Kentucky Marriage Records by CountyDONALD PEAVLER
Donald Lee Peavler, 59, husband of Betty Jean Devine Peavler, died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2004 at The James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital.
Born March 5, 1945 in Harrodsburg, he was a son of the late Jack Medley and Ovie Peavler Gaines.
He was an employee of Corning Glass and a member of New Harmony Baptist Church in Washington County. He loved to hunt deer and turkey; watch old westerns and hunting shows and was an avid U.K. basketball and NASCAR fan.
In addition to his wife, survivors include: two sons, Ronald Peavler and Robert Peavler, both of Harrodsburg; two daughters, Becky Peavler Devine of Harrodsburg and Rhonda Peavler Sinkhorn of Danville; three brothers, Kenny Gaines and Tommy Gaines of Louisville and Grover Phillips of Danville; three sisters, Gracie Smith of Brodhead, Zelma Drury of Harrodsburg and Sheree Thompson of Ashland; six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Albert Medley and Marshal Medley, and one sister, Beatrice Leonard “Lizzie” Bell Perry.
The funeral will be today, Thursday, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Alexander and Royalty Funeral Home with Chuck Robinson officiating. Burial will be in the Spring Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Marvin Dearing, I. C. Phillips, Bradley Smith, Gary Wilson, Philip Milton, Mikey Sinkhorn, John Hardin and Milton Massey.
Honorary pallbearers will be Billy and Ronnie Best, George, Kenny, Jimmy and Ronnie Wayne Devine, David Releford and Phillip Matzke.
Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 until 9 p.m. and Thursday after 7 a.m. at the funeral home.
WILLIAM PEAVLER
William R. “Bill” Peavler, 86, Tabler Avenue, widower of Virgie Watts Peavler, died Thursday, Nov. 25, 2004 at the Thomson Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore.
Born Dec. 19, 1917 in Washington County, he was the son of the late Johny and Ida Lawrence Peavler.
He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II where he earned two bronze stars, one in Japan and one while serving in Europe. He had formerly worked at HallMack and Cudahy and had mowed lawns, and he was a member of the Mackville Christian Church.
Survivors include: five sons, Edward “Catfish” Peavler, Hubert “Pud” Peavler and David “Pee Wee” Peavler, all of Harrodsburg, and Robert “Shorty” Peavler and Aubrey Dale “Peck” Peavler, both of Lawrenceburg; one daughter, Geraldine Jones Vetter of Danville; 15 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by one son, John Willie Peavler, and one sister, Evelyn McWilliams.
The funeral was conducted Monday, Nov. 29 at the Alexander and Royalty Funeral Home with Kenneth Meredith officiating. Burial with military honors was held in Peters Cemetery in Mackville.
Pallbearers were Arthur Jackson, Lennie Westerfield, Lawrence and Junior Watts, Jeffrey Peavler and Keith Wilder.
Honorary pallbearers were Floyd Smith and Billy Watts Jr.
EDWIN RUE
Edwin W. “Skip” Rue, 94, Tremont Avenue, Lexington, husband of Frances True Brown Rue, died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2004 at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
Born May 31, 1910, he was the son of the late Insco W. Rue Sr. and Charlotte Forbes Rue.
He was one of the last seven surviving members of the Kentucky National Guard Unit from Harrodsburg in the Bataan Death March during World War II having received the rank of major. He survived the Bataan death march and three and one-half years as a prisoner of war of the Japanese after which he received the bronze star. He was former owner and operator of the Rue Hardware Store on Main Street in Harrodsburg and a former salesman for C.Worth in Lexington.
In addition to his wife, survivors include: two daughters, Linda (Jacob Poons) Rue Allen of New York, NY and Joan (Marc Schlackman) Rue of Lexington; two brothers, Leslie Rue of Harrodsburg and Rev. Clarence Rue of Amarillo, TX; one sister, Aileen Doehler of Littleton, CO, and two granddaughters.
He was preceded in death by three brothers, Frank, Insco II and Arch Rue; five sisters, Lorraine Rue, Lois Reed, Zoe Anna Overstreet, Eula Lee Ison and Elsie McMurtry, and one grandson, Edwin Brown Allen.
The funeral was conducted Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the Ransdell Funeral Chapel with Rev. Don Chase officiating. Burial was in the Spring Hill Cemetery with military honors.
Pallbearers were Jerry Ristau, Lewis Pruitt, Dr. Alex Tikhtman, Dr. Julia Popham, C. Robert Porter and Insco Rue III.
Honorary pallbearer was Morgan French.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Disabled American Veterans.
EDWIN RUE
Maj. Skip Rue Dies
Rue Was One Of Seven Survivors Of WWII Bataan Death March
Dec. 7, 1941 is indeed a day that will live in infamy. It is remembered through generations of Americans as the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
In Harrodsburg, it also is the anniversary of the bombing of the Philippines, where 66 men from the National Guard unit from Harrodsburg were stationed. Those soldiers were among the 70,000 American and Filipino armed forces who surrendered April 9,1942 and then were forced by the Japanese army to march about 90 miles without food or water. The 54,000 soldiers to reach camp alive wire forced to work as slave labor for the Japanese until 1945 when they were liberated by the Allies.
On Sunday, Maj. Edwin W. “Skip” Rue, a member of the Kentucky National Guard unit from Harrodsburg and one of the remaining seven Harrodsburg survivors of the Bataan Death March, died at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington.
Rue, 94, joined the national guard in 1934. He and his brother, Arch Rue, were both members of the 38th Tank Battalion form Harrodsburg. Their unit was activated into the regular army in 1940, becoming part of Company D of the 192nd Tank Battalion.
When they were taken prisoners, the brothers were separated. Maj. Rue survived the Death March, but his brother died on the Philippine Islands.
Rue received the Bronze Star for his service, which includes surviving the Bataan Death March and three and a half years as a Prisoner of War of the Japanese.
He also received the Presidential Unit Citation with tow oak leaf clusters, American Defense, Philippine Defense.
After the war, Rue was a Harrodsburg businessman. He was a former owner and operator of Rue Hardware Store and was a former Salesman for C. Worth in Lexington.
Howard C. Howells, also a veteran, remembers Rue from his many years in Harrodsburg and his association in the hardware business with his father-in-law, George Chinn. “He was a fine fella,” said Howells.
Rue also was the first commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #6935, serving in that position for about three years, said Howells. He also was a life member of the local VFW Post.
Rue shared his war experiences, speaking at such events as local Veteran’s Day programs and the 50th anniversary of the local VFW Post in 1996.
That history has been documented in various publications over the years. A paper written by John L. Keller details the history of the 38th Tank Company, which sailed from San Francisco Oct. 27, 1941 under sealed orders with the 194th Group Headquarters, Tank Battalion. They arrived in Manila Bay, Philippine Islands Nov. 20, 1941
Harrodsburg native Bill Alford of New York, one of the survivors, recorded his war experiences in a book. In the October, 2004 edition of Mercer’s Magazine, Alford described the bombing of Clark Field as four hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He said 89 airplanes were destroyed and 236 killed.
After the attacks, he said the soldiers suffered from hunger as they fought off continual attacks from the Japanese. They held the Japanese advances off for 122 days, but the troops were starving and beaten down. On April l9, 1942, Maj. Gen. Edward P. King ordered the surrender of all troops in hope of preventing further loss of lives.
Unfortunately, historians record that this is when some of the worst brutality of WW II began – the Bataan Death March along the Bataan peninsula of the Philippines.
Rue was one of the 37 who made it home.
“He was a great man,” said Gertrude Reed of Harrodsburg. Mrs. Reed’s sister was married to Rue for more than 70 years. She said he had a hard time during his service as a prisoner of war.
“He was a good father, a good husband and a good brother-in-law,” she said.
Rue is survived by his wife, Frances True Brown Rue of Lexington; two daughters, Linda (Jacob Poons) Rue Allen of New York, NY, and Joan (Marc Schlackman) Rue of Lexington, and three grandchildren, Sara Rue Livingston of Los Angeles, CA, a television actress currently staring in “Less Than Perfect,” Leah Schlackman of Lexington, and Edwin Brown Allen.
ROBERT WEST
Robert Taylor West, 89, Harry Wise Road, Lawrenceburg, widower of Elberta Chapman West, died Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004 at the Frankfort Regional Medical Center.
Born Jan. 13, 1915 in Anderson County, he was a son of the late Robert Thomas and Anna Lydia Martin West.
He was a farmer, had worked for Dawson Feed and Supply, was a member of the Stringtown Ruritan Club since 1988, and a member the Sand Spring Baptist Church.
Survivors include: two sons, Thomas (Ann) West of Lancaster and Delbert (Jane) West of Harrodsburg; two brothers, Joe Ruby West of Shelby County and Elzie Lee West of Lawrenceburg; four sisters, Genevieve West Gregory, Frances Elizabeth Phillips and Leona Princess Flynn, all of Lawrenceburg, and Nora Belle Knight of Dalton, GA; seven grandchildren, and three step-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by one daughter, Myrtle Ann Hawkins; one brother, William Earl West, and one sister, Rosetta Sutherland.
The funeral was held Monday, Nov. 29 at the Ritchie and Peach Funeral Home in Lawrenceburg with Dr. Mike Hamrick officiating. Burial was in the Sand Spring Cemetery.
Pallbearers were James Allen, J. B. and Wayne Hawkins, Stanley Phillips Jr., and James and Bruce Cunningham.
Contributions are suggested to Sand Spring Baptist Church, Building Fund, 1616 Harrodsburg Road, Lawrenceburg, KY 40342.
MILITARY RITES
American Legion Post #52, Disabled American Veterans Chapter #54, and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #6935 conducted Military Rites for Webster “Web” Wilson at Spring Hill Cemetery on Nov. 23, 2004.
Those attending were: Curtis Sherrow, Tom Rappleye, Tommy Denny, Lucian Landers, Marion Mershon, Howard H. Howells, Joe Harlow, Floyd Shirley, James Tewmey and Preston Burgin.
Bugler was Jerry Freeman and Army representatives were SSG Julian M. Glascoe and SSG Vernal R. Hall
MARTHA CARR
Martha R. Carr, 88, Ft. Myers, FL, formerly of Harrodsburg, widow of Herbert E. Carr, died Sunday, Nov. 21, 2004 at Health Park Hospital in Ft. Myers.
Born Dec. 23, 1916 in Mercer County, she was a daughter of the late Joshua Bell and Sue Divine Isham.
Survivors include: one daughter and son-in-law, Phyllis Carr and Bob Williams of Ft. Myers, FL; two sisters, Louise Isham Dean of Harrodsburg and Gladys Berger of Lexington; two grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Private memorial services were held in Ft. Myers.
KENNETH DEVINE
Kenneth W. “Kenny” Devine, 38, Stopher Lane, husband of Angie Egbert Devine, died Sunday, Dec. 5, 2004 as a result of an auto accident.
Born Dec. 15, 1965 in Mercer County, he was a son of William B. Devine of Harrodsburg and Joyce Simpson Hill of Danville.
He was a self-employed carpenter and a member of Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, watching old westerns and playing horseshoes.
In addition to his wife, survivors include: two sons, Johnathan Wayne Devine and Andrew Marshall Devine, both of Harrodsburg; one daughter, Crystal Lynn Devine of Harrodsburg; three brothers, William Keith Devine of Danville, George Allen Devine of Perryville and Kelvin Lee Devine of Junction City; two sisters, Garnetta Mae Benge and Sheila Ann Lunsford, both of Junction City; mother-in-law, Shirley Griggs of Harrodsburg; maternal grandmother, Effie Simpson of Harrodsburg; and several nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.
He was preceded in death by one daughter, Amanda Lynn Devine.
The funeral was held Wednesday, Dec. 8 at the Alexander and Royalty Funeral Home with Bro. Derek Baker officiating. Burial was in the Spring Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers were James Hammack, Larry Siler, Travis Yeager, Wayne Sexton, Michael Egbert and Matt Burkes.
Honorary pallbearers were Walter Rowe, Ronnie and Bruce Devine and David Releford.
