Faye Payne
CARTHAGE, Mo. - Faye Emma Payne, 83, Carthage, died at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, 1997, at a local nursing home after a short illness.
Mrs. Payne was born April 14, 1913, at Bowers Mills.
She was a lifetime area resident. She was a retired office clerk for State Farm Insurance.
She was a member of First Baptist Church.
She married Leonard W. Payne on July 2, 1932, in Kansas City. He died Sept. 26, 1984.
She is survived by a son, James L. Payne, Kansas City; a sister, Della D. Johnson, Carthage; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Ulmer Funeral Home.
The Rev. Bill Sutter will officiate.
Burial will be in Park Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to First Baptist Church in care of the funeral home.
James Harmon
BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. - James E. Harmon, 67, Rogers, Ark., died Sunday, Jan. 19, 1997, at St. Mary's Hospital, Rogers, after a sudden illness. He was the son of James O. Harmon, Baxter Springs.
Mr. Harmon was born July 12, 1929, at Girard.
He was involved in law enforcement most of his life.
He had been a dispatcher for the Pittsburg Police Department.
He worked for the FBI before he joined the Treasury Department in 1955.
He worked as a special agent in charge of several states and became a regional director in 1968.
He did two tours of duty at the Washington, D.C., Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He retired in 1979.
He later started a Brangus breeding operation, followed by an Angus breeding program at Piney Creek Angus Ranch near Rogers.
He was a member of the International Brangus Breeders Association and the American Angus Association.
He was a member of the American Peace Officers Association.
He received service recognition from the Mexican commandant of the Federal Police for assistance in ATF law enforcement from 1976 to 1979.
He was a veteran of the Air Force and served in the Air Police and the Office of Special Investigations.
Additional survivors include his wife, Barbara Blanco Harmon; two sons, Dr. Steven K. Harmon, New Bern, N.C., and Michael J. Harmon, Rockwall, Texas; two daughters, Deborah L. Harmon, Rogers, and Cynthia A. Harmon, St. Petersburg, Fla.; a sister, Jane Millicent Price, Joplin, Mo.; a brother, Larry Harmon, The Colony, Texas; and two granddaughters.
The body will be cremated.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. today at First Christian Church, Baxter Springs.
Arrangements are under the direction of Burns Funeral Home, Rogers.
Robert Ryon
RIVERTON, Kan. - Robert Leon Ryon, 52, Riverton, died at 2:15 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, at St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin, Mo., after a long illness.
Mr. Ryon was born March 12, 1944, in Baxter Springs.
He was a lifetime Riverton area resident.
He retired on Dec. 19, 1994, as a maintenance worker for The Empire District Electric Co.
He was a Navy veteran.
He was a member of Iron Gates Christian Church, Joplin, and Galena Masonic Lodge.
He married Donna Hayward on April 8, 1966, in Joplin. She survives.
Additional survivors include a daughter, Debbie Rawlins, Lowell; a brother, Richard Ryon, Lowell; two sisters, Florence Martin, Galena, and Betty Williams, Joplin; and two grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Derfelt's Baxter Chapel, Baxter Springs.
The Rev. Hubert Hinton will officiate.
Burial will be in Hill Crest Cemetery, Galena.
Pallbearers will be John North, Wade Palone, Mike Myers, Tim Smith, Carl Morgan and Albert Melton.
The Northeast Oklahoma Veterans Funeral Detail will perform burial rites at graveside.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Doris O'Dell
Doris Lange O'Dell, 50, 1907 W. 10th St., died at 10:20 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, 1996, at her home after a long illness.
Mrs. O'Dell was born July 9, 1946, at Pittsburg, Kan., where she attended school.
She previously lived in Houston, Galveston and Austin, Texas.
She moved to Joplin 11 years ago from Pittsburg.
She had worked as a nurse's aide and cook, formerly working at Crestwood Country Club in Pittsburg.
She was a member of the Salvation Army.
She married Robert Ray O'Dell on Dec. 31, 1977, in Pittsburg. He died Oct. 24, 1987. A son also preceded her in death.
Survivors include a daughter, Debbie Keppler, 226 Highview Ave.; her parents, Lawrence and Bernice Lange, Pittsburg; five brothers, Larry Lange, Joplin, Ralph Lange, Melvin Lange, Gaylin Lange and Sid Lange, all of Pittsburg; a sister, Rosemary Larson, Joplin; a stepbrother, Jess Lange, Pittsburg; and four grandchildren.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at National Cemetery, Fort Scott, Kan.
Mark Haslett will officiate.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday at Bath-Naylor Funeral Home, Pittsburg.
Dewey Steele
George Dewey Steele, 92, formerly of 611 W. A St., died at 9:55 a.m. Friday, Dec. 27, 1996, at a local nursing home after a sudden illness.
Mr. Steele was born Nov. 16, 1904, at Irving, Texas. He moved to Joplin in 1939 from Fort Smith, Ark. He was a professional boxer, known as Stinger Steele. He fought over 544 professional fights and won the Arkansas State Middleweight Boxing Championship in 1934. He later worked for the Missouri State Highway Department for more than 25 years. He retired in 1969 as mechanical engineer.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Joplin, where he was a former trustee and Sunday school teacher.
He married Eva M. Boston on July 21, 1930, at Muskogee, Okla. She died Jan. 8, 1975.
Survivors include two sons, David Steele, Lansing, Mich., and Robert Steele, Santa Rosa, Calif.; a brother, Charles Steele, Joplin; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and one great-great-granddaughter.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Parker Mortuary. The Rev. Duane Trimble will officiate. Burial will be in Osborne Memorial Cemetery.
Contributions may be made to the Joplin Senior Citizens Center.
Laura Hada
NEVADA, Mo. - Laura D. Hada, 84, Nevada, died Friday morning, Dec. 27, 1996, at a nursing home in Nevada after a sudden illness.
Mrs. Hada was born April 15, 1912, at Seiling, Okla. She had lived in Vernon County since 1941. She and her husband operated a farm east of Nevada for many years before retiring in the early 1980s.
She was a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
She married John Hada on Feb. 28, 1940, at Alva, Okla. He died March 25, 1995.
Survivors include a son, Roger Hada, Nevada; a daughter, Maxine DeWolf, Kansas City; a brother, Hobert Morrison, Redding, Calif.; two sisters, Lola Carlson, Alva, Okla., and Euleta O'Flynn, El Paso, Texas; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Graveside services will be at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Moore Cemetery. The Rev. James Jones will officiate.
Arrangements are under the direction of Ferry Funeral Home.
Jennifer Hardage
NEOSHO, Mo. - Jennifer L. Hardage, 22, 1523 Hilldale Drive, Neosho, died at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, 1996, at Freeman West Hospital Joplin, of injuries sustained in a traffic accident west of Neosho on Wednesday night.
Miss Hardage was born March 18, 1974, at Washington, Pa. She was a lifelong resident of Neosho.
She was a 1992 graduate of Neosho High School.
She was assistant manager of the Conoco Superstop No. 2, Neosho.
Survivors include her parents, Ken and Karen Hardage, Neosho; a brother, Billy Hardage, Neosho; and maternal grandparents, Harry and Opal Bedillion, East Finley, Pa.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Clark Funeral Home, Neosho, with the Rev. M.V. Pritchard officiating. Burial will be in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Neosho. The casket will remain closed.
Pallbearers will be Wade Woods, John Edsell, Hal Patterson, Mat Pritchard, Bill Millikin, Pat Hearld and Cameron Cruse.
Contributions may be made to the Jennifer L. Hardage Memorial Fund, in care of the funeral home.
