauchamp, both of Dumas; four grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren. The family will be at 405 Bennett in Dumas. They suggest memorials be to Dumas Cemetery, P.O. Box 791, Dumas, TX 79029; or Memorial Hospice, 224 E. Second, Dumas, TX 79029. Amarillo Nelson Harry Shappell Nelson Harry Shappell, 86, of Amarillo, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998. Services will be at 11 a.m. today in SchoolerGordon Funeral Directors, Bell Avenue Chapel, 5400 Bell St., with the Rev. James Hawthorne, retired Methodist minister, officiating. Burial will be in Memory 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 Finigan in 1938 at Los Angeles. She died in 1982. Survivors include a daughter, Nancy Gerard of Amarillo; a brother, James S. 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. Hazel Milhoan Batenhorst Hazel Milhoan Batenhorst, 71, of Shamrock, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998. Services will be at 3 p.m. today in Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors Ivy Chapel, 2820 Virginia Circle with Monsignor James C. Gurzynski, judicial vicar of the Diocese of Amarillo, and the Rev. Ray Milhoan officiating. Burial will be in Llano Cemetery in Amarillo. Mrs. Batenhorst was born in Wildorado. She was a homemaker and a Catholic. She married Joseph H. Batenhorst in 1946 at Vega. She was preceded in death by two sons, Mike and Danny Batenhorst. Survivors include her husband; two daughters, Jeanette Batenhorst and Polly Pollard, both of Shamrock; two sons, Larry Batenhorst of Vega and Henry Batenhorst of Goodwell, Okla.; three sisters, Louella Hayes of Amarillo, Mary Cade of Post and Zoe Inman of Claude; a brother, Charlie Milhoan of Monroe, La.; 10 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. The family requests memorials be to a favorite charity. Jessie Reta Miller Jessie Reta "Nannie" Miller, 99, of Amarillo, died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday in Friendship Baptist Church with the Rev. Ronnie Tucker of the church and the Rev. Carl Coffey, former pastor of McAdoo, officiating. Recitations will be by Bobbie Koprivnikar and Peggy Brisbin, her granddaughter of Mesa, Ariz. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery by Blackburn-Shaw Funeral Directors, Fifth Avenue and Pierce Street. Mrs. Miller was born near Plainview and grew up at Dimmitt. She and her husband farmed until moving to Amarillo in 1926. Mrs. Miller was a member of Friendship Baptist Church for 68 years. She served in different offices of the church as well as on many committees and was in the Naomi Bible Class. Since 1937, she had been a member of Ladies Auxiliary of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Wild Rose Lodge 312. She married Robert N. Miller in 1916 at Dimmitt. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1972 and by a daughter, Jessie Lee Hudson. Survivors include two daughters, Bobbie Marie Koprivnikar of Mariposa, Calif., and Opal Dee Barton of Amarillo; nine grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; 18 great-great-grandchildren; and five great-great-great-grandchildren. The family will be at 2204 S. Arthur. They request in lieu of flowers, memorials be to Friendship Baptist Church, 2400 S. Arthur, Amarillo, TX 79103. Ellen Elizabeth Shields Ellen Elizabeth "Betty" Shields, 66, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 1998, in Amarillo. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Monday in Garden of Memories Cemetery in Sweetwater with Eddie Whitefield of First Assembly of God in Sweetwater and Joe W. Jones, associate minister of music and senior adults of Oakwood Baptist Church in Lubbock, officiating. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S. Georgia St. Ms. Shields was born in Crane. She was employed as a cafeteria worker by the Sweetwater School District. She attended First Assembly of God in Sweetwater. She is survived by two sisters, Patricia Webb of Amarillo and Sandra Diana Jones of Lubbock. The family will be at 3612 Carson in Amarillo. James H. Adams James H. Adams, 56, of Graham, died Wednesday, Aug. 19, 1998. Services will be at 3 p.m. today in Memorial Park Funeral Home, 6969 E. Interstate 40. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery in Amarillo with arrangements by Morrison Funeral Home of Graham. Mr. Adams was born in Bowie and was a veteran of the Army. He retired as production foreman for Amoco Production Co. Four months ago, he moved to Graham from Hobbs, N.M., where he was a member of the First United Methodist Church and the Hobbs Evening Lions Club. Survivors include his wife, Darlene Adams; a son, Jason Lane Adams of Amarillo; his mother, Mary E. Adams of Amarillo; three sisters, Emma Lee Nowell and Burlene Applewhite, both of Amarillo, and Mary Jane Dallas of Pampa; two brothers, A.B. Adams Jr., of Oklahoma City and Cleston Adams of Amarillo; and three grandchildren. Jean James Jean James, 73, of Amarillo, died Friday, Aug. 21, 1998. No services are planned. Cremation arrangements were by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S. Georgia. Mrs. James was born in Denver and moved to Amarillo 18 months ago. For 35 years, she was employed as office manager by W.M. James Inc. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald B. James, in 1978. Survivors include a son, Bill James of Seattle; a daughter, Valerie Stewart of Amarillo; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to American Lung Association, P.O. Box 26460, Austin, TX 78755. Elsewhere Alvan Mitchell GEORGETOWN - Alvan Mitchell, 84, died Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998. Services were held Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints in Georgetown with Bishop William Bridger officiating. Burial was in IOOF Cemetery by Cook-Walden / Davis Funeral Home. Mr. Mitchell was born in Rayford, Okla. He was a carpenter and in the road construction business in Arizona. From 1961 until 1981, he owned and operated a laundry and dry cleaning business in Clovis, N.M. With his wife, he moved to Georgetown in 1985 where he was a member and elder for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He married Mabel Kirk in 1946 at Tucumcari, N.M. Survivors include his wife; two sons, Mike Mitchell of Rio Rancho, N.M., and Marshall Mitchell of Longview; two daughters, Diane Fox of Georgetown and Kathy Whitcraft of Round Rock; a sister, Ivy Miller of California; a brother, Varlo Mitchell of Kansas; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.