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Date of these obituaries: 08-11-1999
Printer James Conner, served Legal Aid, fellow blind people
James Conner of Covington was a printer who volunteered many hours helping the less fortunate find housing, food, medication and legal help.
But when Mr. Conner was blinded by diabetes in 1991, it was his turn to accept a helping hand.
State agencies helped Mr. Conner learn to navigate the world without eyesight and earn a license to sell soft drinks, sandwiches and snacks in public and private buildings.
He later became president of the Northern Kentucky chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.
Mr. Conner died Tuesday morning at St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit in Covington. He was 61.
Mr. Conner was a native of Cincinnati. He was a printer at Bedinghaus Business Forms in Sharonville, Ohio, for 20 years. He loved to fish.
"He used to work down at the Covington Community Center as an intake worker," said his wife, Nancy Conner. "People would come in who needed help, and he would help them."
Mr. Conner was a board member of the Legal Aid Society, which provides legal assistance to the poor.
He had no law degree, just a love for people.
"He was a people person," said Mrs. Conner. "He was friendly."
Mr. Conner was hard-hit when he was sidelined with blindness.
"He was depressed quite a while, then he went to the rehabilitation center in Louisville and that kind of saved his life," said Mrs. Conner.
"They taught him to do everything. How to use a cane, how to cook, how to make the bed."
Soon Mr. Conner was mixing it up with people again. The Kentucky Business Enterprise program helped him earn a vendor's license, which he last used to sell snacks at Turfway Ridge Office Park in Florence.
Other survivors include daughters, Tina Meader of Latonia, Roxanna Conner of Covington, Sharon Meier of Cold Spring and Gail Brewer of Demossville; stepsons, Bill Stohr and Steve Stohr, both of Latonia; and 15 grandchildren.
Services will be at 8 p.m. Thursday at Catchen Funeral Home in Covington. Visitation will begin there at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Ellen Eleanor Carl, 81, of Villa Hills, died Tuesday at Ivy Woods Health Care Center, Cincinnati.
Arrangements are pending at Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Home, Ludlow.
Chestine Stapleton Clayton, 61, of Newport, died Monday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. She was a homemaker. Her husband, Henry Clayton, died in 1997.
Survivors include a son, Chester Todd of Newport; daughters, Carla Simpson of Cincinnati, Conna McDaniel of Independence and Michelle Tester of Newport; a brother, Donald Stapleton of Newport; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Radel Funeral Home, Newport. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate.
LeRoy B. Crout, 83, of Demossville, died at 10:45 a.m. Monday at his home. He was a retired employee of Stewart-Decatur Security Systems in Covington and Erlanger and a member and deacon of Wilmington Baptist Church, Morning View. A son, Lawrence Crout, died in 1955.
Survivors include his wife, Sarah Woodard Crout; a son, Leroy Crout of Demossville; daughters, Patricia Faye Collins of Morning View, Shirley McNeely of Louisville and Debbie Doherty of Erlanger; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Wilmington Baptist Church. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 tonight at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Independence. Burial will be in Wilmington Baptist Cemetery, Morning View. Memorials are suggested to Baptist Children's Home, 10801 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, Ky. 40243; or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105.
Carl "Monk" Ellis, 60, of Valencia, Calif., formerly of West Covington, died July 23 in Valencia. He was a bartender with the American Golf Corp. in Valencia.
Survivors include a brother, Jerry Ellis of Ludlow.
Services were in California. Cremation was in California. Ronald B. Jones Funeral Home, Ludlow, is handling local arrangements.
Nannie Pauline Jones, 68, of Walton, died Tuesday at her home.
Arrangements are pending at Woodhead Funeral Home, Falmouth.
Velma R. Stull Klette, 49, of Alexandria, died at 7:25 p.m. Monday of cancer at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. She was a retired chief secretary for the Kentucky Department of Social Services and a member of ladies auxiliaries of Campbell County VFW Post No. 3205 in Alexandria and the Kentucky Peace Officers Association.
Survivors include her husband, Glenn F. Klette; sons, Glenn F. Klette Jr. of Monroe, S.C., Staff Sgt. Charles Klette of Fort Bragg, N.C.; daughters, Helen Isler of Park Hills and Jessica Klette of Charleston, S.C.; her father, Albert Stull of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; brothers, Harry Stull and Henry Stull, both of Elsmere, and Cecil Stull of Silver Grove; sisters, Patricia Jones of Newport and Margaret Morris of Cincinnati; and one grandchild.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph Church, Camp Springs. Visitation will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Alexandria Funeral Home. Burial will be in Mount Gilead Cemetery, Carthage. Memorials are suggested to Hospice of Northern Kentucky, 1403 Alexandria Pike, Fort Thomas, Ky. 41075.
Virginia Krieg Shigley, 79, of Independence, died at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at her home. She was a retired bank teller with Merchants National Bank in Muncie, Ind., and a member of the Moose Auxiliary and Order of the Eastern Star in Muncie. Her husband, Cecil J. Shigley, died in 1988.
Survivors include nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Grace Episcopal Church, Florence. Visitation will begin there at 6 p.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Elm Ridge Cemetery, Muncie. Memorials are suggested to charity.
Buford D. Taylor, 87, of Holbrook, died Tuesday at his home.
Arrangements are pending at Elliston-Stanley Funeral Home, Williamstown.
Carter Vance, 90, of Crittenden, died at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Luke Hospital West in Florence.
Arrangements are pending at Elliston-Stanley Funeral Home, Williamstown.
Ida M. Wilson Vaughn, 89, of Louisville, formerly of Rabbit Hash, died Sunday at Masonic Home of Kentucky, Louisville. She was a retired manager of the Veranda restaurant in Cincinnati and a member of East Bend Baptist Church, Boone County.
Survivors include her husband, Lawrence O. Vaughan; a daughter, Phyllis Jones of Eureka Springs, Ark.; a stepson, Ronald O. Vaughan; a stepdaughter, Joan Burgen; and two grandchildren.
Services will be at 4 p.m. today at Masonic Home of Kentucky, Louisville. Visitation will be to 3:30 p.m. at Heady Willhite-Ballard Funeral Home, Middletown. Burial will be in Curlew Memorial Gardens, Clearwater, Fla. Memorials are suggested to Masonic Home of Kentucky, 230 Masonic Home Drive, Louisville, Ky. 40041; or East Bend Baptist Church, 12246 Lower River Road, Union, Ky. 41091.
