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Date of these obituaries: 05-02-2002
Warren Shonert, 79, Falmouth Outlook owner and publisher
Warren J. Shonert Jr. had history in his genes.
The grandson of a Union Army veteran and nephew of a Confederate Army officer, he also was the great-nephew of Capt. John Waller, who founded the city of Falmouth and Pendleton County.
Mr. Shonert, 79, a lifelong resident of Falmouth, died Monday at his home.
He loved history, and spent most of his adult life chronicling events. From 1941 to 1985, he served as the owner, publisher and editor of the Falmouth Outlook. He contin ued a tradition started by his father, W.J. Shonert Sr., who founded the Outlook in 1907.
"The newspaper was his life, " said current Outlook editor Debbie Dennie, who learned her trade from Mr. Shonert.
Once a week, when it was time to mail the newspapers to subscribers, Mr. Shonert would personally run the machine that stamped the addresses.
He might read a label and say the addressee had moved to Florida or had gotten married
and no longer lived at that address.
"He had a personal touch on his subscribers, more so than it is today, " Dennie said.
Mr. Shonert always designed the front page, and he gathered news from the courthouse personally for every edition.
His opinionated editorial style made him some enemies, said his friend, former state Sen. Art Schmidt.
"He said what he thought. He didn't mince words about it, " Schmidt said.
Mr. Shonert strongly felt that a dam ought to be built on the Licking River to control flooding in Falmouth, Dennie said, and spent his own money on trips to Frankfort and Washington in an unsuccessful effort to get funding support for the dam.
Although he could be stern with the public, he treated his employees well, Dennie said.
"We saw a different person than that rugged newspaperman, " she said.
Mr. Shonert sold the newspaper in 1985 to the Delphos Herald Inc., which still owns it.
Mr. Shonert also was a director and employee of the former First National Bank of Falmouth and Butler, and was an active community leader in Pendleton County.
He was a past president of the Falmouth Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and Pendleton County Industrial and Riverside cemetery boards. He was a vice chairman of the Pendleton Bicentennial Commission, a regent of Northern Kentucky University and a member of Orion Masonic Lodge No. 222 F&AM in Falmouth, Scottish Rite, Valley of Orient, Cynthiana Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, No. 17 Jeffries Council No. 33, A&SM;, Newport Commandery No. 13 of Knights Templar, and Sons of the American Revolution. He was a member of Confederate Veterans Camp No. 1342 and was a Paul Harris Fellow as named by Rotary International.
In 1985, he and his wife donated a rare collection of more than 1, 500 titles to the archives of Northern Kentucky University's library. "The Shonert Collection" covers a variety of fields, including Civil War materials, Kentucky history, the life of Abraham Lincoln and more than eight years of the Falmouth Outlook.
Survivors include a daughter, Genevieve Grace Shonert of Falmouth; and a son, Jeffrey Hancock Shonert of New York City.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Woodhead Funeral Home, Falmouth. Visitation will begin there at noon Saturday. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Falmouth. Memorials are suggested to Falmouth Rotary Scholarship Fund, Falmouth, Ky. 41040, or the Pendleton County Public Library, 228 Main St., Falmouth, Ky. 41040.
Ramon Bitter, 70, of Covington, died Wednesday at Dual Manor Nursing Home, Cincinnati.
He was a retired brick layer and a World War II veteran of the Marine Corps.
A son, Randy Bitter, and a daughter, Tina Bitter, both preceded him in death.
Survivors include sons, Tom Bitter of Crescent Springs, Mark Bitter of Florence, Gary Bitter of Taylor Mill, John Bitter and Tim Bitter, both of Covington, and Danny Bitter, Brett Bitter and Brian Bitter, all of Latonia; daughters, Lisa Gregory of Covington, Linda Williams of Erlanger, Teresa McFarland of El Paso, Texas, and Heidi Bitter and Crystal Kette, both of Latonia; brothers, Robert Bitter of Tennessee, Joseph Bitter of Taylor Mill, Philip Bitter of Latonia and Patrick Bitter and Edward Bitter, both of Covington; sisters, Betty Hughes of Latonia, Marie Bitter of Florence, Mary Ellen Bitter of Georgia, and Charlene Bitter and Dorothy Hopple, both of Tennessee; 32 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Catchen Funeral Home, Covington. Visitation will be from 11:30 a.m. until the time of services Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill.
Samuel Ray Gordon, 50, of Carrollton, died Wednesday at his home. He was a factory worker and a member of Carrollton First Apostolic Church.
Survivors include his wife, Edith Blake Gordon; sons, Samuel Ray Gordon II, Christopher Issac Gordon and Timothy David Gordon, all of Carrollton; his parents, Forrest B. "Pud" and Betty Jean Gordon of Carrollton; a brother, Anothy "Chuck" Gordon of Carrollton; sisters, Darlene Payton and Joanie Day, both of Carrollton.
Services will be at the convenience of the family. Graham-Dunn Funeral Home, Carrollton, is handling arrangements.
Gretchen Hamilton, 79, of Newport, died at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday at her home. She was a homemaker and a member of First Baptist Church, Newport.
Survivors include her husband, Chester Hamilton; a son, Gary Hamilton of Newport; a sister, Inez Morris of Dayton, Ohio; a brother, Gene Sharp of Cumberland; and two grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Fares J. Radel Funeral Home, Newport. Visitation will begin there at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill.
Memorials are suggested to First Baptist Church, 801 York St., Newport, Ky. 41071.
Doris M. Hartman, 80, of Crescent Springs, died at 1 p.m. Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. She was a retired waitress with Walt's Hitching Post, Covington. Her husband, Frances Hartman, died in 1977.
Survivors include a sister, Mary Cahill of Covington; brothers, Thomas Henges of Florence and Edward Henges of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
Services will be at the convenience of the family. Burial will be in Mother of God Cemetery, Fort Wright. Catchen Funeral Home, Elsmere, is handling arrangements.
Donn Allen Loomis, 74, of Florence, died Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood.
He was a retired owner of Loomis Trucking Co., D&M Gravel and Boone County Sand and Gravel Co., a member of First Church of Christ in Burlington, and an Army veteran of the Korean War.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Lou Williamson Loomis; a daughter, Melanie Loomis Millson of Florence; a son, Marc Loomis of Berkeley, Calif.; and two grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Chambers and Grubbs Funeral Home, Florence.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Belleview Bottoms Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to First Church of Christ, 6080 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington, Ky. 41005.
Audrey Markey, 83, of Taylor Mill, died at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood.
Arrangements are pending at Connley Brothers Funeral Home, Latonia.
Lucille Goetz Schreiber, 83, of Villa Hills, died Wednesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood.
She was a homemaker. Her husband, William J. Schreiber, died in 1976.
Survivors include daughters, Carol Hodge of Villa Hills and Martha Wilbers of Edgewood; sons, William J. Schreiber Jr. of Villa Hills, Thomas Schreiber of Florence and Larry Schreiber of Woodside, Calif.; brothers, Joseph Goetz of Edgewood, and Albert "Butch" Goetz, Carl Goetz and Gene Goetz, all of Fort Mitchell; 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Joseph Church, Crescent Springs. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger. Burial will be in St. John Cemetery, Fort Mitchell. Memorials are suggested to Angel Watch, 7104 Glen Arbor Dr., Florence, Ky. 41042, or the Hester Family Fund, P.O. Box 18670, Erlanger, Ky. 41018.
John W. "Jack" Terlau, 86, of Erlanger, died Thursday at his home.
He was a masonry contractor, a member of Mary Queen of Heaven Church in Erlanger and an Army veteran of World War II. His wife, Virginia L. Terlau, died in 1998.
Survivors include sons, Johnny Terlau and Dan Terlau, both of Union, and Tony Terlau of Verona; daughters, Judy Wilson of Florence, Jacque Kopser and Mary Maley, both of Union; sisters, Mary Crotty of Villa Hills and Kathleen Terlau of Henderson, N.C.; 37 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren.
Memorial Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Timothy Church, Union.
Mr. Terlau bequeathed his body to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Memorials are suggested to St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit, 401 E. 20th St., Covington, Ky. 41014.
John Joseph Watson Sr., 71, of Independence, died at 11:05 p.m. Tuesday at Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati.
Arrangements are pending at Swindler & Currin Funeral Home, Independence.
Wayne D. Weber, 48, of Cincinnati, formerly of Erlanger, died Tuesday in a bicycle accident in Cincinnati.
He owned a floral design company, Designs by Wayne of Park Avenue, and was a professional make-up and wig artist for Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky theater productions.
He was a former member of Immaculata Church choir in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Mount Adams and a longtime volunteer with Aids Volunteers of Cincinnati.
Survivors include his mother, Olivia Weber of Florence; sisters, Sandy Kreidler of Sarasota, Fla., and Vicky Morris of Hidden Valley, Ind.; brothers, Dan Weber of Morrow, Ohio, and Tim Weber of Erlanger; nieces and nephews.
Services will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Immaculata Church, Cincinnati, followed by a reception.
Memorials may be made to Aids Volunteers of Cincinnati, 220 Findlay St., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45210.
