August 2019

Page A42 AUGUST 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A LEEROY AL HALLEY of Palm- dale, CA died June 11, 2019 at the age of 76. A retired fu- neral director, he worked for several mortuaries in south- ern California and was the former owner and operator of Halley-Olsen-Murphys Funerals and Cremations. He graduated from mortuary school in 1963. ALAN N. KUTZ of Colleg- eville, PA died June 14, 2019 at the age of 78. He served as a funeral director under the former ownership of Boyd- Horrox Funeral Home in Norristown and then the R. L. Williams, Jr Funeral Home, Inc in Skippack, re- tiring in 2006. He graduat- ed from the Eckels College of Mortuary Science in 1962. SADIE MELISSA OWENS MCHARGUE of Shepherds- ville, KY and Dunedin, FL died June 7, 2019 at the age of 93. A licensed funeral di- rector, she worked along- side her late husband, Bil- ly McHargue as manager of the old McDaniel Funeral Home in Louisville, KY. KEVIN PORTER of Tipton, IN died June 20, 2019 at the age of 62. A second generation funeral director for over 30 years, he was part owner and operator of Porter Funeral Home. He graduated from the Mid-America College of Funer- al Service. WOODFORD R. “WOODY” PORTER JR of Louisville, KY died June 24, 2019 at the age of 72. A fourth generation funeral director and embalm- er, he owned and operated A. D. Porter and Sons Funeral Home since 2007. PAUL EDWARD SCHRAMKA of Milwaukee, WI died July 8, 2019 at the age of 91. He was a 3 rd generation licensed funer- al director at the Schramka Fu- neral Home. A 1950 graduate of the University of San Francis- co, he was once a member of the Chicago Cubs during a brief ca- reer that would lead to associa- tions with some of the most fa- mous figures in baseball. PAUL SHIELDS of Pekin, IL died June 14, 2019 at the age of 87. A licensed funer- al director and embalmer, he worked for the Endsley and Son Funeral Home, T. W Parks Colonial Chapel and Shields Funeral Home & Cremation Service before retiring in 2013. He graduat- ed from the St. Louis College of Mortuary Science. DAVID DALE “CARMACKIE” CARMICHAEL of Fort Wayne, IN died June 11, 2019 at the age of 53. A licensed funer- al director, he was the owner and operator of Carmichael- Gholar Funeral Home in Muncie and the Carmichael Funeral Services, Inc in Fort Wayne, which he opened in 1997. He earned his mortu- ary science degree from Mid- America Funeral College in 1987 and was a member of the National Funeral Directors Association. JAMES “JIM” VAN GROESBECK of Sand Springs, OK died June 22, 2019 at the age of 71. A li- censed funeral director, his ca- reer in the funeral industry be- gan in 1968 in funeral home ambulance service work. He served as regional president for Service Corporation Interna- tional and was responsible for several hundred funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories in fourteen states and Canada before becoming the owner and operator of Mobley-Groesbeck Funeral Service. Groesbeck taught in the funeral service department at the University of Central Oklahoma and was a member of the Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association and the International Selected Independent Funeral Homes. JAMES L. ANDERSON of Clyde, OH died June 27, 2019 at the age of 73. He was a licensed funeral director at Auxter Funeral Homes since 1975. He retired from the Sandusky County EMS in 2009, where he had been for 33 years. A graduate of the Cincinnati College of Mortu- ary Science, he was a member of the Ohio Embalmers Association, Firelands Funeral Directors Association, and the Ohio Funeral Directors, where he just received his 50-year award. JOHN WILLIAM COKER III of Sanger, TX died June 21, 2019 at the age of 81. A li- censed funeral director for over 60 years, he previously worked for Harmon Funer- al Home in Floydada and the Schmitz, Floyd, Hamlet Fu- neral Home in Delores before purchasing the funeral home in 1961, renaming it Coker Funeral Home. A 1957 grad- uate of the Gupton-Jones School of Mortuary Science, he was past president of the North Texas Funeral Direc- tors Association, was the recipient of the North Texas Funeral Director of the Year Award. He had served on the board of directors for the Texas Funeral Directors Association and the Texas Funeral Services Association. RUDY NELSON LEA SR of Raleigh, NC died June 23, 2019 at the age of 73. A li- censed North Carolina and South Carolina mortician, he served Lightner Funer- al Home for 10 years be- fore establishing Lea Funer- al Home and Cremation Services in 1980, which he owned and operated for over 40 years. Through his funer- al home, Lea mentored several students interested in pursuing a career in funeral service. Lea’s patent pend- ing software program that he designed explicitly to manage the day-to-day operations of a funeral home is used by funeral homes throughout the country. For 15 years, Lea served on the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service as past president, vice president and active member. When his elected term expired, The North Carolina Funeral Directors Association reap- pointed him to the board for another three-year term and was later reappointed to serve on the board twice by the governor. A graduate of the Pittsburgh Insti- tute of Mortuary Science, he served as a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Mortuary Science at Fayetteville Technical Community College. CRAIG A. REUKAUF of New Smyrna Beach, FL died July 5, 2019 at the age of 72. A li- censed funeral director since 1966, he was the owner and operator of Brewer Funeral Home in Lake Luzerne until 1999, when he sold the busi- ness. A graduate of the Sim- mons School of Embalming in Syracuse, he was a member of the New York State Funeral Directors Association and the Adirondack Funeral Directors Association. ROBERT ALLEN MYERS of Westminster, MD died June 30, 2019 at the age of 68. A licensed Maryland and Penn- sylvania mortician, he began working with his uncle, John E. Myers, Jr at the Myers Fu- neral Home and later served as a partner at the then My- ers-Pritts Funeral Home in Westminster. He worked for both Wetzel Funeral Home in Hanover, PA and Peters Funeral Home in Get- tysburg, PA before re-establishing the Myers Funeral Home in 1984. He continued to work as a part time funeral director at Myers-Durobaw Funeral Home after selling it in 2003. A graduate of the Catonsville College of Mortuary Science, he was a member of the Maryland State Funeral Directors Association and the Tri-County Funeral Directors Association. 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