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Date of these obituaries: 04-10-1999
Accident kills J.C. "Mike' Ryan, Verona farmer
J. C. 'Mike' Ryan, prominent Verona farmer and a former minor-league pitcher, died at 12:02 p.m. Thursday in a tractor accident at his farm. He was 66.
Mr. Ryan was a star baseball player at Walton-Verona High School who was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league in his senior year, 1951. He was drafted the following year and served two years in Korea, then returned to play ball again
He met his wife, Frankie, on a blind date in 1955, and they were married
the next year.
'He was my best friend,' Mrs. Ryan said. 'He was born and raised on a farm, and so was I.'
As a newly married
couple, they moved to Texas to pursue his baseball career. He moved up in the minor leagues, from B-ball to A-ball, traveling across the country on 10-day road trips. When his first child was due, he decided family and roots were more important than chasing a baseball career.
'He was 25 years old,' his wife said. He left the Dodgers, bought a farm and became a sales representative for farm chemicals and fertilizers.
'He was a very straightforward, honest person. His word was better than any legal document,' Mrs. Ryan said. 'He was highly respected in this community.'
He remained active and interested in sports, but his farm and his family were his life, Mrs. Ryan said.
'I asked him once if he ever regretted leaving baseball,' she said. 'He said he would liked to have made it big, but he wouldn't have missed a minute of the time he spent with me and the kids.'
Mr. Ryan was a member of the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. He was a commissioner with the Bullock-Pen Water District and served on the board of the Boone County American Soil Conservation Service for 25 years. He was an Army veteran of the Korean War.
Besides his wife, survivors include sons, Danny Ryan of Richwood, Dale Ryan and Dave Ryan of Verona; a daughter, Donna Ryan Blanco of Verona; brothers, Walt Ryan of Verona, Cliff Ryan of Walton, Earl LaVerne Ryan of Latonia and Bob Ryan of Peoria, Ill.; seven grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at New Bethel Baptist Church, Verona. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Hamilton-Stanley Funeral Home, Verona, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday at the church. Burial will be New Bethel cemetery in Verona. Memorials are suggested to Verona Life Squad, P. O. Box 95, Verona, Ky. 41092.
Rutahanna Connolly, 80, of Cincinnati, formerly of Falmouth, died Thursday at the Burlington House nursing home in New Burlington, Ohio.
She was a retired librarian with the U.S. Army and Niagara, N.Y., Community College. She was instrumental in starting the Youngstown, N.Y., Free Library, and was a member of Calvary Episcopal Church, Cincinnati.
Survivors include a daughter, Mary Anne Connolly Wehrend of Cincinnati; sons, Don Mickay Connolly of Cincinnati and Robert Anson Connolly of Butler; a brother, David Tritten of St. Louis; and three grandchildren.
Graveside services will be at noon Wednesday at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Pendleton County. Memorials are suggested to Alzheimer's Disease Association, 644 Linn St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45203. Woodhead Funeral Home, Falmouth, is handling arrangements.
Orie Pierce Hanson, 89, of Owenton, died Friday at University Medical Center, Lexington.
He was a retired carpenter, a farmer and a member of Owenton First Baptist Church.
His wife, Charlcie Adair Hanson, died in 1997. Sons, Jackie Hanson and Benny Leon Hanson, and a daughter, Peggy Reynolds, also preceded her in death. Survivors include a son, Ken Hanson of Owenton; daughters, Hilda Maze of Douglas City, Calif., and Vivian Lounette Thompson of Dayton, Ohio; a brother, Dwight Hanson of Cocoa, Fla.; 19 grandchildren; and 26 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at McDonald Funeral Home, Main Street, Owenton, with visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday. Burial will be in IOOF Cemetery, Owenton. Memorials are suggested to First Baptist Church, Together We Build Program, Owenton, Ky. 40359.
Russell John 'Rusty' Hartzell II, 34, of Covington, died at 10:22 a.m. Thursday at University Hospital, Cincinnati.
He was a risk-reduction specialist, senior educator and team leader with AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati and performed as Empress VII Oxana Da' Bull with the Imperial Sovereign Queen City Court of the Buckeye Empire.
Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Frances and William Neubert of Vevay, Ind.; a sister, Holly Marcum of Cincinnati; and a brother, Jeffrey Hartzell.
Services will be at 4 p.m. EST Sunday at Haskell & Morrison Funeral Home, Vevay, Ind., with visitation from 1 p.m. Sunday. Burial will be in Vevay Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati, 2183 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45214.
Doris Adele Drennon King, 74, of St. Petersburg, Fla., formerly of Newport, died at 9:55 p.m. Thursday at Shore Acres Nursing Home, St. Petersburg.
She was a homemaker and a member of Newport Christian Tabernacle.
Survivors include her husband, Kenneth Edmond King; a son, Kenneth Ralph King of Austin, Texas; and a daughter, Elizabeth Diane Smith of Largo, Fla.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allison and Rose Funeral Home, Covington, with visitation from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill.
Zelma Webster Kinman, 84, of Dry Ridge, died at 2 a.m. Friday at Grant Manor Nursing Home, Williamstown.
She was a homemaker and a member of Concord Baptist Church, Grant County.
Her husband, John Stanley Kinman, died in 1982. Survivors include a daughter, Ruth Ann Kendall of Dry Ridge; and a sister, Marceleen Satterwhite of Jonesville.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Elliston-Stanley Funeral Home, Williamstown, with visitation from 4 to 9 tonight. Burial will be in Concord Baptist Church Cemetery, Grant County. Memorials are suggested to Concord Baptist Church, in care of Elliston-Stanley Funeral Home, P. O. Box 130, Williamstown, Ky. 41097.
Mildred A. Dedden Lindebaum, 81, of Fort Wright, died Thursday at St. Charles Care Center in Fort Wright.
She was a secretary with R. L. Polk Co., Cincinnati, and a member of St. Augustine Church, Covington.
Her husband, Herbert Lindebaum, died in 1948. Survivors include a brother, John Dedden of Covington, and a sister, Loretta Zembrodt of Fort Wright.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Augustine Church, with visitation from 9 a.m. Burial will be in Mother of God Cemetery, Fort Wright. Memorials are suggested in the form of Masses. Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Home, Covington, is handling arrangements.
Ruth Allen Franklin Vanlandingham, 74, of Alexandria, died at 8:40 p.m. Thursday at Lakeside Place Nursing Home, Highland Heights.
She was a retired employee of Western Union and a member of Order of the Eastern Star Chapter No. 337, Alexandria.
Her husband, William Vanlandingham, died in 1986. Survivors include daughters, Suellyn Lloyd of Alexandria and Luana Ross of Texas, and two grandchildren.
Services will be at convenience of the family. Mrs. Vanlandingham donated her body to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Memorials are suggested to Shriner's Burns Institute, 3229 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45229. Alexandria Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
Alma R. Wietholter, 88, of Covington, died at 9:15 a.m. Thursday at St. Charles Care Center, Fort Wright. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include her husband, Charles Wietholter; sons, Charles H. Wietholter and Jim Wietholter of Cold Spring; a daughter, Mary E. Amend of Park Hills; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. today at St. Charles Care Center Chapel, Fort Wright, with visitation from 8 a.m. Burial will be in St. John Cemetery, Fort Mitchell. Memorials are suggested to St. Charles Care Center, 500 Farrell Drive, Fort Wright, Ky. 41011. Catchen and Son Funeral Home, Covington, is handling arrangements.
Hazel L. Williamson, 85, of Crestview Hills, died at 2:45 a.m. Friday at Mount Washington Care Center, Cincinnati. She was a homemaker.
Her husband, Albert M. Williamson, preceded her in death. Survivors include daughters, Janet Hovekamp of Crestview Hills and Joyce Beckman of Mack, Ohio; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Highland cemetery Chapel, Fort Mitchell. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Northern Kentucky Children's Home, 200 Home Road, Covington, Ky. 41011; or the charity of the donor's choice. Middendorf- Bullock Funeral Home, Erlanger, is handling arrangements.
