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Date of these obituaries: 08-18-2001
Storyteller Mary Gerner, "always had a comeback'
Even a 6 a.m. wedding time couldn't discourage friends from celebrating the Newport marriage of Mary C. Flynn and Elmer J. Gerner 60 years ago.
Their life together has been that way ever since - a house filled with family and friends - largely because of Mrs. Gerner's impish Irish humor.
Mrs. Gerner, described by her children as one of the "grand ladies of Newport, " died Friday morning at St. Luke East Hospital. She was 81.
"The more people in her house, the happier she would be, " said her daughter, Judith Bricking of Highland Heights. "If you went over there in a bad mood, you wouldn't be when you left."
The couple raised seven children at 906 Park Ave., their Newport home of more than 50 years, before moving last decade to Highland Heights because they needed to live in a one-story building.
The pair had planned a large wedding, but Mrs. Gerner's mother died weeks before, so they planned to call it off. Family intervened, saying her mother would have wanted the wedding to go on, so the couple scheduled a quiet ceremony for 6 a.m. A crowd filled the old Immaculate Conception Church that morning, family members say.
Mrs. Gerner was a rabid University of Kentucky Wildcats who sometimes could be heard screaming alone at the television from her rocking chair.
"She always had a comeback, always had a joke, and she was funny, " said her son, David Gerner of Fort Thomas. "She was a storyteller. She had a delivery about her, a pace of her stories. Most of her stories had to do with her growing up in Newport."
Her optimism shone through her humor. Her father had been a bookie, and she had this take on the gangsters of Newport: "They were nice people if you didn't bother them." When she told family she had leukemia, she softened the news by assuring them, "It's the good kind."
Surviving are her husband; daughters, Barbara Kearns of Southgate, Judith Bricking of Highland Heights, Mary Borman of Cold Spring, and Anne Gerner Lyman of Cold Spring; sons, John Gerner of Southgate; James Gerner of Highland Heights and David Gerner of Fort Thomas; 15 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Monday at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Newport Funeral Home, with prayers at the funeral home at 10 a.m.
Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at the St. Stephen/Holy Spirit Church. Burial will follow at St. Stephen cemetery in Fort Thomas.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the American Heart Association, 2936 Vernon Place, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219-9932.
Cora Mae Gibson, 88, of Dry Ridge, died Thursday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center Grant County, Williamstown.
She was a retired teacher for the Grant County school system and a member of Williamstown United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, Grant County Retired Teachers Association, Grant County Homemakers, and the Order of the Eastern Star.
Survivors include her sons, Donald Gibson of Dry Ridge and Michael Gibson of Big Flats, N.Y.; brother, Bruce Fulton of Erlanger; sisters, Ruth York of Lakeside Park and Anna Faulkner of Cincinnati; four grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Williamstown Methodist Church. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Eckler-Hudson Funeral Home, Dry Ridge and from noon until the time of services Monday at the church. Burial will be in Williamstown Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to Williamstown Methodist Church, 206 Paris St., Williamstown, Ky. 41097 or to American Heart Association, 2936 Vernon Place, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219.
Kathleen Mershon Gibson, 75, of Florence, died Friday at St. Luke Hospital West, Florence.
She was a retired sales clerk for the infant department of McAlpin's Department Store and was a member of the Disabled American Veterans.
Her husband, John W. Gibson, died in 1984, and a son, Greg Gibson, died in 1974.
Survivors include her daughter, Sylvia Jennelle of Florence; sons, John W. Gibson Jr. and Gerry Gibson, both of Florence; sister, Gayle Puse'y of Fort Thomas; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at noon Monday at Stith Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of services Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Flour Creek Cemetery, Butler.
Memorials are suggested to Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, Ohio 45250.
Paulette R. Leeke, 60, of Independence, died Tuesday at her home.
She was a sales clerk for Dillard's Department Store, Crestview Hills. Her husband, Everett "Link" Leeke, preceded her in death.
Survivors include her sons, Jonathan Hope of Loxahatchee, Fla., William Hope of Pompano Beach, Fla., and Christopher Hope of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; mother, Ruth Gasser of Roxbury, Conn.; sister, Suzanne LeDeoux of Wilton, Maine; and four grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Patrick Church, Independence. Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Ronald B. Jones Funeral Home, Ludlow. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Fort Mitchell.
Betty M. Rixson, 84, of Fort Thomas, died at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Carmel Manor Nursing Home, Fort Thomas.
She was a retired office manager for the Heart Association of Greater Cincinnati, a secretary for Villa Madonna College and a member of St. Catherine of Siena Church, Fort Thomas. Her husband, Charles Rixson, died in 1984.
Survivors include her daughter, Mary Defoe of Fort Thomas; son, Tom Rixson of Cincinnati; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 7 p.m. Monday at St. Catherine of Siena Church. Visitation will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Fort Thomas. Prayers will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in St. Stephen Cemetery, Fort Thomas.
Memorials are suggested to Parish Kitchen, P. O. Box 1234, Covington, Ky. 41012-1234.
James Russell Sr., 87, formerly of Erlanger, died Friday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood.
Arrangements are pending at Ronald B. Jones Funeral Home, Ludlow.
Donald Staudinger, 61, of Highland Heights, died Thursday at VA Medical Center, Cincinnati.
He was a retired police officer at Northern Kentucky University and a member of the Kentucky Police Officers Association.
Survivors include his wife, Diane Staudinger of Highland Heights; daughter, Nancy Smith of Big Stone Gap, Va.; sons, Donald Staudinger of Big Stone Gap and Thomas Staudinger of Dryden, Va.; stepdaughters, Jamie J. Burkart of Bellevue and Laura Lynn Stuttler of Elsmere; brothers, Eugene Staudinger of Southgate and Kenneth Staudinger of Las Vegas; and three grandchildren.
Services will be at the convenience of the family. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Dobbling Funeral Home, Fort Thomas. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate.
Memorials are suggested to American Cancer Society, 6612 Dixie Highway, Suite 2, Florence, Ky. 41042.
Dewey Turner, 68, of Union, died Thursday at his home.
He was a retired machine operator for Cincinnati Sheet Metal and a member of New Macedonia Baptist Church, Newport.
Survivors include his wife, Hazel Turner of Union; daughter, Debbie Combs of Union; sons, Dennis Turner of Florence and Mike Turner of Union; sisters, Bertha Deaton of Alexandria and Saddie Webb of Newport; brothers, Ervin Turner of Taylor Mill and Ray Turner of Newport; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Rice Cemetery, Union.
