Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1805-2002
EARL ALFRED HUFF SR.
Earl Alfred Huff Sr., 82, Greenwood, passed away April 20, 2003, at Missouri Veterans Home, Warrensburg, Mo.
Funeral services were 11 a.m., April 23, at Missouri Funeral Care; burial in Floral Hills Cemetery.
(Arrangements: Missouri Funeral Care, 816-353-1700)
GEORGIA GAIL RATLIFF-WILLIAMSON
Georgia Gail Ratliff-Williamson, 49, of Lee’s Summit, passed away Tuesday, April 15, 2003, at her home. Cremation.
Memorial services are 3 p.m., April 19, at Community of Christ Church, 9801 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, Mo 64134.
Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society.
Flowers may be sent to the church after 3 p.m. Friday.
She was born July 17, 1953, in Kansas City.
She was most recently an employee of the Lee’s Summit Clinic where she was the main phone operator.
Gail was a 1971 graduate of Ruskin High School and attended Longview College for two years where she pursued her love for writing.
Gail had a passion for life. Everyone who met her was touched by her kindness and sense of humor.
She will be deeply missed by her friends and family.
She was preceded in death by her maternal grandmother, Minerva Turley; paternal grandmother, Georgia Harrington; maternal grandfather, Delmar Heckart; and her uncles, Larry and Gary Heckart.
She is survived by her beloved husband, Terry Williamson; daughter, Tina Melies; sons, Kristopher Bell, and Travis and Clint Williamson; her mother and father, Betty and Donald Ratliff; sister, Susie Herrera; brother, Jim Ratliff; five nephews; one niece; and her beautiful grandchildren, Abby, Ben, Chase, Hunter, Lelan and Hayley.
(Arrangements: Langsford Funeral Home, Lee’s Summit, 816-524-3700)
REBECCA D. GOODRICH
Rebecca D. Goodrich, 80, of Lee’s Summit, passed away April 10, 2003, at John Knox Village Care Center.
Memorial services are 1 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at First Presbyterian Church, Lee’s Summit.
Friends may call 12:30 to 1 p.m. Saturday, at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Arthritis Foundation.
She was born March 30, 1923, in Selmer, Tenn., and was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Lee’s Summit.
Survivors include her daughters, Jane Taylor and Carline Ferguson; son, Ed Goodrich; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
(Arrangements: Langsford Funeral Home, Lee’s Summit, 816-524-3700)
KATHERYN JEANETTE EKSTROM
Katheryn Jeanette Ekstrom, 82, Lee’s Summit, died April 13, 2003, at John Knox Village Care Center.
Graveside services were April 15, at Fort Scott National Cemetery, Fort Scott, Kan.
(Arrangements: Ralph O. Jones Funeral Home)
ROBERT “BOB” HAROLD MITCHELL
Robert “Bob” Harold Mitchell, 69, of Cross Timbers, Mo., passed away Sunday, April 13, 2003, at Citizens Memorial Hospital.
Memorial services are 10 a.m. Thursday, April 17, at Langsford Funeral Home, Lee’s Summit.
Bob was born March 17, 1934, in Greenwood, Mo.
He was raised in the Lee’s Summit area and graduated from Lee’s Summit High School.
He married and moved to California and had five children.
He then remarried and moved back to Missouri.
He worked as a carpenter until retiring in 1996.
He was preceded in death by Dad, Emerson Earl Mitchell; and brother, Don Mitchell.
He is survived by three sons, Mike, Victor and Scott; two daughters, Christine and Marilyn; mother, Beulah; brothers, Grover, Bill, Jake; two sisters, Cathrine and Linda; two grandsons; and 2 granddaughters.
(Arrangements: Langsford Funeral Home, Lee’s Summit, 816-524-3700)
JAMES DILLET FREEMAN
James Dillet Freeman, 91, of Kansas City, Mo., died April 10, 2003, at his home.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, April 14, in the Activities Center at Unity Village, Mo., M-350 Highway and Colbern Road.
Memorial contributions may be made to Silent Unity or Unity School of Christianity.
The Reverend Freeman was poet laureate of Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village.
His poetry appears monthly in “Daily Word,” Unity’s daily devotional magazine.
He was an internationally known author and lecturer.
The Reverend Freeman was born in Wilmington, Del., March 20, 1912, and moved to the Kansas City area in 1922.
He attended local schools and graduated from Kansas City Junior College.
He attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, and graduated from the School of Journalism with honors in 1932.
He was first hired for a summer job at Unity in 1929 by Unity co-founder Myrtle Fillmore.
For 13 years, the Reverend Freeman was director of Silent Unity, the worldwide prayer ministry of the Unity School of Christianity.
After a 55-year career with Unity, he retired in 1984 from his position as a member of the Board of Trustees and first vice president of Unity School.
He was an ordained Unity minister.
In 1946, the Reverend Freeman organized a training program for Unity ministers, which has become the Unity School for Religious Studies.
He served as director of the ministerial training program for 20 years.
The Reverend Freeman moved to Kansas City with his family when he was 10 years old, the same age he began writing verse.
By the time he finished college, his poems had been published in national publications.
During his career, the Reverend Freeman authored 13 books and lectured throughout the world.
His works have been translated into 13 languages.
Published copies of his poems are estimated to exceed 500 million.
The Reverend Freeman’s widest acclaim has come from his poetry.
It is estimated that his poem, “The Traveler”
has been read at more than one million funerals and his “Blessing for a Marriage” has been read at thousands of weddings.
His work has been taken to the moon twice, a distinction he shared with no other author.
“Prayer for Protection” was taken to the moon on Apollo 11 in July 1969 by Lunar Module pilot Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr.
Two years later, “I Am There” was taken to the moon by Colonel James B. Irwin on the Apollo 15 flight.
Irwin left a microfilm copy of the poem on the moon.
The Reverend Freeman said of all the things he had written, he believed “I Am There” meant the most to people.
The Reverend Freeman’s books have been published by Unity House, Doubleday, and Harper & Row.
His most recent book is “Love is Strong as Death,” a book affirming that love is life, even if it seems to hold death.
It is a book he wrote more than 50 years ago, but only felt he had the courage to publish recently.
Another well-known book is the “The Hilltop Heart,” which was originally published under the title “Happiness Can Be a Habit.”
Three weeks ago, the City of Lee’s Summit presented the Reverend Freeman with a proclamation honoring the life, writings and ministry of a man who always wanted to “help people not hurt so much.”
March 20, 2003, was declared James Dillet Freeman Day, on his 91st birthday.
He is survived by his wife, Virginia, of Kansas City; stepson, the Reverend Peter Rhea, Bellingham, Wa.; stepson, Ben Carter, Lee’s Summit; stepson, Ed Carter, New York City, N.Y.; step-grandson, Chris Carter, Poteau, Okla.; step-grandson, Mike Rhea, Bellingham; and step-granddaughter, Grace Carter, New York City.
(Arrangements: McGilley Funeral Home, 816-942-6180)
LAWRENCE S. CHANDLER
Lawrence S. Chandler, 86, of Lee’s Summit, passed away Monday, April 7, 2003, at Lee’s Summit Hospital.
Funeral services were 10 a.m., April 9, at Our Lady of the Presentation Catholic Church, Lee’s Summit; burial in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.
(Arrangements: Langsford Funeral Home, 816-524-3700)
FRANCIS L. “LEE” SPRUILL
Francis L. “Lee” Spruill, 93, of Lee’s Summit, died April 8, 2003, surrounded by his family, after a short illness.
Mass of Christian burial is 11 a.m. Saturday, April 12, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, on Highway 150, Lee’s Summit; burial in Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Visitation is 10 a.m. at the church, prior to services.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to St. Mary’s Building Fund, P.O. Box 191, Rifle, CO 81635.
Mr. Spruill was born March 2, 1910, in Prescott, Kan., to Rudolph Babitt and Mildred (Hyre) Spruill.
Shortly thereafter the family moved west and his formative years were spent in New Mexico and Colorado.
He was a graduate of East Denver High School and Parks Air College.
In 1937, Mr. Spruill married Loretta Frances Link, of Piqua, Kan., who died in 1968.
In 1969, he married Kay Westlund, of Portland, Ore., who died in 2001.
Mr. Spruill was employed by Trans World Airlines for 40 years, retiring in 1972.
His hobbies were flying, sailing, motorcycles and sports cars.
At the time of his death, he was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Steam Automobile Club of America and Our Lady of the Presentation Catholic Church.
He is survived by his daughters, Frances S. Schilling, and Lorie Dalton and husband Jim; his sons, Stephen G. Spruill and wife Sally, and Stanton D. Spruill and wife Susan; ten grandchildren, Chris Anderson (Bobbie), Susan Hogle, Marcy Jordan (Rick), Greg Anderson (Lisa), David Dalton (Rebecca), Scott Dalton, R.P. Spruill (Amy), Cameron Spruill (Libby), Sandra Cooper (Loni), Sondra Triblehorn (Doug), and Stephanie Cheves (Chris); great-grandchildren, Jeremy, Kris, Wes, John, Bobby, Jake, R.J., Claire, Christian, Zen, Carly and Lexi; and nephew, Clinton Lee Wood and wife Joy. He is also survived by Kay’s children, Sandy Peckover (Fred), and Bob Westlund (Polly); grandchildren, Mark, Kim, Lisa, and Robin; and great-grandchildren, Nicholas, Daniel, Meagan, Caleb, Megan, Spencer and Sidney.
Grandpa played a part in all of their lives.
(Arrangements: Langsford Funeral Home, 816-524-3700)
GLADYS M. RICKART
Gladys M. Rickart, 91, Pleasant Hill, died Thursday, April 3, 2003, at Pleasant Hill Health Center.
Graveside services were 1 p.m. Monday, April 7, at Forest Hill Cemetery, Kansas City, Mo.
(Arrangements: Langsford Funeral Home, Lee’s Summit, 816-524-3700)
EDWARD CARL SMITH
Edward Carl Smith, 89, of Lee’s Summit, passed away Monday, April 7, 2003, at home.
Funeral services are 10 a.m. Friday, April 11, at Langsford Funeral Home, Lee’s Summit; burial in Floral Hills Cemetery, Kansas City, Mo.
Friends may call 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, at the funeral home.
Carl was born Sept. 22, 1913, in Brooken, Okla.
He was in the Civilian Conservation Corp.
He was a World War II Army veteran and served at Okinawa.
He worked and retired from the Army Corp. of Engineers at the Federal Building in Kansas City, Mo.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred (Griffin) Smith; and one son, Marvin Smith.
Survivors include two daughters, Lynda Smith, Camillus, N.Y., and Martha Saxton, Lee’s Summit; three grandchildren, Sherree Gorman, Blue Springs, and Mark Saxton and Gayle Stanley, both of Lee’s Summit; eight great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; six nieces and nephews, Frances Cline, Hemmet, Calif., Jennifer Dietz, Anchorage, Ala., Robert Highfill, Lee’s Summit, Glenda Jackson, Duncanville, Texas, Stephanie Klemmer, Anchorage, and Roma Slyter, Baltimore, Md.; and several grandnieces and grandnephews.
(Arrangements: Langsford Funeral Home, 115 SW 3rd St., Lee’s Summit, MO 64063, 816-524-3700)
