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JOHN W. UPP
John W. Upp, 65, Blue Springs, formerly of Independence, died Monday, Oct. 20, 1997, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Kansas City.
Mr. Upp was born Sept. 6, 1932, in Independence and was a lifelong Independence and Blue Springs area resident. He was a self-employed general contractor. He was an Army veteran of the Korean War, and a member of McDonald Lodge 324, A.F.&.A.M. and Ararat Shrine Temple in Kansas City. He received a bachelor`s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
His survivors include two daughters, Sheila Marie Upp, Grain Valley, and Julie Irene Upp Woolery, Independence; his companion, Debby Bledsoe of the home; and three grandchildren, Ryan Dale Warren, Linda Gale and Adam Marquix.
Services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the George C. Carson & Sons Independence Chapel. Burial will be in Floral Hills cemetery, Kansas City. Friends may call from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the chapel.
THOMAS L. CONNELL
Thomas L. Connell, 65, Lee`s Summit, died Friday, Oct. 31, 1997, at the Baptist Medical Center.
Mr. Connell was born Jan. 30, 1932, near Sandersville, Ga., and had lived in Independence and Lee`s Summit the past 23 years. He was a Marine veteran of the Korean War. He had worked for Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania before moving to this area He was the plant manager for Havens Steel in Kansas City for 15 years, retiring in 1992. He was the district director of the American Welding Society, District 16, a member of St. Paul`s United Methodist Men`s Club and a member of the First Presbyterian Church and its Thursday morning coffee group.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, S. B. and Levin Connell; and a sister, Sarah Connell.
His survivors include his wife, D. Jean Connell, of the home; two sons, Gary Thompson and his wife, Linda, Las Vegas, Nev., and Brian Thompson and his wife, Tracy, Harrisonville, Mo.; three grandchildren, Valerie, Crystal and Conlin Thompson; two nieces; and two nephews.
Memorial services will be at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, at the First Presbyterian Church, Independence. Visitation will following the service. Memorial contributions may be made to any local animal shelter.
Arrangements are under the direction of Speaks Suburban Chapel.
LEWIS B. "BART" DOWNUM
Lewis Barton "Bart" Downum, 73, Independence, died Thursday, Oct. 30, 1997, at the Medical Center of Independence.
Mr. Downum was born June 6, 1924, in Lowell, Ark. He served in Europe during World War II in the U.S. Army 35th Infantry Division. He received a Purple Heart for the Normandy Campaign in France. He was a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans, the American Association of Retired Persons, the International Association of Machinist Local 1650 and the Spring Creek Baptist Church in Springdale, Ark. He retired from TWA in 1990.
His survivors include his wife of 48 years, Wanda Downum, of the home; a daughter, Linda Peters, Independence; three sisters, Helen Pattishall, Dickinson, Ind., LaVerne Creekmore, BlueSprings, and Elaine Farish, Springdale; and several nieces and nephews.
Graveside services will be 11 a.m. Monday at Floral Hills cemetery. Friends may call from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Speaks Suburban Chapel. The family suggests contributions to the Visiting Nurses Association, 2801 Wyandotte, Kansas City, Mo. 64018 or to the Heartland Community Church, 2400 S. Lee`s Summit Road, Independence, Mo. 64055.
Arrangements are under the direction of Speaks Suburban Chapel.
GLENNIE M. HILKER
Glennie M. Hilker, 90, Independence, died Thursday, Oct. 31, 1997, in her home. Mrs. Hilker was born Aug. 17, 1907 in Cole Camp,Mo. She lived in Independence for 70 years.
Mrs. Hilker was a homemaker and a member of the Maywood Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her husband, Louis W. Hilker, in 1958.
She is survived by her daughter, Doris E. Lambert, Independence; brother Scott Corman, Burbank, Calif.; a grandson Michael Lambert; and two great-grandchildren.
Graveside services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the Mount Washington cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of the George C. Carson and Sons Independence Chapel.
CORA E. AKERS
Cora E. Denkinger Akers, 98, Independence,died Sunday, Oct. 26, 1997.
Mrs. Akers was born June 11, 1899, near Hiawatha, Kan., and had lived in this area since 1933. During the 1940s, she worked at Montgomery Ward and at North American Aviation. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church. She was preceded in death by her husband, Virgil Akers. Her survivors include a sister, Sadie M. Lewis, Pickering, Mo.; four nieces, Norma Jean Cooper, Kansas City, Dorothy Cross, Bedford, Iowa, Marjorie Denkinger, Hiawatha, and Lucile Cain, Sebring, Fla.; a nephew, Lloyd Wickstrom, Sebring; and great-nieces and nephews.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Speaks Midtown Chapel. Graveside services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Highland (Kan.) cemetery. Friends may call from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the chapel. The family suggests contributions to the church.
LYDIA M. ANDERSON
Lydia Mae Anderson, 76, Raytown, died Friday, Oct. 24, 1997, at her home.
Mrs. Anderson was born Oct. 15, 1921, in Calhoun, Mo., and had lived in this area most of her life. She was an electronics assembler for Rycon Instruments before she retired.
Her survivors include her husband, Willis Anderson of the home; a daughter, Frances Lankton, Raymore, Mo.; a brother, Edward Mason, Independence; three grandsons, Jerry Ray Lankton Jr., David Lankton and Willis Lankton; four great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Services were Monday at Park Lawn Funeral Home, Kansas City. Burial was in Green Lawn cemetery, Kansas City. The family suggests contributions to the Greater Kansas City Hospice.
EAN J. BERENDZEN
Dean Josephine Berendzen, 86, Independence, died Saturday, Oct. 25, 1997, at her home.
Mrs. Berendzen was born Nov. 20, 1910, in Eugene, Mo., and had lived in Independence since 1957. She was a seamstress for Fox Manufacturing in Kansas City for 22 years, retiring in 1975. She was a member of St. Ann`s Catholic Church, the Altar and Rosary Society and the Legion of Mary. She was preceded in death by her husband, Leo Berendzen in 1975.
Her survivors include two daughters, Dorothy Berendzen and Nancy Marriott, both of Independence; two sons, Paul Berendzen, Versailles, Mo., and Wayne Berendzen, Sedalia, Mo.; two sisters, Nell Tellman, Eugene, Mo., and Ellen Slicker, Wichita, Kan.; two brothers, Clifford Feltrope, Diamond, Ark., and Bill Feltrope, Kansas City; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, Marys Home, Mo. Burial will be in Our Lady of the Snows cemetery, Marys Home. Visitation will be held until 8 tonight at the Phillips Chapel, Marys Home, where the a rosary will be held at 3 and 7 p.m.
ALAN W. BLAKE
Alan W. Blake, 32, Redmond, Wash., formerly of Independence, died Friday, Oct. 24, 1997.
Mr. Blake was born July 17, 1965, in Kansas City, and lived in Independence, and Bellevue, Wash., before moving to Redmond. He was a 1983 graduate of Raytown High School and attended Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg.
His survivors include his wife, Sundra Harwood Blake of the home; his parents, Al and Mary Blake, Bellevue; a sister, Lea Anne Jackson, Kent, Wash.; and a niece and nephew.
Memorial services were today at the Green`s Bellevue Chapel. In lieuof flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Heart of America Council,Boy Scouts of America, P.O. Box 414177, Kansas City, Mo. 64141 or Lang Oncology Unit, Overlake Hospital, 1035 116th Ave. North East, Bellevue, Wash. 98004.
LOUIS BURTON
Louis Burton, 67, Independence, died Saturday, Oct. 25, 1997, at the Medical Center of Independence.
Mr. Burton was born June 14, 1930, in Clinton, Mo. He was a receiving clerk at Lakeside Hospital for 10 years, retiring in 1992. He had been a truck driver most of his life. He was a Navy veteran of the Korean War, and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
His survivors include his wife, Nina Fern Fleener Burton, Independence; two sons, Jeff Stiffler, Blue Springs, and Kenney Stiffler, Independence; two daughters, Jan Hostetler, Lee`s Summit, and Joyce McGenley, West Plains, Mo.; a brother, Larry Burton, Fresno, Calif.; a half brother, Walter Preston, Rockville, Mo.; three sisters, Margaret Smith, Norwalk, Calif., Lilly Edwards, Westminster, Calif., and Alice Dulica, Kansas City; nine grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; seven nieces; and six nephews.
Services will be 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Sweeney-Phillips & Holdren Funeral Home, Warrensburg, Mo. Burial will be in Mineral Creek cemetery, Leeton, Mo. Friends may call from 7 to 8 tonight at the funeral home. The family suggests contributions to the American Heart Association or the American Lung Association, and may be left in care of the funeral home.
LADONNA S. HURST
LaDonna Sue Hurst, 48, Higginsville, Mo., died Friday, Oct. 24, 1997, at Research Medical Center.
Ms. Hurst was born in Hot Springs,Ark., and lived in Lawton, Okla., before moving to this area eight years ago. She was a teacher at the Lakeview Woods State School for the past five years. She attended Texas Women`s University, Eastern Illinois University and Central Missouri State University. She held a master`s degree in physical education and a specialist degree in special education. She was a member of the Odessa Evangelical Free Church.
Her survivors include her mother, Billie Hurst, one brother, Anthony Hurst, both of Lawton, Okla.; one sister, Bobbye Aaron, Kempner, Texas; her maternal grandmother, Evelyn Perkins, Lawton, Okla.; and her extended family, Kathie, Clint, Joshua and Caleb Taggart, all of Higginsville.
Services were today at the Speaks Suburban Chapel. Burial was in Oak Ridge Memorial Gardens. The family suggests contributions to the American Cancer Society.
JOSEPH W. "BILL" JONES
Retired Army Maj. Joseph William "Bill" Jones, 73,Independence, died Sunday, Oct. 26, 1997, at the Rosewood Care Center.
Mr. Jones was born Sept. 21, 1924, in Independence and was a lifelong Independence resident. He worked for the Future Farmers of America and the Department of Agriculture for 20 years. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Independence. He was very active in community theater, as well as Tiffany`s Attic and Waldo Astoria, received many awards for acting in movies and did many commercials. He was an Army veteran. His wife, Virginia Jones, died in 1997.
His survivors include a son, Dr. Scott Jones, and a daughter, Alexa Thompson, both of Kansas City; a brother, Alex Jones, Phoenix, Ariz.; and four grandchildren. Services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at D.W. Newcomer`s Sons Noland Road Chapel. Burial will be in Mount Washington cemetery. Friends may call from 7 to 8 tonight at the chapel. The family suggests contributions to the Virginia L. Jones Early Childhood Development Endowment Fund, 8510 E. Bannister Road, Kansas City, Mo. 64134.
