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Date of these obituaries: 10-24-1998
Jack L. Creamer founded Hi-Gear Co. in Newport
Jack L. Creamer, founder of the Hi-Gear Co. in Newport, died Friday at University Hospital in Cincinnati after suffering a massive stroke at his home in Alexandria. He was 72.
Mr. Creamer and his wife, La Verne, started their company in February 1974, shortly before their 25th wedding anniversary, with $500 and a belief in each other. The company distributed parts for lift trucks.
Mr. Creamer served in the Navy during World War II and worked as a mechanic when he returned home. Later he became a salesman and parts manager for Valley Engines, a lift truck dealer, said his daughter, Allison Arbogast of Bellevue.
"My mom convinced him that, if he could do it for another company, he could do it for himself."
Inventory was stored in the dining room and basement of the Creamers' home. Delivery trucks would pull up to the house and unload tires, Mrs. Arbogast said.
The business was a family affair, with Mrs. Creamer doing the books, Mr. Creamer dealing with customers and the children answering the phones.
They rented a house in Newport and converted it into a stockroom and machine shop, then built an industrial building to hold the manufacturing and distribution business.
"He had the foresight to know it would be too competitive to limit the business to lift trucks," Mrs. Arbogast said. "He got into sweeper-scrubbers - industrial floor cleaners."
Today the company sells the cleaning machines, manufactures and distributes parts for them and provides cleaning services. It retains the lift truck business, exporting throughout North and South America, Australia, Europe and Asia.
Mrs. Creamer still runs the company with son Michael Creamer of Fort Thomas. Other sons, Daniel Creamer of Melbourne and Jack Creamer Jr., of Bellevue, do machining and body work. Mrs. Arbogast is a sales representative. Another son, Stephen, died in 1985.
Mr. Creamer officially retired in the 1980s, after a series of strokes. He was a stamp collector and a model railroader, and since his retirement he became an avid gardener.
Other survivors include a brother, George Creamer of Harrison, Ohio; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Radel Funeral Home, Newport. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate.
Cora Courtney Adkins, 90, of Warsaw, died Friday at St. Luke Hospital West in Florence. She was a homemaker and attended Sparta Baptist Church.
Her husband, Earl Adkins, died in 1992.
Survivors include sons, Willie Adkins and Earl Adkins Jr. of Cincinnati; daughters, Mary Watkins of Warsaw, Edith Clasby of Vassar, Mich., Linda Thompson of Tampa, Fla., Alice Scalf of Houston and Dorothy Barger of Columbus, Ohio; 31 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at New Bethel Baptist Church, Verona. Visitation will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Hamilton-Stanley Funeral Home, Verona, and after 9 a.m. Monday at the church. Burial will be in Vine Street Hill Cemetery, Cincinnati. Memorials are suggested to Sparta Baptist Church, Sparta, Ky. 41086.
Harold Bernard Allphin, 57, of Sparta, died Thursday at University Hospital, Cincinnati. He was a truck driver.
Survivors include a daughter, Barbara Jordan of Morning View; sons, Terry Allphin of Independence and Gary Allphin of Covington; a brother, Bobby Allphin of Ghent; sisters, Sally Peace of Warsaw and Mae Swango of Florida; and five grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Carlton-Lowder Funeral Home, Warsaw, with visitation from 10 a.m. Burial will be in Napoleon cemetery in Gallatin County.
Clara M. Blair, 89, of Newport, died Thursday at Baptist Convalescent Center, Newport. She was a homemaker.
Her husband, Clarence W. Blair, died in 1984.
Survivors include a sister, Elizabeth Birnbryer of Edgewood, and nieces and nephews.
Services will be at noon Monday at Dobbling Funeral Home, Fort Thomas, with visitation from 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger.
Thelma Juanita Wilson Cash, 82, of Williamstown, died Thursday at Grant Manor Care Center, Williamstown. She was a homemaker and a retired Kentucky state employee. She was a member of Knoxville Baptist Church, Dry Ridge.
Her husband, James Cash, died in 1996.
Survivors include a daughter, Janice Cash of Independence; a brother, Randall Wilson of Tampa, Fla.; a sister, Evelyn Smith of Williamstown; three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Knoxville Baptist Church, Dry Ridge. Visitation will be 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Eckler-Hudson Funeral Home, Dry Ridge. Burial will be in Hill Crest Cemetery, Dry Ridge. Memorials are suggested to Grant Manor Care Center, 201 Kimberly Road, Williamstown, Ky. 41097.
Lillie M. Coyle, 82, of Florence, died Friday at Price Hill Nursing Home, Cincinnati. She was a retired bookkeeper for Mose Cohen and Sons Inc., Cincinnati, and a member of Florence Baptist Church.
Survivors include a son, Eugene Coyle of Florence; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services and burial will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Big Bone Baptist Cemetery, Union. Stith Funeral Home, Florence, is handling arrangements.
Dolly Roehm Thomas Disney, 80, of Fort Thomas, died Friday at Alois Alzheimer Center, Cincinnati. She was a retired owner and operator of the former Happy Hill Nursery School, Fort Thomas. She was a member of Circle 10 at Highland United Methodist Church, Fort Thomas; and Fort Thomas Garden Club.
Survivors include her husband, M.E. Disney of Fort Thomas; a daughter, Susan Thomas Kirby of Winston-Salem, N.C.; sons, Alan Thomas and William Thomas of Fort Thomas; and eight grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Highland United Methodist Church, Fort Thomas. Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Dobbling Funeral Home, Fort Thomas. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Southgate. Memorials are suggested to Highland United Methodist Church, 314 N. Fort Thomas Ave., Fort Thomas, Ky. 41074, or Shriners Burns Institute, 3229 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45229.
Louise Bernadette Enwright, 98, of Fort Thomas, died Thursday at St. Charles Care Center, Covington. She was a retired clerk and telephone operator for Cincinnati Bell, where she was a member of the Pioneers Club.
Survivors include nieces, Ruth Winfield of Venice, Fla., and Margaret Mucker of Fort Thomas; and a nephew, Jim Selm of Florence.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Charles Care Center Chapel, Covington, with visitation from 9 a.m. Burial will be in St. Mary Cemetery, Fort Mitchell. Memorials are suggested to St. Charles Care Center, 500 Farrell Drive, Covington, Ky. 41011. Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Fort Thomas, is handling arrangements.
Suzanne S. Hewitt, 45, of Burlington, died Friday at her residence. She was a custom framer and manager for Frame and Save, Florence.
Survivors include her husband, David Brent Hewitt; daughters, Sunny Stewart of Cincinnati and Jaymee Parker of Burlington; her father, Clark Green of Freeport, Pa.; and three sisters. Services will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Linnemann Funeral Home, Burlington, with visitation from 1 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. today, and from 1 p.m. Sunday. Burial will be in Freeport, Pa. Memorials are suggested to the charity of choice.
James Russell Markesbery, 88, of Erlanger, died Thursday at the Highlands of Fort Thomas nursing home. He was a retired driver for Dixie Traction Bus Line and Greyhound and a Kenton County deputy sheriff from 1975 to 88. He also worked as a bailiff in the courtroom of Judge Daniel Goodenough and served as a building inspector for Erlanger. He was a member of the Kentucky Police Officers Association, Democratic Club and Sunday Morning Club.
Survivors include his wife, Julia Mae Herrmann Markesbery; daughters, Judith A. Winstel and M. Patricia Egbers of Cincinnati; sons, J. Richard Markesbery of Union, W. Russell Markesbery of Hebron and Christopher Markesbery of Fort Mitchell; sisters, Mary Henman and Myrtle Jones; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Henry Church, Erlanger. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger. Memorials are suggested to J. Russell Markesbery Horticultural Memorial Fund, c/o Fifth Third Bank, 3003 Dixie Highway, Edgewood, Ky. 41017.
Media E. Mullins, 87, of Warsaw, formerly of Newport and Bellevue, died at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at Carroll County Hospital, Carrollton. She was a homemaker. Her husband, Mitchell Mullins, died in 1988.
Survivors include a son, Michael Mullins of Latonia; daughters, Anna Bea Taylor of Fort Thomas, Bonnie Lee Hornsby of Hebron, Opal McClanahan and Mae Creekmore of Newport, Wanda Sprague of Warsaw and Sharon Ginn of Glencoe; a sister, Ruby Goodridge of Taylorsport; 16 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Services were Friday at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Newport. Burial was in Wesley Chapel Cemetery, Peach Grove.
E. Winston Schlueter, 67, of Foster, died Thursday at his residence. He was a retired employee for Siemens Energy and Automation Co., Norwood, Ohio, and an Army veteran of the Korean War. He was a member of cemetery Chapel Christian Church, Lenoxburg, where he was a deacon and cemetery board trustee.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Lou Reed Schlueter; a son, Kenny Schlueter of Falmouth; daughters, Karen Schlueter of Foster, April Jones and Amber Jones of Foster, and Vickie Teegarden of Falmouth; his mother, Cora Schlueter of Butler; brothers, Randall Schlueter of Butler and Ralph Schlueter of California; a sister, Beulah Elrod of Foster; four grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at cemetery Chapel Christian Church, Lenoxburg. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Woodhead Funeral Home, Falmouth, and noon until services Monday at the church. Burial will be in Lenoxburg cemetery in Bracken County. Memorials are suggested to cemetery Chapel Christian Church, Route 2, Foster, Ky. 41043.
Rita C. Schuler, 65, of Fort Wright, died Thursday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South. She was a homemaker and a member of Turner's Club and Monte Casino Civic Club, Covington. Her husband, Charles J. Schuler, died in 1989.
Survivors include a son, Ted Schuler of Covington; daughters, Peggy Chappie of Covington, Lynn Reckers of Erlanger, Julia Schuler of Lakeside Park, Jan Voss of Florence, Diana Schuler of Fort Wright; sisters, Sister Wilma Ann of Park Hills, Joan Abeln of Edgewood, Jean Brauer of Fort Mitchell, Sister Marge Wissman of St. Paul, Ind.; and six grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. John Church, Covington. Visitation will be from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday at Don Catchen and Son Funeral Home, Elsmere-Erlanger. Burial will be in St. John Cemetery, Fort Mitchell.
Thomas P. Seitz, 48, of Taylor Mill, died Thursday at St. Elizabeth North Hospice, Covington.
Arrangements are pending at Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger.
Ralph Burton Snowden, 73, of Alexandria, died Friday at VA Medical Center, Cincinnati. He was a retired truck driver for Dolly Madison, Cincinnati, and an Army Air Force veteran of World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Jean Snowden; sons, Ralph Snowden of Florence, and David Lee Snowden, Robert Burton Snowden and Cameron Reed Snowden of Alexandria; daughters, Saundra Jean Arrowood of Taylor Mill and Christian Marie Lindsey of Germany; a brother, John Donald Snowden of Alexandria; sisters, Amelia Richardson of Xenia, Ohio, and Virginia Snowden and Wilma Snowden of Clay City; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services and burial will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Snowden Family Cemetery, Clay City. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Alexandria Funeral Home.
Patrick H. Steenken, 67, of Latonia, died Friday at his residence.
Arrangements are pending at Connley Brothers Funeral Home, Latonia.
Herman J. Thaman, 92, of Florence, died Wednesday at his daughter's home in Florence. He was a retired shift foreman with Bavarian Brewery Co., Covington, and a member of VFW Post No. 4, Union, and St. Henry Church, Elsmere. He was an Army veteran of World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Knapmeyer Riegler Thaman; daughters, Mary Roszman of Erlanger, Jean Conley and Irma Roenker of Florence, Mildred Green of Masury, Ohio; a sister, Blanche Schmoltz of Lawrenceburg, Ind.; 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, six great-great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. today at St. Paul Church, Florence, with visitation at 9 a.m. Burial will be in St. John Cemetery, Fort Mitchell. Memorials are suggested to American Heart Association, 2936 Vernon Place, Cincinnati 45219, or St. Henry High School Building Fund, 3827 Dixie Highway, Elsmere, Ky. 41018. Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger, is handling arrangements.
John B. "J.B." Willhoite, 87, of Carrollton, died Friday at Norton Hospital, Louisville. He was a retired farmer and a member of Apostolic Life Tabernacle, Madison, Ind.
A daughter, Sherry Kay, preceded him in death.
Survivors include his wife, Julia Perry Willhoite; daughters, Glenna Hockensmith of Bagdad, Anna Mae Beckett and Connie Breeden of Madison, Ind., Judy Hall of Mounds, Okla., Hope Briggs of Lawrence, Kan., and Faith Henry of Sand Springs, Okla.; sons, Jackie R. Willhoite of Belgrade, Maine, Virgil Willhoite of Glennpool, Okla., and Gary Willhoite and Mark Willhoite of Worthville; a brother, Marvin Willhoite of Key West, Fla.; sisters, Mae New and Ellen D. Breek of Carrollton and Lula Wingham of Ghent; 25 grandchildren, five stepgrandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at United Pentecostal Church, Carrollton. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Graham-Dunn Funeral Home, Carrollton. Burial will be in Squiresville Cemetery, Owen County.
