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Date of these obituaries: 09-03-2003
Tragedy symbolized brief life of Renee Fields
Renee Fields had plenty to contend with in her brief life.
Ms. Fields, 25, who died Sunday at her apartment in Taylor Mill, lost her father, Joey Fields, in 1986 when he died in a house fire in Cincinnati.
Her mother, Jackie Fields, drowned in 1994 when she was swimming in the Ohio River near the Meldahl Dam.
Ms. Fields was diagnosed at age 7 with a tumor that had wrapped around her pituitary gland and optic nerve.
Surgery removed her pituitary gland but left her blind.
Medication to compensate for her pituitary gland loss cause to her to gain weight, and gastric bypass surgery to combat that proved unsuccessful.
"Her life was just a horrible story, " said her grandmother, Emily Wolfe of Covington.
Ms. Fields attended the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville. She augmented her disability income by selling Avon products.
Wolfe said she and her granddaughter were supposed to get together on Sunday, but "I never heard from her."
A great aunt who rented an apartment to Ms. Fields found her dead Sunday night. An autopsy is planned.
Her granddaughter could be a demanding and difficult person, but she also had a very giving side, too, Wolfe said.
"Now she can see again, she doesn't need her cane, " Wolfe added. "Now she can see her mother. Now she's thin."
Ms. Fields was a member of Oak Ridge Baptist Church, Covington.
Survivors in addition to her grandmother include a brother, Bob Fields of Covington.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Oak Ridge Baptist Church.
Visitation will begin there at noon Thursday. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Fort Mitchell.
Allison and Rose Funeral Home, Taylor Mill, is handling arrangements.
Wesley E. "Gene" Brock, 85, of Ludlow, died at 7:20 p.m. Sunday at Baptist Convalescent Center, Newport.
He was a member of First Baptist Church of Ludlow.
Survivors include a sister, Mary M. Brock of Ludlow.
Services will be at noon Thursday at Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Home, Newport.
Visitation will begin there at 11 a.m. Thursday. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger.
Memorials are suggested to First Baptist Church, 400 Linden St., Ludlow, Ky. 41016.
Mildred Speagle Farrell, 78, of Florence, died Sunday at University Hospital, Cincinnati.
She was a grocery clerk and a member of Florence Baptist Church and Florence Senior Citizens.
Her husband, Robert A. Speagle, died in 1979.
A son, Robert Terry Speagle, also preceded her in death.
Survivors include a daughter, Sandra Lee Nichols of Lexington, and a brother, James Harold Soden of Portland, Ore.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Stith Funeral Home, Florence.
Visitation will begin there at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger.
Della E. McManama Francis, 78, of Florence, died at 10:15 a.m. Sunday at Florence Park Care Center.
She was a retired manager with Florence Christian Center.
Survivors include daughters, Della Lee Campbell of National City, Mich., and Pamela Koenig of Aurora, Ind.; brothers, John McManama of Florence and Clifford McManama of Independence; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorial services will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Victory Christian Center, Florence.
Visitation will begin there at 5 p.m. Thursday.
Mrs. Francis bequeathed her body to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Memorials are suggested to Victory Christian Center, 8129 Mall Road, Florence, Ky. 41042.
Patsy Lynn Ledonne, 55, of Independence, died Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood.
Arrangements are pending at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Newport.
Shirley Jones Overman, 69, of Covington, died at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit, Covington.
She was a homemaker and a member of Lawler-Hanlon VFW Post No. 5662, Newport.
Her husband, Harold Overman, died in 1999.
Survivors include daughters, Ruth Borcher of Bellevue and Mona Ramey of Alexandria; a brother, Lyle Jones of Newport; and two granddaughters.
Services will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Newport.
Visitation will begin there at 5 p.m. Friday. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill.
Memorials are suggested to Ruth Lyons Children's Fund, P.O. Box 59, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201.
Thomas Smith, 56, of Newport, died Sunday at Hospice of Cincinnati.
He was a self-employed mechanic.
Survivors include a daughter, Ashley Smith of New York; sons, James Haney, Corbett Smith and Larry Smith, all of Covington; a brother, Corbett Smith of Alexandria; a sister, Pearlie Rahe of Cincinnati; his mother, Stella Smith of Cincinnati; and 15 grandchildren.
Services will be at 6 p.m. today at Cooper Funeral Home, Grants Lick.
Visitation will begin there at 4 p.m. Burial will be in Peach Grove Cemetery.
Wayne L. "Bud" White, 66, of Fort Thomas, died Saturday at his home.
He was a switchman with CSX Railroad, and an Air Force veteran of the Korean War.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy Morgan White; a daughter, Rebecca Lee White of Fort Thomas; a sister, Janie Poston of Bedford, Texas; brothers, Curt White of Pensacola, Fla., and Russell White of Taylor Mill; and a grandchild.
Memorial services will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at A.C. Dobbling and Son Funeral Home, Fort Thomas.
Memorials are suggested to St. Therese Church, 11 Temple Place, Southgate, Ky. 41071.
