The Press-Dispatch
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Box 68 Petersburg, Indiana 47567 • • • • • • Entered at the Post Office in Petersburg, Indiana for transmis- sion through the mails as Periodical Mail, postage paid at Petersburg, Indiana. Published weekly. (USPS 604-340) robert l. risleY Robert Lee "Bob" Ris- ley, Sr., 85, of Bloomington, passed away peacefully Fri- day, April 18, 2014, at his residence. He was born on October 28, 1928, in Boon- ville, the son of Roscoe L. and Fannie Ellen ( Jones) Risley. He was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Rob- ert L. Risley, Jr.; one sister, Louise; and four brothers, Raymond, Mertis, Herb and Lorie. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Janice; three daughters, Teresa (Don) Grady, of Spencer, Kimber- ly Phillips, of Princeton, and Krista Risley, of Blooming- ton; two brothers, Roscoe Risley, Jr., of Tonopah, Nev., and Donald Risley, of Rich- land. He was a proud grand- father to eight grandchil- dren: Jill Grady Hooten, of Bloomington; Emily Ris- ley Skelton, of Otwell; Julie Grady Johnson, of Indianap- olis; Zon Risley, of Winslow; Heather Johnson Sorgius, of Petersburg; Jennifer Grady Jarrett, of Atlanta, Ga.; Ka- tie Phillips and Matthew Phillips, both of Princeton. In addition, Bob had 19 great-grandchildren: Mad- die and Jake Hooten, Tay- lor and Abigail Skelton, Al- ex, Drew and Annie John- son, Quinton, Kendric, La- kin and Channing Sorgius, Blake and Luke Jarrett; Zoey, Stormy, Krista and Shepard Risley, and Kiera and Bryleigh Phillips; sev- eral nieces and nephews. Bob graduated from Boonville High School, af- ter which he enlisted in the United States Army. He at- tended basic training at Fort Sam Houston, in San Anto- nio, Texas and served his tour of duty in Germany and France. After returning home, he married Janice Hayes of Lynnville, on October 9, 1949. Bob was a mechani- cal engineer by trade and re- tired from Southern Indiana Gas and Electric in 1968. He then worked for Hoosier En- ergy until 1988, after which he took a second, well-de- served retirement to play golf, tinker with his vintage cars and indulge in his fa- vorite hobby—woodwork- ing. A man of deep faith, Bob was also a member of the AMVETS and lifetime member of VFW Post 3587, in Petersburg. Funeral services were at 1 p.m. (CDT) Monday, April 21, 2014, at Bradley's Colo- nial Chapel, 1005 E. Main St. in Boonville. Visitation was from 10 a.m. until ser- vice time at the funeral home. Burial was in Maple Grove Cemetery, Boonville. In lieu of flowers, the fam- ily requests that you consid- er making a donation to IU Health Bloomington Hos- pital Hospice, 619 W. First St. Bloomington, IN 47403 or Wounded Warrior Proj- ect, P.O. Box 758517, Tope- ka, KS 66675, www.wound- edwarriorproject.org. Con- dolences to the family can be sent to www.bradleyscc. com. roMilda F. padget t Romilda "Millie" F. Padgett, 89, of Jasper, passed away at 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, 2014, at Providence Home and Health Care Center in Jas- per. Millie was born in Jasper on December 24, 1924, to Ja- cob F. and Colletta (Renner) Lechner. She married James E. Padgett on December 31, 1947, in St. Joseph's Catho- lic Church in Jasper. He pre- ceded her in death on July 25, 1994. Millie was a high school graduate and completed one year of college at St. Mary of the Woods in Terre Haute. She finished her no- vitiate and was named Sis- ter Marie Robert before sick- ness forced her departure. She later worked at the Ben Franklin store on the Jasper Square before and after mar- riage. She enjoyed farming, country living, and decorat- ing cakes. She quilted week- ly with the Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Quilters' Club for twenty years, and donat- ed many handmade items to the church picnic. In 1998, she was present- ed the Brute Award by Bish- op Gettelfinger for "Time, Talent, and Treasure." Romilda resided at the Prov- idence Home in Jasper since 2001. Over the years, she has won 15 medals in the Senior Olympic games for spelling and wheelchair races. Surviving are two sons, Sam L. Padgett, and his wife Marilyn, and Donald R. Padgett, and his wife Mar- gie, both of Winslow; one grandson, Dale Padgett, of Winslow; two sisters, Wil- ma Jeannie Seger, of Jasper, and Luella Bredhold, and her husband Clarence, of St. James City, Fla.; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were at 10 a.m. Monday, April 21, 2014, at the Providence Home Chapel in Jasper, Buri- al followed in Walnut Hills Cemetery in Petersburg. Visitation was from 4-8 p.m. at the Becher-Kluesner North Chapel in Jasper on Sunday, April 20, 2014, and one hour before services at the Providence Home Cha- pel. Memorial contributions may be made to Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Petersburg, the Providence Home in Jasper, or to a favor- ite charity. Online condolences may be made at www.becherk- luesner.com. Margot ellen southall Margot Ellen (McDow- ell) Southall, 84, of Francis- co, entered into rest on Sun- day April 20, 2014, at Baptist Health Louisville in Louis- ville, Ky. She was born on March 20, 1930, in Francisco, to George Elmer and Mary (Gudel) McDowell. She was a retired school teacher, teaching in Lou- isville, Ky., area for many years. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church in North Palm Beach, Fla. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Ed- ward Southall. Surviving are a daugh- ter, Jeanne Southall, of Den- ton, N.C.; a son, Dr. Robert Southall, Jr., of Versailles, Ky.; grandchildren, Cal Ry- an (Elizabeth) Scheinert, Stephanie Jean (Daniel) Hernandez, Elizabeth, Will, Wyatt Southall andKate Southall Berg; and great- grandchildren, Madeline and Emma Grace Berg. Graveside services were at 3 p.m., Tuesday April 22, 2014, at Forsythe Cemetery. Lamb-Basham Memorial Chapel in Oakland City was in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memo- rials can be sent to Forsythe Cemetery, 752 E. 300 South, Oakland City, IN 47660 or Parkinson Foundation, 7700 Leesburg Pike, Suite 203, Falls Church, VA 22043. Family and friends may send messages of comfort to www.lambbasham.com. peter ba jzath, jr. Peter Bajzath, Jr., 91, of Oakland City, entered into rest on Friday, April 18, 2014, at Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Oakland City. He was born on August 25, 1922, in Tiszavakony, Hun- garia to Peter and Veronika (Kovacs) Bajzath. He was a long time farmer in Oakland City and a mem- ber of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. He was preceded in death by wife, Anna, March 1, 2001. He is survived by a daugh- ter, Pauline (David) Dalton, of Oakland City; sons, Victor (Rhonda) Bajzath, of Hunt- ingburg, Peter Bajzath III, of Princeton, Joseph (An- na M.) Bajzath, of Spur- geon, John (Carol) Bajzath, of Oakland City, and Lossie (Ellen) Bajzath, of Chester- field, Mo.; eight grandchil- dren; six great-grandchil- dren; two great-great-grand- children; and a sister in the old country. A Mass of Christian buri- al took place on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, at 10 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Catho- lic Church with Father Ron- ald Zgunda Celebrant. Buri- al was in Montgomery Cem- etery. In lieu of flowers, memori- als may be given to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Family and friends may send messages of comfort to www.lambasham.com. r aYMond chesser Raymond Chesser, 87, of Vicksburg, Mich., died on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Born in Winslow, Febru- ary 2, 1927, he was the son of Louis B. and Alice Mae Chesser. He was a U.S. Army vet- eran serving with the mil- itary police for 18 months. He married the former Al- berta Hudson, of Indiana, March 21, 1948. For 25 years, he worked for the Miller-Davis Con- struction Company as a la- bor foreman. Following an injury, he retired, which al- lowed Ray and Alberta to spend three months out of the year enjoying their trail- er and time at Prides Creek Park in Petersburg. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Alberta, of Vicksburg, Mich.; two sons, Kenneth ( Vicky) Chesser and Kevin (Sherry) Chesser, both of Vicksburg, Mich.; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother, Junior. Visitation was on Monday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Life Story Funeral Home in Vicksburg, Mich. Funer- al services were Monday, April 21, 2014, at 1 p.m. at the funeral home. Military honors were at the funeral home after the service. jaMes choate James E. Choate, 65, of Washington, died at 12:25 p.m. Monday, April 14, 2014, at Daviess Community Hos- pital. He was born in Hopkins- ville, Ky., March 29,1949, the son of Shirley and Flo- ra (Flynn) Choate. He mar- ried Sharon Fields January 7, 1969. He graduated from Ham- mond Tech High School in 1967. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. He retired from P TM Water Blaster Cleaning Company. Surviving besides his wife, Sharon, are two daugh- ters, Rhonda Padgett and LIsa (Paul) Clark, both of Washington; two sons, James E. Choate II, of Pe- tersburg, and Joseph E. Choate, of Washington; three brothers, Wallace (Ruth) Choate, of Griffith, Kenneth ( Joy) Choate, of Valparaiso, and Tommy (Dawn) Choate, of Calu- met City, Ill.; seven sisters, Wand Gilbert, of Hammond, Mattie ( Vern) Garza, of Schereville, Flo (Marshall) Snuffer, of Valparaiso, Peg- gy (Ron) Cassoday, of Rens- selaer, Joyce Robinson, of Merillville, Brenda ( James) Harris, of Hobart, and Dor- othy (Ron) Harris, of Dyer; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; one daugh- ter, Andrea Choate; one granddaughter, Cheyanne Demoss; two grandsons, Joshua Choate and Joseph Choate II; and one sister, Cora Cummings. Funeral services were at 11 a.m. Friday, April 18, 2014, at Ed Lee Mortuary with Pastors Vicki Murel- lo and Tom Watson officiat- ing. Burial was in Sugarland Memory Gardens, with mil- itary graveside rites by the Washington American Le- gion and VFW. Margie scot t Margie Marie Scott, 83, of Wheatland, died at 6 a.m. Tuesday, April 15, 2014, at her residence. She was born in Olney, Ill., Nov. 2, 1930, to Bryan C. and Eva (Bullard) Hill. She was a member of the Wheatland Christian Church and had worked at Gimbel Bond and DeJongs as a professional sales clerk. Surviving are a daughter, Deborah Scott, of Wheat- land; a son, Bruce E. Scott, of Wheatland; four brothers, John (Ruth) Hill, of Arthur, Ill., Robert (Dixie) Hill, of Carmel, Jerry (Rosella) Hill, of Winslow, and Larry Hill, of Washington; a sister, Carolyn Hill, of Petersburg; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandson. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Lyle E. Scott; a son, Gordon Lee Scott; and a sister, Jackie Junkin. Funeral services were at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 19, 2014, at Goodwin Funeral Home in Vincennes, with Brent Cramer officiating. Burial was in Wheatland Cemetery. lela k aY tr aYlor Lela Kay Traylor, 50, of Velpen, passed away at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22, 2014, in Petersburg. Lela was born on June 17, 1963, in Washington to Le- land E. and Patty (Sullivan) English. She worked at Master- brand Cabinets for 23 years. Lela had been an active member and union advocate of Local 2930 for 23 years. During that time, she held numerous positions with- in the leadership, including Local Executive Board po- sitions of Trustee and Trea- surer, Shop Steward, and Chief Steward. She had pre- viously served on the local election committee, negoti- ating committee, contingen- www.mikebraunforindiana.com Paid for by Mike Braun for State Representative Mike will be an advocate for conservative values: • 100% Pro Life • 2nd Amendment supporter • Pro-economic growth • Term limit advocate • Advocate for limited spending BusinessMAn LAnd MAnAger schooL BoArd MeMBer BRAUN Mike for STATE REPRESENTATIVE A ConservAtive voiCe for ConservAtive vAlues You can count on Mike Braun to always put the taxpayers first, not lobbyists and special interests. elect Mike Braun has a message for politicians in indianapolis... sToP The sPending! We, the family of VANICE SMITH wish to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone for their thoughts and prayers during our time of loss. We are grateful for the cards, flowers, donations, food, phone calls, visits and sympathy. Our deepest appreciation to Rev. Bob Strain for the comfort- ing service and Nass & Son Funeral Home for their help with arrangements. Also, a special thank you to the pallbearers and all involved for the wonderful meal provided by Mt. Olive General Baptist Church. If we missed anyone, we deeply apologize. Ruby Gray-Smith and Family A-3 Wednesday, april 23, 2014 continued on page 5