The Press-Dispatch
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A-8 Wednesday, March 3, 2021 The Press-Dispatch OBITUARIES Submit obituaries: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: obits@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Deadline: 5 p.m. on Monday Obituary Deadline Every Monday at 5 p.m. PEACE of MIND Let our 130 years of experience aid you in your selection of a meaningful memorial. SCHUM MONUMENTS, INC. Dale, Indiana www.SchumMonuments.com 812-937-4921 Local Representative RONALD WOODS 812-789-2009 On February 27, my life was forever changed by the loss of my companion of twenty-two years, Ed Gray. I wish to sincerely thank my family, friends and work family for all their words of comfort, cards and gifts. While this loss is huge, they have helped to support me. I know Ed would appreciate them too. Tina Zimmerman The family of Gary Williams wishes to thank all those who were involved in his care and after his passing on. To all the doctors (especially Dr. Thompson and his staff for all their many years of care), hospital personnel, visiting nurses from Memorial Hospital, Pike Coun- ty EMTs, CVS Pharmacy and Harris Funeral Home personnel, we thank you for your kindness, compassion, support, love, memorial gifts, calls, cards, flowers and food. We thank those who came to visitation, the grave- side service and the Alford United Methodist Church family for the delicious meal following his service. Thank you also to Pastor Jarrod Chattin for the uplifting message and prayers. May God bless you all! Mary "Kate" Williams Chet, Angie, Emma, Kyle and Chloe Williams Richard, Tammy, Hunter, Danielle and Madeline Williams and Colton Newton Gene, Lori, Kristie and Kaitlyn Williams Jennifer (Williams) and Lucas Kluemper ARBUTUS JEAN HIGDON Arbutus "Jean" Higdon, 79, of Otwell (Iva area), gained her angel wings on Friday, February 26, 2021 at the home of her daughter. She was born October 28, 1941 to the late Lonnie and Ollie ( Jenne) Blackburn in Petersburg. She was one of ten children. She met her husband, James A. Higdon, while riding around with some friends in early 1959. They married lat- er that year and were together for 35 years before his death. They had five children togeth- er. She was a stay at home mom, working very hard with five children to care for. She loved to garden and canning fruits and vegeta- bles. She looked forward to spring time and going mush- room hunting. She always loved her flowers and planted many varieties over the years. She always had her humming bird feeders full and loved to watch them for many hours of enjoyment. Family holidays and cook- outs were something she al- ways loved. She would get up at the crack of dawn to go down to her wild blackberry patch and by mid-morning have her basket full and ready to bake a cobbler for supper dessert. She could cook anything. She loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She nev- er met a dog she didn't like, es- pecially her Beagle Max and her 'grand dog' Dandy. She is survived by four children, Brenda (Melton) Stilwell, of Petersburg, Rog- er (Kim) Higdon, of Loogoo- tee, Charles (Mary Thrasher) Higdon, of Otwell, and Jerry Higdon, of Iva; grandchildren, Amanda Woods, Clint (Devin) Lloyd, Shaun (Melanie) Beck- ett, Jessica Higdon, Doug (Harley) Williams, Dustin (Brittany) Williams and Dal- ton Higdon; great grandchil- dren, Chloe Kelly, Oliver and Jameson Lloyd, Kateri and Elias Beckett, Ezra Higdon, Rhyder and Easton Williams, Sophie, Weston and Elizah Williams. Services will take place 1 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 6, at Harris Funeral Home in Petersburg with visitation from 10 a.m. until service time. She will be laid to rest at Iva Cemetery and Chaplain Cin- dy Lagle will be officiating. Masks are required for ser- vices. Harris Funeral Home is entrusted with care. RONALD E. HART, SR. Ronald E. Hart, Sr, 82, of Avon passed away February 25, 2021. He was born April 3, 1938 in Spurgeon, son of Earnest Earl and Alpha Winona (Abell) Hart. Ron was a mechanic for T WA and retired as The Ground Support Manager for ATA. He served our country in the US Air Force, and was a member of Avon American Le- gion Post, Amo Bird Dog Club, and was a founding member of Pine Hill Archery Club. He enjoyed adventure travel, fish- ing, hunting, archery, hiking, paddling and conserving na- ture in general and gardening. He attended The Church By The Side of The Road. He is survived by his wife, Barbara (Lewis) Hart; chil- dren, Susan Hart and her husband Alonso, Ron Hart Jr., Dennis Hart and his wife Marcy, and Heather Hart and her husband Chris Lee; sis- ters, Deanna Dunning, San- dy Hart Williams, and Kathy Hart Williams; grandchildren, Amanda Hart, Christina Hart, Courtney Railey, Kayla Ack- erman, Chelsey Saxton and Caitlin Hart; great grandchil- dren, Audrey Shrum, Bryan- na Shrum, Chirstan Shrum, Kameron Gaddis, Maelynn Gaddis, Brinley Saxton, and Wyatt Railey. The family extends a spe- cial thank you to The Gather- ing Together for their loving care of Ron. He is preceded in death by his parents, daughter, Rob- in Lynn Hart, sisters, Yvonne Jean DeJarnett and Sherry Hart Miller. Funeral service will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday March 5, 2021, at The Church By The Side of The Road in Avon. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at the church. A graveside service will be at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, Saturday at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Campbelltown. Memorial contributions may be made to The Gather- ing Together, 147 North Cen- ter Street Plainfield, Indiana 46168. SHIRLEY ANN PRIDE Shirley Ann Pride, 83, passed away Thursday, Febru- ary 25, 2021 at Good Samari- tan Home in Oakland City. She was born May 1, 1937 in Alexandria, Indiana to Charles and Norma (Rush) Sanqunet- tie. She worked for several years at the Village Inn. She is survived by son Bil- ly Miller, of Winslow, sister, Donna Kramer, grandson, Jer- emiah Miller, great-grandchil- dren, Alex, Alisah and Austin and great-great grandchildren Kashdon and Bohdi. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Rob- ert Pride (in 2019) and son Glen Miller. Graveside services were at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 1, 2021 at Pleasant Ridge Ceme- tery in Campbelltown, Pastor Eddie Willis officiating. Online condolences may be made at odharrisfuneralhome. com. OD Harris and Sons Fu- neral Home is entrusted with care. GEORGIA GAIL McCANDLESS Georgia G. (Branum) Mc- Candless, 57, of Ayrshire, passed away Sunday, January 31, 2021. She was born September 6, 1963 to Jack and Darlene Bra- num, of Pinckneyville, Ill. She spent many hours and even days on Pike County backroads walking for miles, enjoying the beautiful scen- eries and wildlife. She had a large family growing up with in the Branum home. She is survived by her hus- band, Ronald McCandless; daughter, Ciji McCandless and a stepson, Jeremy Mc- Candless; brothers, Jack and Bruce Laverne Branum; sis- ters, Rhonda Sue Vickers and Lisa Darlene Taylor; grand- children, Isabella and Chaz Lough. She is preceded in death by her parents, brothers, Da- vid Allen and Steven Ray Bra- num; sister, Sharon Kay Wool- sey and a grandchild Journei Faith. Services will be at the Com- munity Center, below the old gymnasium in Winslow, Sat- urday, March 6, 2021, at noon EST. EDWARD "BUTCH" GR AY Edward "Butch" Gray, 73, of Petersburg, passed away Feb- ruary 23, 2021 in Washington. He was born June 10, 1947 in Huntingburg, to Morris and Ruby Gray. He worked for many years as a coal min- er and retired from Old Ben Coal Company and the Opera- tor Engineers. He was a mem- ber of the Petersburg Moose, American Legion, and Peters- burg VFW. He is survived by his son, Butch ( Jamie) Gray; daugh- ters, Davi Mattingly and Dawn Davis; grandchildren, Abby Jo Davis, Madelyn Jochem and Alex Gray; great grand- children, Emma and Joseph Jochem; and sisters, Joan Grubb and Lou Clements. He is preceded in death by his wife, Diane Gray; his par- ents; brother, Steve Gray; and sister, June Hunt. A viewing was from 1-3 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 27, at Harris Funeral Home in Pe- tersburg. Harris Funeral Home was entrusted with the care. MARY CHRISTINE SAMPSON Mary Christine (Rollins) Sampson, 73, of Wabash, Ind., went home to be with the Lord at 4:03 p.m., at Parkview Re- gional Medical Center, with her husband and youngest daughter at her bedside, on Wednesday, February 24, 2021. She was born on February 27, 1947 in Glendale, Ohio to Charles and Mary Jane (Pfeiffer) Rollins. She was a 1965 high school graduate of Mount Notre Dame Girls School in Cincin- nati, Ohio. She loved her Lord supremely. She loved reading her Bible, praying and going to church. She served faithfully with her husband, Rev. James Sampson, in full-time ministry from 1985 to the present. They have served as missionary pas- tors to the Native Americans in South Dakota, as a Bible college professor, and in var- ious other pastoral roles. At the present, she was an active member of the Wabash, Ind. Bible Holiness Church, where her husband is the Pastor. She also loved being a home- maker with all of the domes- tic duties that come with that role. She loved all of her fam- ily members, especially her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild. She really enjoyed visiting with them, and talking and texting on the phone. She also was very fond of her little dog. Many were really touched by her radiant smile, genuine laugh, and joyous spirit. She will be especially missed by her husband of 49 years, and all of her children. She is survived by, husband Rev. James Sampson; chil- dren Paul (Nancy) Sampson, Martha (Troy) Castle, Joanna Sampson, David Sampson and Sarah Sampson; siblings Kath- leen (Rollins) Moroney, Joan Rollins, William Rollins and John (Rhonda) Rollins; grand- children Breanne Funk, Seth, Ethan, Silas, and Elliott Cas- tle; great-granddaughter Alay- na Funk; and multiple nieces and nephews. Preceding her in death are her parents and brother-in-law Ed Moroney. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 4, 2021 at Petersburg Holiness Church, located at 5317 North Knox Road, Petersburg, IN 47567, officiated by Revs. Ste- phen Kirkman and Timothy Stuart. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until service time at the church. The graveside ser- vice will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 5, 2021 at Oak Hill Cem- etery, located at 11200 Prince- ton Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45246. Online condolences may be made at odharrisfuneralhome. com O.D. Harris and Sons Funer- al Home is entrusted with care. WILLIS J. CONR AD Willis J. Conrad, 86, of Ot- well, passed away February 27, 2021. He was born to Herschel and Donetta Barry on Feb. 13, 1935. He married Irma Elkins on Nov. 24, 1979. He worked for the Indiana State Highway Department for many years. He loved to go fishing at the river for catfish. He loved hunting for rabbits and squirrels. He also loved to work on cars and antiques. He would be at his garage work- ing on old tractors. He is survived by his sons, Tony Wayne Conrad, of Otwell and William Neal (Ruth) Con- rad, of Georgia; daughters, Gail Lynn (Kevin) White, of Washington, Debbie Louise Conrad, of Vincennes; grand- children, Tonia (Conrad) Ross, Michael Conrad, Jere- my Conrad, Candi Conrad, Andrew White, James Mor- ley, Julianne Conrad and Ja- cob Conrad; sixteen great grandchildren and four great- great grandchildren (one due July 24, 2021); brother, Gary Barry, of Vincennes; and spe- cial friend, Esther Pancake, of Otwell. Preceding in death are his parents, wife, Irma Conrad; Herschel and Donetta Barry; brothers, Herschel, Robert, and Ted Barry and grandson, William "BJ" Conrad. Services will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 5, at Harris Funeral Home in Petersburg with visitation from 9 a.m. un- til service time. Burial will take place at Ot- well Cemetery. Masks are re- quired for services. Harris Funeral Home is en- trusted with care. WILLIAM ROGER McCLURE William "Roger" McClure, 78, of Francisco, passed away on Wednesday, February 24. 2021 at the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Oakland City. He was born November 11, 1942 in Petersburg to Edward and Hazel (Hensley) McClure. He was of the Catholic faith. He retired from Whirlpool in Evansville where he worked for 39 years. He was also a farmer, owned and operated McClure Construction Co. He enjoyed camping, hunting, crappie fishing and spending time with his family. He is survived by his wife, Judy McClure, of Francisco; son, Richard ( Xan) McClure , of Johnson; two grandchil- dren; two great granddaugh- ters; sister, Sandy(Merill) Parker, of Princeton. He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Phillip McClure in 1987; sisters, Bar- bara McClure and Marilyn Lashbrook. Burial will be at a later date at the Francisco Community Cemetery in Francisco. Visitation was from 2 until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 1, 2021, followed by a Christian Wake service at 5 p.m. with Fr. Gary Kaiser officiating at the Colvin Funeral Home in Princ- eton. Due to COVID-19 regu- lations, numbers inside the fu- neral home was limited with masks and social distancing. Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkin- son's Foundation, 200 SE 1st St. Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131 or to the American Cancer So- ciety, 318 Main St. Suite 219, Evansville, IN 47708. Expressions of sympathy may be made or you may light a candle in memory of Roger at www.colvinfuneralhome.com The Colvin Funeral Home is honored to serve Roger's fam- ily. Life Milestones made free CALL: 812-354-8500 Put a free photo with write up on your Family and Class Reunions.