Search Archived Marriage Records
Date of these obituaries: 07-09-97
Byron D. Martin, served Grant as sheriff, judge-executive
Byron D. "B.D." Martin, a former Grant County judge-executive and sheriff, died Tuesday at Columbia Hospital in Lexington.
Mr. Martin, 72, of Dry Ridge, was sheriff from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. He then began a string of election victories as judge-executive that kept him in office through the late 1980s.
And when Mr. Martin won, he often won big.
"I'm confident, " Mr. Martin said in a 1981 Kentucky Post interview. "I'll get the silent vote, which is the majority, while they'll get the anti-vote, which always makes 10 times the noise of the silent vote."
In 1988, Mr. Martin was honored by the Senior Community Services Employment Project of Northern Kentucky for his efforts to hire older workers.
The judge-executive was hard-working and innovative.
He once helped workers manage a junk-car cleanup program where the county hauled away junk cars for free and then sold the scrap metal to raise money for the fire department.
And, in 1977, he helped county workers clear snow from the back roads to enable residents to get to work and home.
The judge said he simply wanted "to help wherever possible."
Mr. Martin was proud of his fiscal court's work to improve roads, public transportation and ambulance services.
The judge-executive also obtained federal grants to build a new health building and issued revenue bonds to attract new companies to the county.
Mr. Martin was once criticized by a political opponent for not attracting more businesses to Grant County. But he brushed aside the criticism by saying he didn't want any companies that could harm the environment.
"We want good, clean manufacturing firms, " Mr. Martin said years ago.
Mr. Martin also served as a deputy sheriff. He was a member and elder emeritus of Dry Ridge Christian Church and Dry Ridge Lodge No. 849. He was also a member of Shriners, Indra Consistory of Covington, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and was a Noble of the Mystic Shrine on Oleika Temple of Lexington.
Survivors include his wife, Helen H. Martin; sons, Dennis Martin of Lexington and Don Martin of Dry Ridge; a brother, Glenn E. Martin of Louisville; and five grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Eckler-Hudson Funeral Home, Dry Ridge. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Burial will be in Hill Crest Cemetery, Dry Ridge. Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donor's choice.
Rachel Rhodes Brewster, 81, of Nampa, Idaho, formerly of Erlanger, died June 17 at Nampa Care Center in Nampa. She was a seamstress, a member of Elsmere Baptist Church and a Sunday School teacher.
Survivors include a son, Stephen Brewster of Nampa; a daughter, Kaye Garvin of Nampa; sisters, Ruth Lucas of Ft. Wright and Pauline Bingham of Crittenden; two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Memorials services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger. Memorials are suggested to the church Children's Ministries, 250 Garvey Ave., Elsmere 41018. Alsip Funeral Home, Nampa, is handling arrangements.
Joseph Leonard Casch, 89, of Ft. Mitchell, died at 3:45 a.m. Monday at Crestview Park Nursing Home, Cincinnati. He was a salesman with Sears Roebuck and Co., and an Army veteran of World War II. Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Teresa of Avila Church, Cincinnati. Burial will be in New St. Joseph Cemetery, Cincinnati. Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Walton, is handling arrangements.
Richard Carleton Gronberg, 72, of Carrollton, died Tuesday at King's Daughters Hospital in Carrollton. He was a retired employee of Allis-Chalmer Co., Carrollton, and a member of Carrollton Christian Church. He was a member of American Legion Post No. 9, Carrollton, and an Army veteran of World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Diana Fuller Gronberg; sons, Robert Gronberg of Batavia, Ohio, and Larry Gronberg of Cold Spring; stepsons, Jessie Brooks of Madison, Ind., and Jay Brooks of Houston; stepdaughters, Sonja Babcock of Cordova, Alaska, Lori Buckles of Madison, Ind., and Julie Spencer of Hanover, Ind.; his stepmother, Martha Gronberg of Cold Spring; a brother, Don Gronberg of Loveland, Ohio; a sister, Evelyn Free man of Cincinnati; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the church. Graham-Dunn Funeral Home, Carrollton, is handling arrangements. Memorials are suggested to Boy Scouts of America, the church or Dean Memorial Church in Worthville.
Rod Gruelle, 37, of Union, died Sunday at St. Eliza beth Medical Center North, Covington. He was a board member of AIDS Volunteers of Northern Kentucky.
Survivors include his mother, Francis Gruelle; a sister, Saundra Riddell; and a brother, Ronald Gruelle.
Services will be at 7 p.m. today at Big Bone Baptist Church, Union. Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donor's choice. Cremation Society of Greater Cincinnati is handling arrangements.
Pamela Guillen-Khan, 45, of Rising Sun, Ind., formerly of Campbell County, died at 11:10 p.m. Sunday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North, Covington. She was a homemaker and a member of Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington.
Survivors include a son, Darrell J. Stroud of Coral Gables, Fla.; daughters, Teresa Ann Stroud and Carolyn Stroud, both of Miami, Kellie M. Stroud of Rising Sun and Christina Faye Stroud of Louisville; her mother and stepfather, Anna Black and Jim Tribbey of Rising Sun; a brother, Law rence Russell II of Ludlow; sisters, Carolyn J. Russell of Hollywood, Fla., Helen K. Cole of Elsmere, Sherry A. Rizzo of Ludlow, Elizabeth L. Slay of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Pastora D. Philpot of Elkhart, Ind.; and two grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the church. Visitation will begin there at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill. Memorials are suggested to St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit, 401 E. 20th St., Covington 41014. Dobbling Funeral Home, Bellevue, is handling arrangements.
Lafell Hinton, 75, of Florence, died at 9:45 p.m. Sunday at Christ Hospital, Cincinnati. She was a homemaker and a member of Florence Baptist Church. She was a member of the church choir and Women's Missionary Union, and a former member of Order of the Eastern Star.
Survivors include her husband, Eugene Hinton; a son, Wayne Hinton of Fairview, Texas; daughters, Gayle Buie of Eugene, Ore., and Janet Faye Fitzgerald of Edgewood; a brother, Carl D. Dalton of Bowling Green; 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchild ren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Stith Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will begin there at noon. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill. Memorials are suggested to American Diabetes Association, 2805 W. McMicken Ave., Cincinnati 45225, or the charity of the donor's choice.
Bruce Munson, 38, of Flor ence, died at 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North, Covington.
Arrangements are pend ing with Stith Funeral Home, Florence.
Anthony Sterbling, 74, of Erlanger, died Sunday at his home. He was a retired truck driver with Kahn's and Son and a Marine Corps veteran of World War II. He was a member of St. Joseph Church, Crescent Springs.
Survivors include sons, Daniel Sterbl ing of Hebron, Michael Sterbling and Jeff Sterbling, both of Erlanger; daughters, Sharyn Berry of Erlanger and Susan Whitson of Morning View; sisters, Mary Ann Hafner of Tulsa, Okla., and Theresa Shingler of Orlando, Fla.; and 11 grandchildren.
Memorial Mass of Chris tian burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger. Cremation will be at Hillside Chapel, Cincinnati.
Etholene Swango, 99, of Warsaw, died at 2:35 p.m. Monday at Gallatin County Health Care Center in Warsaw. She was a cook with Gallatin County High School, and a member of Warsaw Baptist Church. Her husband, Curtis Swango, died in 1964. A son, Marvin R. Swango, died in 1933.
Survivors include sons, Joe Swango of Florence and William H. Swango of Colfax, Ill.; three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Carlton-Lowder Funeral Home in Warsaw. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Warsaw Cemetery.
