Lura J. "Nita" Dannov
The next time you see a blue jay in your bird bath, a dove flying through the air, or wake to the sound of finches singing outside your bedroom window, thank Lura J. "Nita" Dannov.
Mrs. Dannov died Saturday, Feb. 6, 1999, at Columbia Regional Care Center of Lou Gehrig's Disease. She was 65.
She loved birds, and at one time, she kept 50 of them as pets. Mrs. Dannov had finches, blue jays, cockatoos and doves. When she came across a sick bird or rabbit in the wild, she would bring it home and nurse it back to health.
Her husband, Fred, said Mrs. Dannov was a nurturer.
"She loved children and animals better than any one I've ever known," he said. "She devoted her life to it until she became ill."
Mrs. Dannov taught kindergarten at West Boulevard and Russell Boulevard elementary schools. Her classes' annual art exhibits were the high points of the school year, Mr. Dannov said.
Mr. Dannov said his wife was also a creator. She loved to paint and crochet, and several of her paintings hang in the Dannov's house.
Mrs. Dannov was a member of the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Columbia, where she served on the church board and taught Sunday school. She graduated from high school in Springfield, Mo. In 1952, she married Fred Dannov, and they moved to Columbia in 1956.
Mrs. Dannov attended William Woods College. She earned a bachelor's degree in education from MU in 1961.
She taught school for more than 10 years in Columbia before she retired to raise her own children.
Mrs. Dannov was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the American Colonies and the Miller County Historical Association.
Mrs. Dannov was born on Dec. 18, 1933 to Walter Stanley and Nancy B. Hawkins Craft in Brumley.
Survivors include her husband; daughter, Dana Michelle Cecil of Columbia; son, David Michael Dannov of Fairway, Kan.; and her brother Walter Craft of Kissimee, Fla.
Visitation will be today from 12:30 - 1 p.m. at First Christian Church. Services will follow at 1 p.m. and will be held at the church. Memorials may be sent to the Humane Society-Central Missouri, 616 Big Bear Blvd., Columbia, Mo., 65202 or First Christian Church, 101 N. Tenth St., Columbia, Mo., 65201.
Debra L. Koppenaal
Debra Lynne Koppenaal, 43, of Macon, Ga. and formerly of Columbia died Sunday, Jan. 31, 1999, from injuries she suffered in a car accident.
Mrs. Koppenaal was born Aug. 14, 1955 in Hannibal to Ken and Nancy Jones of Columbia. She graduated from Hickman High School in 1974.
Mrs. Koppenaal was the assistant manager of the Cracker Barrel Gift Shop in Macon. She was also a member of the Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Agency.
Services were held in Macon, and she was buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery in Athens, Ga.
Mrs. Koppenaal is survived by her parents; her husband, Gary Koppenaal of Athens, Ga; three children, Andrew Koppenaal and Laura Koppenaal, both of Athens, Ga. and Victoria Weeks of Macon; and a sister, Karen Roberts of Fayette.
Her daughter, Cheryl Koppenaal, died earlier.
Opal May Roberts
Opal May Roberts of Columbia died Sunday, Feb. 7, 1999, at the Boone Retirement Center. She was 94.
Ms. Roberts was born May 29, 1904, to William L. and Etta E. Whitesides Roberts. She lived in Columbia her entire life.
Ms. Roberts was a charter member of Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church. Before retiring, she was a secretary at the Internal Revenue Service.
Graveside services, conducted by the Rev. Michael Keith, will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Memorial Park Cemetery, 1217 Business Loop 70 W.
Ms. Roberts is survived by one nephew and several cousins. Her parents and three brothers died earlier.
Memorials may be sent to Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church, 702 Wilkes Blvd., Columbia, Mo. 65201.
Richard A. Williams
Richard A. Williams enjoyed life to its fullest. Not only did he like to laugh and joke, he made the people around him smile as well. Mr. Williams of Mexico, Mo. died Friday, Feb. 5, 1999, in Mexico. The Audrain County Medical Examiner said Mr. Williams committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. He was 26.
"He was a friend to everybody," his mother Patricia Williams said. His wife, Shadonica Williams, remembers a time when he took itching powder to work and put it on a friend.
"He was going to put it on me too," she said. "But I knew what he was up to so he didn't get me."
When they were just boys, Richard and his brother Edward Jr. called 911 to report a fake robbery. They thought they were in the clear since they had given the police a fake address. Little did they know the police were right outside their door.
"Richard was on his hands and knees," Edward Williams Jr. said. "He was crying and begging the police not to take him to jail."
Mr. Williams was five years old at the time.
Mr. Williams attended Mexico High School where he played football and ran track. He graduated from the Moberly Police Academy and worked as a public safety officer for the Mexico Police Department from April 1997 to October 1998.
"He was a very serious and hard-working officer," Major Mike Jerichow of the Mexico Police Department said. "He was always smiling which is kind of unusual for this line of work."
Edward Williams Jr. said his brother never said anything negative about other people. "He had a big heart," he said. "And he always wore a smile on his face." Mr. Williams was also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He had been stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.
"He loved being a Marine," Shadonica Williams said.
Mr. Williams was born Jan. 9, 1973, in Mexico to Edward and Patricia Williams. He married Shadonica Williams on Aug. 20, 1994, in Mexico. Richard. Williams and Shadonica Williams were childhood friends.
"It started out as a love-hate relationship," Shadonica Williams said."We would fight all the time. Then I moved away for a while and when I got back, we got together."
They dated three years before getting married. They also had one daughter, Elysse, in 1997.
Visitation for Mr. Williams will be from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Second Baptist Church, 418 E. Breckenridge in Mexico. Services, conducted by the Rev. T.L. Garner, will follow. He will be buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Mexico.
Mr. Williams is survived by his wife; his daughter; and both parents all of Mexico; his brother; a sister, Rachele R. Williams of Mexico; and his grandmother, Idell Jameson of Oakland, Calif.
His two grandfathers and one grandmother died earlier.
Lawrence "Wayne" Hill
Lawrence "Wayne" Hill spent his life giving - in war and in peace and in service to his country and his God.
"He was a great friend," said fellow volunteer Eugene Robl. "He was a man of patience and love."
Mr. Hill died Saturday, Feb. 6, 1999, at the Truman Veterans Hospital. He was 81.
He was a family man and an active volunteer, said his wife, Lois Edna Hill of Columbia. Gideons International was one organization to which he gave his time.
"He would help hand out the Bibles at the university, and he replenished the hotels," she said. "He helped with that a lot."
Mr. Hill volunteered at Truman Veterans Hospital for almost 20 years, working more than 12,500 hours for veterans.
"He wanted to give back what was given to him," Robl said. "He was a veteran, and he knew a lot of veterans who needed consolation."
Mr. Hill was also active in the Masonic Lodge for almost 50 years, serving in several Missouri cities. In Columbia, he was a member of Twilight Lodge 114, of A.F. and A.M., where he received KCCH Honors. He also was a member of American Legion Post 202 and Community United Methodist Church of Columbia.
Mr. Hill was born Dec. 10, 1917, in Chillicothe to Hugh Virgil and Lena Casel Waddle Hill. He graduated from Chillicothe public schools and the Chillicothe Business College, where he majored in business administration and music.
He married Lois Edna Ehman on Aug. 8, 1943, and they lived in Kansas City, St. Louis and Cape Girardeau.
Mr. Hill also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II in the South Pacific. He later worked as a sales and office manager for television stations and also as a real-estate broker.
Visitation for Mr. Hill will be at 6:30 to 8 p.m. today at Parker Funeral Service, 22 N. Tenth St.
Services, conducted by the Revs. Susan Cox Johnson, Jay Ketchie, Eugene Robl and Thomas Adams, will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Parker Funeral Service.
Mr. Hill was survived by his wife, Lois Hill of Columbia; one daughter, Barbara Lynne Hill of Columbia; one son, Richard Lawrence Hill of Weslaco, Texas; one brother, Carl Eugene Hill of Julian, Calif., and one sister, Miriam Louise Stelplugh of Wheeling.
One brother died earlier.
Memorials may be sent to Gideons International, P.O. Box 7108, Columbia, Mo., 65205.
Opal Bergman
Opal Bergman of Columbia died Friday, Feb. 5, 1999, at Candlelight Terrace Apartments. She was 91.
"She was a gracious person with a smile for folks," said the Rev. Robert Hickman of Fairview United Methodist Church. She was an active member of the church and a strong woman, he said.
Mrs. Bergman was involved with the church's organization for women and "Flickering Flames," a senior adults program.
She was born on Oct. 29, 1907, to O.H. and Aurie Rankin Wilkerson. She was a graduate of William Woods College and the University of Missouri. She was also a volunteer at University Hospital. She was married to Albert Bergman.
Visitation for Mrs. Bergman will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 W. Services, conducted by Rev. Hickman, will be at 11 a.m. Monday, at the Memorial Funeral Home Chapel.
She is survived by her sister, Lois Wells of Grandview, and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Her husband and one brother died earlier.
Mark Allen Welch
Mark Allen Welch of Moberly died February 4, 1999, in an automobile accident while traveling home. He was 39.
Mr. Welch would help anybody in need, said his sister Rosie Poe of Columbia.
"If you had a problem or something, he'd work on it," Poe said. "He was just a helpful person and he'd do his best to help."
Mr. Welch was born on August 29, 1959 in Columbia to John C. and Beatrice L. Calvert Welch and he attended Hallsville School. He enjoyed fishing, especially for catfish.
Mr. Welch was particularly fond of Christmas because he got to see the surprise on his children's faces when they opened their presents, Poe said. "His kids were the most important thing to him. When he was around them he did everything for them. He tried to be the typical dad." Services for Mr. Welch will be 3 p.m., Monday at Oakland Cemetery, 2929 E. Oakland Church Rd. in Columbia.
Mr. Welch is survived by his mother Beatrice Miller of Columbia; four sisters, Denaise Dodson, Peggy Poe, Rosie Poe, all of Columbia and Dona Sims of Sturgeon; one brother, John Welch; and four daughters, Amy Welch, Angie Welch, Christina Welch, and Sandy Welch, all of Columbia.
His father and one sister died earlier.
Jane Fleisher
Jane Esther Fleisher of Columbia died Wednesday, Feb. 3, 1999. She was 62. Mrs. Fleisher was born July 22, 1936, in Philadelphia to Charles and Belle Cooper. She married David Fleisher in 1985, and the couple moved from Los Angeles to Columbia in 1991.
As a nurse in California and Columbia, Mrs. Fleisher went to great lengths to ensure the many families she worked with raised strong and healthy children.
"She was a rather courageous lady," her husband said. "When we lived in Los Angeles, she was working for Community Health Nursing. Her work with maternal child care often took her into some dangerous neighborhoods to reach families there. She had a real good heart. She was a true gift."
For the past several years, Mrs. Fleisher worked as a registered nurse at the University Health Information Center.
"She really cared about parents and children," said Janet Hale, University Health Information supervisor. "She was the one who suggested we get a baby scale to help educate parents about proper nutrition. Jane took it upon herself to help teach teen-age mothers child care." Mrs. Fleisher was a master of Tai Chi and led classes in Columbia. Services, conducted by Michael Fleisher, will be at 2 p.m. today at the home of David Fleisher, 7771 S. Hill Creek Road.
Mrs. Fleisher is survived by her husband; one son, Joseph Maso of Canoga Park, Calif.; two daughters, Caron Murray of Santa Monica, Calif., and Michele Tinsley of Saugus, Calif.; one stepson, Jeremy Fleisher of Manhattan Beach, Calif.; one brother, George Cooper of Columbia; and four grandchildren.
Memorials may be sent to the Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Association, 13180 Caroline Court, Elm Grove, Wis., 53122.
Anna B. Clemens
Anna Belle Clemens of Columbia died Monday, Feb. 8, 1999, at Cooper County Memorial Hospital. She was 97.
Mrs. Clemens was born Sept. 11, 1901, to Robert Hershel and Lucy Daley Frey in Mokane. She married Dewey Clemens in 1919.
She was a member of Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church. In 1961, Mrs. Clemens retired from her job at University Hospital and Clinics.
Visitation will be at 1 p.m. today at Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, 1217 Business Loop 70 W. Services will follow at 2 p.m. Clemens will be buried at Memorial Park Cemetery.
She is survived by one brother, Floyd Calvin; and one sister, Loretta Holt, both of Columbia. She also is survived by four grand children, six great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren.
Her husband, one son, four brother, three sisters and one great grandson died earlier.
Memorials may be sent to the Mid-Missouri chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, 1121 Business Loop 70 E. Columbia, Mo., 65201 or to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 30638, Columbia, Mo. 65205.
Ronald V. Doyle
Gardening enthusiast Ronald V. Doyle died Monday, Feb. 8, 1999 at the Boone Hospital Center. He was 59.
He loved beautifying his yard and friends and family often talked about it.
"They called it the 'Shelter Gardens West,'" said his son Hugh Harrison.
Mr. Doyle was born Feb. 7, 1940 in Wichita, Kan., to Virgil Doyle and Ruth Miller Doyle. He worked in the newspaper business for many years; he was advertising director for the Columbia Daily Tribune from 1980 to 1986.
He was the manager of the Lake in the Woods Little General Store. A new convenience store was being developed.
"He was excited about the new store being built," Harrison said.
Services, conducted by the Rev. Tom Statler, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Midway Locust Grove United Methodist Church, 2600 N. Locust Church Road. Arrangements are under the direction of Nilson Funeral Home.
Mr. Doyle's ashes are being saved.
"When my mother dies, we're going to mix the ashes and bury them together," Harrison said.
Mr. Doyle is survived by his mother, Ruth Doyle of Wichita, Kan.; his wife Carolyn Doyle of Columbia; two sons, Ronald T. Doyle and Hugh Harrison, both of Columbia; two daughters, Beth Harrison-Prado of Ypsilante, Mich., and Margaret Anne Thomas-deVries of Columbia; and a sister, Saundra Hollis, of Wichita, Kan.; one niece and five grandchildren.
His father died earlier.
Goldie Foster
Goldie Marie Curry Foster of Columbia died Monday, Feb. 8, 1999, at Boone Hospital Center. She was 85.
Mrs. Foster was born June 7, 1913, in Ashland to Gilbert and Nora Richardson Bennett. She married Neville Curry in Ashland on Dec. 24, 1929. He died earlier. She later married Ed Foster on Nov. 15, 1981, in Columbia. He also died earlier.
Mrs. Foster was a member of the Open Door Baptist Church.
Visitation for Mrs. Foster was Tuesday at Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 W. Services, conducted by the Rev. Phil Dooley, will be at 11 a.m. today at Memorial Funeral Home Chapel. She will be buried at Memorial Park Cemetery.
Mrs. Foster is survived by one son, Don Curry of Fulton; one daughter, M. Sue Martin of Springfield; one step-daughter, Ann Wertz of Farmington; two sisters, Mary Sapp and Jean Sapp Wren, both of Ashland; and nine grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Both husbands, one son and three brothers died earlier.
Memorials may be sent to Open Door Baptist Church, 4838 E. Meadow Lark Lane, Columbia, Mo., 65203.
Patricia A. Loring
Patricia Ann Loring loved singing.
She was a dedicated choir member at the Country Club Congregational United Church of Christ in Kansas City. She passed her love of music and singing on to her two children, Sarah and Scott Loring.
"Nothing gave her much more pride than seeing our children sing together," said Fred Loring, her husband.
Mrs. Loring, of Overland Park, Kan. and formerly of Columbia, died Sunday, Feb. 7, 1999, at St. Joseph Medical Center. She was 49. The Johnson County coroner's office has not yet determined the cause of death.
Mrs. Loring was born Aug. 3, 1949, in Norfolk, Neb. to Lowell and Phyllis Long. She married Fred Loring in 1971.
While she lived in Columbia, Mrs. Loring taught at many schools, including Two Mile Prairie, Fairview and Parkade elementary schools.
She always received positive feedback from her students.
"She was very creative and loving with her students," Mr. Loring said.
Students weren't the only ones to benefit from Mrs. Loring's guidance.
"She was a great teacher," said Sarah Loring, Mrs. Loring's niece. "I learned a lot from her. She was like a second mom to me."
Mrs. Loring also was a Sunday school teacher and served on numerous boards and committees. She worked for the Learning Exchange in Kansas City from 1986-1998. During that time, she wrote two books.
Memorial services will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Country Club Congregational United Church of Christ, where a reception will follow.
Mrs. Loring is survived by her husband, Fred; two children, Sarah Joy Loring and Scott Frederick Loring; father and mother, Lowell and Phyllis Long; sisters Kathy Hegler and Jane Leupold; and several nieces and a nephew.
Memorials can be sent to the Country Club Congregational United Church of Christ, 205 W. 65th St., Kansas City, Mo., 64113 or Bentwood Elementary School, 13000 Bond St., Overland Park, Kan., 66213, where Mrs. Loring was teaching at the time of her death.
Edith O'Malley
Edith O'Malley was motivated by service. She was a member of the Altar Society, and she became involved in community activities through of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Columbia.
Mrs. O'Malley died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999, at the Columbia Manor Care Center. She was 85.
She was born April 30, 1913, in Cleaveland, Minn., to William and Flora Hunter McPeak. She married Francis "Frick" O'Malley on June 7, 1934.
Mrs. O'Malley moved to Columbia to live near her daughter after her husband died in 1996.
"I would call her an avid fisherwoman," said Sharon Cornelison, her daughter. "She loved vegetable gardening and cooking."
Mrs. O'Malley worked as a store clerk in a number of local businesses in her hometown, Cornelison said.
Services for Mrs. O'Malley will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Le Center, Minn. She will be buried at the Calvary Cemetery in Le Center.
Mrs. O'Malley is survived by her daughter, Sharon Cornelison of Columbia; two grandsons, Daniel Huber of Kansas City and Michael Huber of Iowa City, Iowa; and two great-grandchildren, Grace Huber and Lily Huber, both of Iowa City, Iowa.
Memorials may be sent to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 1013, Columbia, Mo. 65205.
Heddy M. Wyatt
Heddy M. Wyatt of Columbia died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999, at University Hospital and Clinics. She was 80.
Mrs. Wyatt was good with children, said her daughter, Gertie P. Daly.
Mrs. Wyatt was born Feb. 28, 1918, in Boone County to Theodore and Jenny Turner. She married Orville Wyatt on July 11, 1946. He died earlier.
Visitation for Mrs. Wyatt will be from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Nilson Funeral Home, 5611 St. Charles Road. Services, conducted by the Rev. Dennis Stuart, will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Nilson Funeral Home. She will be buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, 1217 Business Loop 70 W.
Mrs. Wyatt is survived by a son, Billy G. Niles of Columbia; three daughters, Gertie P. Daly and Tammy Marshall, both of Columbia and Ella Schrader of Jefferson City; seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Three brothers and four sisters died earlier.
Sarah "Haboobi" Bean
Sarah "Haboobi" Bean knew too well the pain of IVs stuck into her veins and the clinical smell of hospital rooms. She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was only 2 years old.
Ms. Bean also knew the feeling of gazing at the top of the great pyramids, running through the rain in the streets of London, sailing through scattered islands in Greece, excavating in Hawaii near the wettest place on earth, walking down streets in Morocco, living with the Bedouin on the Sinai Peninsula and riding camels through the Wadi Rum desert outside the magical city of Petra, Jordan.
Ms. Bean, an MU graduate student who was researching the Bedouin in Petra, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999, in Amman, Jordan, from complications with cystic fibrosis. She was 30.
Ms. Bean was taken from Petra to Amman and was admitted to the Al-Khalidi Medical Center. She arrived at the hospital in a coma on Jan. 31.
Ms. Bean was born in August 1968 in Boston. She received her undergraduate degree from Colby College in Vermont.
Mary Halaweh, her best friend, said Ms. Bean's eyes glowed when she spoke about doing her master's research in Petra with the Bedouin people. She dreamed of living with them.
In a January letter to Halaweh, Ms. Bean described Middle Eastern eyes as a variety of colors unseen in the western world, eyes whose warmth and kindness were unmatched.
Growing up with cystic fibrosis fueled Ms. Bean's love and appreciation for life. She knew her fate was not written and, like her kindred spirit, T. H. Lawrence, her accomplishments amazed her doctors, friends and family.
"She always said if there was one place on earth she could choose to die, it would be in Jordan," said her friend Christopher Burnett.
"Her last days were filled with the things she adored," Haleweh said.
Service arrangements have not been announced.
She is survived by her mother, Marge Bean, and brother, Jeff Bean, both of Boston.
