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Date of these obituaries: 01-07-2003
Rose Green, ran truck firm, drove school bus
For 38 years, Rose Helen Green kept the wheels moving at the Green Truck Co. in Covington, but it was what she did in her "free time" that sticks in the minds of most people who knew her.
For 25 years, Mrs. Green drove bus No. 1 for Covington Public Schools, which was for children with special needs and disabilities.
After her husband's death, Mrs. Green and her son took over the family business. The work was difficult and the hours long, but she was successful. At its peak, the trucking company had about 50 employees.
Friends described her as a self-motivated, goal-oriented person who could be very independent when she needed or wanted to be.
The time driving the school bus, friends and family say, was pure enjoyment for Mrs. Green.
"The reason she kept driving the bus for all those years was because she loved the kids, " said grandson Willie Green. "When she was hired, there were very few women who had experience driving a huge bus like that, so she was a real find for the schools."
Mrs. Green, 74, died at 11:45 p.m. Friday at her home in Walton. Her husband, William E. Green, died in 1967. Her son, William "Bill" Green, died in 2001.
Mrs. Green continued driving for Covington Public Schools until last year. She became close with several students and kept in touch with some of their parents.
In her free time, her grandson said Mrs. Green was a "bingo-holic, " playing whenever she could get a group of friends together.
"She never met a person who had a need that she didn't try to fulfill, " said Willie Green. "If you needed something, even if you weren't a close relationship, she would help you."
Other survivors include a sister, Anna Marie Bilz of Covington; five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Catchen Funeral Home, Covington. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger.
William Brumback, 85, of Erlanger, died Saturday at Villaspring Health Care Center, Erlanger. He was an electrical engineer with General Electric, a member of Good Faith Masonic Lodge No. 95 F&AM and a Navy veteran of World War II.
Survivors include daughters, Edythe Bennett of Union and Marsha Kual of Fort Mitchell; sons, Bill Brumback and Jamie Brumback, both of Union; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Stith Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will begin there at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger. Memorials are suggested to St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit, 401 E. 20th St., Covington, Ky. 41014.
Marcella Calvert Chandler, 88, of Owenton, died Monday at New Horizons Medical Center, Owenton. She was a homemaker and a retired employee of Stag Distillery in Frankfort.
Survivors include a niece, Kim Chandler Goodrich of Owenton, and nephews, Louis Dean Chandler and Charlie Chandler, both of Owenton.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at McDonald Funeral Home, Seminary Street location, Owenton. Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in IOOF Cemetery, Owenton. Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donor's choice.
William Dayne Coates, 55, of Ghent, died Monday at his home. He was a retired Army veteran of the Vietnam War.
Survivors include his wife, Janet Coates; daughters, Tracy Law of Ghent and Renee Harp of Florence; a son, William Coates Jr. of Williamstown; and six grandchildren.
Memorial services will be at the convenience of the family. Carlton-Lowder Funeral Home, Warsaw, is handling arrangements.
Ida J. Hillner Cook, 91, of Dayton, died Sunday at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. She was a nurse's aide with Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, and a member of St. John United Church of Christ, Bellevue, Bellevue-Dayton Senior Citizens, Covington Senior Citizens, Women's Guild of St. John Church and Bellevue-Dayton Women's Fellowship Group. She was also a clerk with Graeter's ice cream shops in Cincinnati.
Survivors include a daughter, Judith Bussberg-Hiltenbeitel of Dayton; brothers, Harry Paul Hillner of Fort Thomas and Wilbur Henry Hillner of Prudenville, Mich.; a sister, Hazel Kremer of Bellevue; and a grandchild.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Dobbling Funeral Home, Bellevue. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Baltimore Pike Cemetery, Cincinnati. Memorials are suggested to St. John United Church of Christ, 520 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue, Ky. 41073.
Mable Cummins, 98, of Foster, died Monday at River Valley Nursing Home, Butler.
Arrangements are pending at Peopels Funeral Home, Falmouth.
Elie E. Duncan, 66, of Williamstown, died at 9:55 a.m. Sunday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. He was a retired factory worker.
Survivors include his wife, Wanda Duncan; stepdaughters, Penny Back of Wilmington, Ohio, Pam Mulligan of California, Linda Wilson and Rita Wilson, both of Malvern, Ark., and Teresa Wilson of Washington Court House, Ohio; stepsons, Rick Wilson of Williamstown and Wayne Wilson of Charlestown, W.Va.; a sister, Betty Eldridge of Somerset; 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Rogers-McDaniel Funeral Home, Corinth. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Wilmington Baptist Cemetery, Fiskburg.
Charles S. Gardner, 94, of Carrollton, died Saturday at Florence Park Care Center, Florence. He was a retired parking garage manager and an Army veteran of World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Antoinette Carpenter Gardner; sisters, Dorothy Wood of Campbellsburg and Glen Hood of Frankfort; and a brother, Robert Gardner of Cincinnati.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Prewitt Funeral Home, New Castle. Visitation will begin there at 6 p.m. today. Burial will be in New Castle Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to American Cancer Society, in care of Dorothy Norvell, 289 College St., New Castle, Ky. 40050.
Louise Hicks Gillespie-Bechtol, 79, of Hamilton, Ohio, died Sunday in Hamilton. She was owner of Bings Musical Bar and Steakhouse in Cincinnati and a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, Covington.
Survivors include sons, Oscar Hicks of Hamilton and Roger A. Gillespie of Tampa, Fla.; sisters, Betty Field of Alexandria and Connie Smith of Independence; four grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Stith Funeral Home, Florence. Visitation will begin there at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Burial will be in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Erlanger. Memorials are suggested to Southwest Ohio Hospice, Fort Hamilton-Hughes Hospital, 630 Eaton Ave., Hamilton, Ohio 45013; or American Heart Association, P.O. Box 182039, Dept. 13, Columbus, Ohio 43218.
Adam Christopher Messmer, 18, of Alexandria, died Saturday at St. Luke Hospital East, Fort Thomas. He was a member of Plum Creek Christian Church, Alexandria.
Survivors include his parents, Chris and Joan Moore Messmer of Alexandria; a sister, Kristen Messmer of Alexandria; and maternal grandparents, Bill and Bonnie Moore of Falmouth.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Plum Creek Christian Church. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the church. Burial will be in Morgan Cemetery, Pendleton County. Memorials are suggested to St. Luke Rehabilitation Program, 512 S. Maple Ave., Falmouth, Ky. 41040; or Plum Creek Christian Church, Route 3 Box 292, Butler, Ky. 41006.
Peoples Funeral Home, Falmouth, is handling the arrangements.
Darlene Schafer Oetzel, 84, of Grants Lick, died at 8:15 p.m. Sunday in Robertson County Health Care Facility, Mount Olivet.
She was a former employee for Hancock's Food Mart, Highland Heights, and a member of Grants Lick Baptist Church. Her first husband, Malcom Schafer, died in 1973, and her second husband, Phillip Oetzel, died in 1991.
Survivors include her daughters, Charlene Kennedy of Grants Lick and Alta Wilson of Butler; a son, Gayle Schafer of Grants Lick; a stepdaughter, Janet Goodell of Prophetstown, Ill.; a brother, Charles Baker of Fort Thomas; a sister, Ida Lee Gaugler of Center Valley, Pa.; five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Grants Lick Baptist Church. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from 10 a.m. until the time of services Thursday at the church. Burial will be in Butler Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the charity of the donor's choice.
Alexandria Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Harry "Junior" Orfaley Jr., 74, of Covington, died at 6:37 a.m. Sunday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. He was a retired warehouseman with Coca Cola Co., Cincinnati.
Survivors include his wife, Alta Schlueter Orfaley; a daughter, Deborah Ann Meiner of Dayton;
Services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Swindler and Currin Funeral Home, Latonia. Visitation will begin there at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Burial will be in Floral Hills Cemetery, Taylor Mill. Memorials are suggested to American Heart Association, 2936 Vernon Place, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219.
Wyetta Sortino Peddicord, 64, of Paso Robles, Calif., formerly of Alexandria, died Dec. 30 in Paso Robles. She was an auctioneer and a hairstylist.
Survivors include children, Darlene Gilstrap of Paso Robles, Dennis DeMoss of Bothell, Wash., Jody Maxwell of Garden Grove, Calif., Debbie Sortino of Palmdale, Calif., and Chris Sortino of Largo, Fla.; brothers, W.T. Peddicord of Burlington, Wayne Peddicord of Bellevue and Lucky Peddicord of Alexandria; and four grandchildren.
Services were Saturday at Pearly Gates Mall in Paso Robles. Kuehl-Nicolay Funeral Home, Paso Robles, handled arrangements.
William H. Purnell, 68, of Dayton, died Sunday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center South, Edgewood. He was a retired assembler with Wadsworth Electric Co., Covington, and a member of Newport Assembly of God Church. His wife, France Purnell, died in 1995. A daughter, Peggy Sizemore, also preceded him in death.
Survivors include daughters, Frances Herald and Billie Sue Morgan, both of Elsmere, Bertha Mae Pack of Louisa and Emma Marie Mains of Dayton; a son, William Purnell of Dayton; sisters, Darlene Barnes of Corinth, Anna Belle Abner of Crittenden, Vertie Webster of Dry Ridge and Mary Wessling of Williamstown; brothers, Toby Purnell, Jerry Purnell, Raymond Purnell and Charles Webster, all of Grant County, Ed Purnell of Florence, Melvin Pack of Louisa; 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Muehlenkamp-Erschell Funeral Home, Newport. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 tonight at the funeral home. Burial will be in Alexandria Cemetery.
Gene S. Simpson Sr., 72, of Union, died Monday at St. Luke Hospital West, Florence. He was a salesman with Furniture Fair and a member of New Bethel Baptist Church, Verona.
Survivors include his wife, Jewel Branum Simpson; a son, Gene Simpson Jr. of Union; a daughter, Debora Linda Krueger of Union; brothers, Orville Simpson of Seattle, Opal Wayne Simpson of Crittenden, Bobby Dean Simpson of Walton and Charles Randall Simpson of Tampa, Fla.; sisters, Zella Mae Elliott of Tampa and Betty Augenstien of Florence; two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Hamilton-Stanley Funeral Home, Verona. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 tonight at the funeral home. Burial will be in New Bethel Cemetery, Verona. Memorials are suggested to Walton-Verona Lodge No. 719, Walton, Ky. 41094.
John W. Yearsley Jr., 59, of Harrison County, died Sunday at St. Joseph Hospital, Lexington. He was a retired school administrator with the Harrison County Board of Education and a member of Cynthiana Lions Club, Kenton Board of Regional Mental Health, Cynthiana Elks Lodge No. 438 and the Harrison County Farm Bureau.
Survivors include his wife, Beverly Gillespie Yearsley; a son, John Travis Yearsley of Morehead; daughters, Alison Michele Yearsley of Lexington and Mary Chris Yearsley Pabon of Louisville; and a brother, Larry Frank Yearsley of Harrison County.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Ware Funeral Home, Cynthiana. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 tonight at the funeral home. Burial will be in Battle Grove Cemetery, Cynthiana. Memorials are suggested to Harrison County Board of Education for Special Education, 552 Webster Ave., Cynthiana, Ky. 41031.
John J. Zieverink, 88, of Covington, died at 3:55 p.m. Saturday at Woodcrest Manor, Erlanger. He was a retired clerk with the city of Covington. His wife, Anna Mae Zieverink, died in 1976.
Survivors include a daughter, Diane Blackwood of Erlanger; a sister, Dorothy Callahan of Lower Lake, Calif.; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Barbara Church, Erlanger. Mr. Zieverink bequeathed his body to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Memorials are suggested to St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit, 401 E. 20th St., Covington, Ky. 41014. Catchen Funeral Home, Elsmere, is handling arrangements.
