Kayla Pierce-Lay
Kayla Marie Pierce-Lay of Columbia died Wednesday, April 28, 1999, at Boone Hospital Center of Turner's Syndrome. She was born the same day.
Her family cherished the day spent with her.
"It was a total blessing. She was our little angel," said her mother, Kimberly Sue Pierce. "Yesterday was our day. We got to spend time with her and get arm, foot, hand and butt prints - those were cute."
Kayla's memory will live on, her family said. For her three remaining siblings, Kayla's birth was special because they were old enough to understand having a sister.
Services, conducted by the Rev. Dennis Swearngin, will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Olivet Cemetery, 1991 South Olivet Rd.
Kayla is survived by her parents, John Allen Lay and Kimberly Sue Pierce of Co-lumbia; one brother, Jeff Blauvelt of Columbia; two sisters, Staci Blauvelt and Kelli Robinson of Columbia; paternal grandparents John and Louise Lay of Hallsville; grandfather Jon Pierce of Marble Hill; and grandparents Jim and Sue West of Colum-bia.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Boone County National Bank, 720 East Broadway, Columbia, Mo. 65201.
Christeen Stapleton
Christeen Stapleton of Columbia died Tuesday, April 27, 1999, at Columbia Regional Hospital. She was 67.
Miss Stapleton, who was a member of Wright's Temple Church of God in Christ, attended Vandalia Public School as a child. More recently, she was employed at Ramada Inn.
Miss Stapleton was born March 3, 1932, in Vandalia to George and Ida Mae Stapleton.
Visitation will be from 7:30 to 9 p.m. today at Warren Funeral Chapel. Services, conducted by the Rev. Frank Wright, will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Fifth St. Christian Church.
Miss Stapleton is survived by four sons, Earl Stapleton, James Stapleton and John Stapleton, all of Columbia, and Kenneth Stapleton of Bowling Green; three daughters, Cheryl Newton, Linda Connor and Glenda Coleman, all of Columbia; four brothers, Robert Stapleton and Elder Melvin, both of Columbia, James Stapleton of Vandalia and Leo Stapleton of Moberly; 18 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; and 17 great-great grandchildren.
Two sons, five sisters and two brothers died earlier.
Canole 'Sweetie' Stemmons
Canole "Sweetie" Stemmons of Rocheport died Thursday, April 22, 1999, at Vencor Hospital in St. Louis. He was 93.
Mr. Stemmons was born July 27, 1905, in Hillsdale to Thomas and Emma Stemmons. He married Ethel Boone.
Mr. Stemmons worked for MU and retired in 1975. He also farmed in Rocheport and was a member of Mt. Woodland A.M.E. Church.
Visitation for Mr. Stemmons will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Warren Funeral Chapel, 10 N. Fourth St. Services, conducted by the Rev. Thomas Lampkin, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Luke United Methodist Church, 204 E. Ash St. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, 1217 Business Loop 70 E.
Mr. Stemmons is survived by a daughter, Dorothy M. Ballard of St. Louis; twenty-six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
His wife, two sons, one daughter, five brothers and one sister died earlier.
Claire Heidmann
Claire Emma Heidmann of Columbia died Sunday, April 25, 1999, at Boone Hospital Center. She was 85.
Mrs. Heidmann was born Aug. 11, 1913, in St. Boswell, Saskatchewan, Canada to Henry and Christine Schmidt Sandermann.
She married Albert Heidmann on Sept. 15, 1936, in Rosthern, Saskatchewan.
Services for Mrs. Heidmann will be at 4 p.m. Monday at Lenoir Epple Chapel, 1 Hourigan Dr.
Mrs. Heidmann is survived by one son, Mark Heidmann of Wallingford, Conn.; two daughters, Lois Shelton of Columbia and Ruth Stoltzfus of Champaign, Ill.; one brother, Henry Sandermann of Barrhead, Alberta, Canada; three sisters, Frieda Watson and Beatrice Walker, both of Calgary, Canada, and Gertrude Faulkner of Barrhead.
Her husband died earlier.
Memorials may be sent to the Fellowship of John, c/o Lenoir Retirement Community, 3612 Lenoir St., Columbia, Mo. 65201.
Mildred L. Tate
Mildred L. Tate died Monday, April 26, 1999, at her home in Columbia. She was 74.
Mrs. Tate was an active member of many social clubs and a member of the Missouri United Methodist Church for 40 years.
"She was a very nice lady and a good friend," said former co-worker Mary Ellen. She knew Mrs. Tate from their days together at Novis Shop, a Columbia women's clothing store that has since closed.
Born March 20, 1925, in Boone County to Edgar Franklin and Annie Lee Toomes Acton, Mrs. Tate lived all her life in Boone County. She was a graduate of Hickman High School. She married Woodrow Tate on Dec. 5, 1998. Her first marriage was to Leonard Atkinson, who died earlier.
Mrs. Tate is survived by her two sons, James R. Atkinson of Blackwater and Michael B. Atkinson of Lake Ozark; a daughter, Sherri Hilton of Jackson, Miss.; two brothers, Albert Acton of Columbia and Clarence Acton of Irving, Texas; and a sister, Alice Carroll of Evergreen, Colo. Her parents, husband and a brother died earlier.
Visitation will be at the Parker Funeral Service, 22 N. Tenth St., from 1 to 3 p.m. today. Services, officiated by the Rev. Jerry Thompson, will be at 3 p.m. at Parker Funeral Service. The burial will be at the Old Union Cemetery in Columbia.
Memorials may be sent to Lions Eye Tissue Bank, c/o Parker Funeral Service, P.O. Box 1251 Columbia, Mo. 65205.
Raymond Easley
Raymond Easley could answer any question a person had about taxes. The longtime Boone County collector even remembered where the law was written in state statutes.
"The things people remember about him is that he always had an open door," Pat Lensmeyer, current Boone County collector, said. "He never turned anyone away if they had a tax question."
Raymond William Easley died Sunday, April 25, 1999, at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia. He was 81.
The friendship quilt that his oldest daughter, Susan, pieced together for his 80th birthday will be on display during the visitation today. His wife, Helen Sapp, said it has 63 squares that represent relationships with his friends and family.
One square has a friend's campaign bumper sticker painted on it and one shows a picture of the Easley Store, his family's business.
Mr. Easley was the Boone County collector for 28 years, and was a longtime Democrat. At one time, he was the Cedar Township committeeman for the Democratic Party.
Mr. Easley was also a devout fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Sapp said he had memorabilia - a keychain, two coffee mugs and pictures - of his favorite player, Mark McGwire.
"He was a great supporter of the St. Louis Cardinals," Sapp said. "They may not have known it, but he sure did."
Sapp said her husband had a "fascination" with trains because they reminded him of his hometown, an old railroad depot.
"We went to as many Cardinal games as we could, and to get to the ballgames, we would always ride Amtrak," Sapp said.
A highlight of 1998 was a trip on Amtrak to Raleigh, N.C., through Washington, D.C., to visit his daughter Debbie.
George Harris, a friend who worked with him on the Boone County Fair Board, said Mr. Easley did a good job of thinking and planning events.
"His dedication to the people and the youth of Boone County was one of his outstanding features," Harris said.
Kay Murray, Boone County treasurer, met him in 1967 when they both started working in government. She said Mr. Easley was "methodical" and that he kept careful track of all money going in and out of the office.
"You could set your clock by Raymond," she said. "He got his hair cut on the same day at the same place. He was just a good, honest, down-to-earth man."
Lensmeyer said he needs to be remembered as the first county collector to start notifying lien holders of property that was about to be sold.
"Now pretty much every collector in the state does it," she said.
Mr. Easley was born Nov. 17, 1917, in Easley, Mo., to Frank and Nina Easley. The town was named after his grandparents because they owned the general store.
He served in the Air Force from January 1942 to April 1946. When he returned from the war, he operated the Easley Store.
He was president of the Rock Bridge school board and a member of the Boone County Fair Board, a member of the Rock Bridge PTA, Muleskinners, Optimist Club, Masonic Lodge of Ashland No. 156, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Shriners. He was inducted into the Columbia Bowling Hall of Fame in 1974.
Mr. Easley's wife of 47 years, Amy Trosvig Easley, and his brother, Roy Edward Easley, died earlier.
His second wife, Helen Sapp, survives.
Mr. Easley is also survived by a cousin, Opal "Pat" Rippeto of Easley; three daughters, Susan Easley Fischer of Dallas, DeeDee Morris of Columbia and Deborah Easley of Raleigh, N.C.; four grandsons and two great-grandsons.
Visitation will be at Parker Funeral Service, 22 N. Tenth St., from 5 to 9 p.m. today. There will be a Masons service at 7 p.m. Services will be at Nashville Baptist Church, Route N Nashville Church Road, at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Memorials may be sent to the American Diabetes Association, 1316 Parkade Blvd., Columbia, Mo., 65201.
William L. Brightwell
William L. Brightwell died March 9, 1999, at his home in South Pasadena, Calif. He was 78.
Throughout his life, he battled to empower deaf people.
"He was one of the men responsible for getting captioning on television," said Betty Miller, his sister-in-law. "He was on the first committee to get closed captioning for deaf people."
Mr. Brightwell was born Aug. 2, 1920, in Virginia to Mr. and Mrs. William Brightwell, Sr. He graduated from the Virginia High School for the Deaf, and went on to receive a degree from Gallaudet University for the deaf. In 1952, he married Mary Frances Miller.
He is survived by several in-laws. All of his immediate family died earlier.
A memorial service for Mr. Brightwell was held on April 8 in South Pasadena. He will be buried at 1:30 p.m. May 2 in the family plot at Ashland Cemetery in Howard County. Graveside services will be held at that time.
Memorials may be sent in his name to the Ashland Church Cemetery Fund, c/o Daisy Jacobs, 704 North Church, Fayette, Mo. 65248.
Charles C. Cornett
Charles C. Cornett of Columbia died Thursday, April 22, 1999, at his home. He was 84.
Mr. Cornett was born Oct. 26, 1914, in Pleasanton, Iowa, to Charlie and Nettie McKinney Cornett. He married Reva P. Hagan on Sept. 3, 1935, in Princeton. He was state executive officer for 35 years at Farmers Home Administration and a former member of the Columbia Health Commission and the Governor's Committee on Aging. Mr. Cornett later worked at the First Bank of Commerce.
Mr. Cornett was a member of the Missouri United Methodist Church for 50 years and also belonged to the Grand Order of Pachyderms, Quarterback Club and the Country Club of Missouri. He also volunteered for Meals on Wheels.
Visitation for Mr. Cornett will be from 10 a.m. today at Missouri United Methodist Church, 204 S. Ninth St. Services, conducted by Dr. Jerry Thompson, will follow at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Memorial Park Cemetery, 1217 Business Loop 70 W.
Mr. Cornett is survived by his wife, Reva P. Cornett of Columbia; one son, C. Bruce Cornett of Columbia; one daughter, Ann Anderson of Columbia; one brother, James Rush Cornett of Pleasanton, Iowa; and seven granddaughters and six great-grandchildren.
One brother and one sister died earlier.
Memorials may be sent to Missouri United Methodist Church, 204 S. Ninth St., Columbia, Mo. 65201.
