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Date of these obituaries: 11-20-1999
Thomas E. Sowers, loved kids, nature
Thomas E. Sowers loved children and nature.
Mr. Sowers, 66, of Ludlow, a retired surgical technician for Bethesda Oak Hospital in Cincinnati, died Thursday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North Hospice in Covington.
Mr. Sowers was a Navy veteran of the Korean War and a member of the Ludlow Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He and his wife, Janet, had lived in Ludlow since 1973.
The Sowerses didn't have children of their own, but their home was a regular stop for nieces and nephews. And at one time Mr. Sowers coached a Little League baseball team in Ludlow.
"He had 17 kids (on the team), and they were all like his kids," Mrs. Sowers said.
When they married, Mrs. Sowers had been a waitress.
"He encouraged me to go to college," she said. "He worked late, and he would pick me up after school. He was always there to support me."
She became a computer program analyst.
The two enjoyed traveling, whether it was an impromptu jaunt in the car to Indiana for a root beer or a cross-country vacation visiting relatives and friends.
Mr. Sowers especially loved the quiet beauty of the country or a walk on the riverbank at evening, his wife said.
"He would find old bottles and pieces of porcelain dolls and bring them home. He had an appreciation of the small things around him," his wife said.
"He didn't like to be out at big parties. He'd always be making friends with the person in the corner that no one was talking to. He'd go out of his way to make people feel comfortable," she said.
A heart attack six years ago put him on disability and curtailed the travel he and Mrs. Sowers enjoyed. But he continued his enjoyment of nature.
He kept peanuts handy at the window for the the squirrels and once nursed a wounded dove back to health, his wife said.
When a friend gave him a blue crown conure bird, a member of the parrot family, that had been abused, Mr. Sowers patiently gained the bird's trust, and it became his constant companion, sitting on his shoulder even as his illness worsened.
In the last few weeks, friends and family streamed in to visit with him.
When the ambulance was called to take him to the hospital, the driver was a former player Mr. Sowers had coached in Little League baseball.
"He really had a wonderful last few weeks," Mrs. Sowers said. "His faith was so strong."
Other survivors include brothers, Earl Sowers Jr. of New Carlisle, Ohio, Robert Sowers of West Milton, Ohio, Jack Sowers and Terry Sowers, both of Dayton, Ohio, Jerry Sowers of Tipp City, Ohio, and Larry Sowers of Crenshaw, Miss.; a sister, Joy Ray of Butler, Ohio; and several nieces and nephews.
Services will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at Ronald B. Jones Funeral Home, Ludlow. Visitation will begin at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Green Hills Memorial Gardens, Middlesboro. Memorials are suggested to the Awana Club at First Baptist Church, 400 Linden St., Ludlow, Ky. 41016.
Emma Salzer Austwick, 98, of Newport, died Friday at Lakeside Place Nursing Home in Highland Heights.
She was a homemaker and a member of Knights of St. John.
Her husband, Robert Austwick, died in 1955.
Survivors include a son, Howard Austwick of Huntington Beach, Calif.; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary Cemetery, Fort Mitchell. Radel Funeral Home, Newport, is handling arrangements.
Elva Eversole, 64, of Covington, died at 6:20 p.m. Thursday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center North in Covington. She was a homemaker and a member of Madison Avenue Christian Church, Covington.
Survivors include her husband, Utah Eversole; a son, Tony Hoskinds of Burlington; daughters, Lorraine Skeen of Villa Hills, Kathy Tucker of Latonia, Jeanette Rabe of Walton and Sandy Dalton of Florence; a stepson, Wayne Eversole of Covington; stepdaughters, Carol Messer of Cincinnati, and Charleen Dietz and Charolett Ashcraft, both of Covington; a brother, Bill Tinch of Walton; 27 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Catchen and Son Funeral Home, Elsmere-Erlanger. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill.
Carlos Johnson, 72, of Florence, died at 3:45 p.m. Friday at his residence.
Arrangements are pending at Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Home, Erlanger.
Maggie Miller, 86, of Owenton, died Friday at Owen County Memorial Hospital in Owenton.
She was a homemaker and a member of Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, Owenton.
Her husband, Richard Coleman Miller, preceded her in death.
Survivors include sons, Melvin Miller and Richard Miller, both of Owenton; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at McDonald Funeral Home, Main Street, Owenton. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Owenton IOOF Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to Owen County Memorial Hospital Activity Fund, 330 Roland Ave., Owenton, Ky. 40359.
Helen Hitt Muterspaw, 84, of Maysville, died at 10:10 p.m. Thursday at Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville.
She was an artist and a member of Shannon United Methodist Church.
Her husband, Andrew Muterspaw, preceded her in death.
Survivors include a daughter, Gayle McCarty of Maysville; a son, Thomas W. McDaniel of Conway, S.C.; eight grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Palmer Funeral Home, Mays Lick. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Burial will be in Shannon Cemetery.
Memorials are suggested to Hospice of Hope, 1 W. McDonald Parkway, Maysville, Ky. 41056.
Phyllis Agnes Wuerth, 80, of Fort Wright, died at 6:25 a.m. Friday at St. Charles Care Center in Covington.
She was a homemaker and a member of St. Agnes Church, Fort Wright.
Her husband, Dr. Charles L. Wuerth Sr., died in 1992.
Survivors include sons, Joseph W. Wuerth of Lanesville, Ind., and Dr. Charles L. Wuerth Jr. of Independence; a daughter, Phyllis A. Costello of Alexandria; a brother, Quentin J. Majerus of Bellchester, Minn.; sisters, Eunice Darcy of Zumbrota, Minn., and Edith Schafer of Bellchester, Minn.; and four grandchildren.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday at St. Agnes Church, Fort Wright. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday at Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Home, Covington. Entombment will be in St. Mary cemetery Mausoleum, Fort Mitchell.
Memorials are suggested to St. Charles Care Center, 500 Farrell Drive, Covington, Ky. 41011.
