Stories from Monday, September 23, 2013

John Ervin McClain, 90, passed away Sept. 13, 2013, after an illness of a few short months. He was born on March 11, 1923, to parents, John Elmer and Eathel Wilson McClain in Austin, Mo. John was raised on a farm where he was the youngest of five boys who learned to love hunting and fishing at a young age. He attended elementary school with seven other boys in a one-room schoolhouse. In 1942, he graduated from Garden City High School where he earned the nickname "Lightning."...

Jack Fredrick Swopes of Falcon, Mo., passed away Sept. 4, 2013, at the Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mo. He was born July 26, 1937, in Weaubleau, Mo., one of eight children to Melvin and Goldie Norris Swopes. Jack always had a love for animals and the outdoors. ...

Jo Ellen Hawks, 51, Hume, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013. She was born on March 12, 1962, at Butler, Mo., the daughter of Floyd and Sally Berry Olive. She graduated from Butler High School and attended Longview Community College. She married Mark Hawks on June 14, 1980, at Butler. She worked as an accountant and was an enrolled agent with the IRS. She worked for 10 years as an accountant at Johnson & Powell, and most recently as senior manager for DSWA CPA's...

Mae L. Watt, 89, of Arcadia, Kan., went to be with the Lord at 11:28 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, 2013, at the Fort Scott Manor Nursing Home in Fort Scott, Kan. Mrs. Watt was born June 4, 1924, at Arcadia, Kan., the daughter of Martin Darlington and Gladys Ward Wright...