Elson V. Earnest

Elson V. Earnest, 81, Nevada, passed away April 24, 2004, at his residence following a brief illness. He was born May 11, 1922, in Nevada to Emmett Cleveland Earnest and Avis Roberta Stucker Earnest. He was married April 1, 1945, in Fort Scott, Kan., to Fern Dee who survives of the home.

Mr. Earnest was raised in Nevada and spent virtually his entire life here. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, stationed in the Aleutian Islands as Corporal of the Hound Dog Division of the Army Specialized Training Unit No. 3708. Following the service he returned to Vernon County and worked for a number of years farming and hauling milk for Kraft Foods. He also worked for a number of years as a painter with his brother and did some sales work for Mama's Cookies, He was a life member of the Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a former member of the American Legion and the Nevada Elks Lodge. He was an avid fisherman and hunter.

Along with his wife Fern, survivors include one son, Tom Earnest and wife Pam, Milo; one daughter Sandra Earnest, Ozark, Mo.; three grandchildren, Justin Earnest, Plano, Texas, and Sara and Tyler Earnest, both of Milo; one sister, Ardell Hastings, Arvada, Colo.; numerous nieces, nephews and a host of friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Leon and J. L. "Tiny" Earnest.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, at Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada, with John Nichols officiating. Interment will follow in Moore Cemetery in Nevada with full military honors provided by the Missouri Funeral Honors Program.

Friends may call from now and until the hour of service at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada. The family will receive friends at the funeral home today between 7 and 8 p.m.

The family suggests that memorials may be made in his memory to the American Heart Association in care of the funeral home.