Obituaries

OBITUARIES Information for the obituaries and funeral notices below was supplied to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Advertising Department by funeral homes. For more information including cost and deadlines contact the advertising department at (501) 378-3889.

MAGAZINE — Exine Imogene Phillips, 88, of Magazine, Ark., passed to her Heavenly Home Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. Funeral Service will be 2 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, at Magazine First Baptist Church. Burial will follow in Paint Rock Cemetery in Paris under the direction of Roller Funeral Home.

ROGERS — Ralph Owen Walker, 82, of Rogers passed away at home on Sept. 25, 2017. He was born on Oct. 27, 1934, in Siloam Springs to the late Turner and Bertha Walker. Ralph served for 47 years in the Northwest Arkansas area as a Missionary Baptist minister. In that time he pastored eight different churches. He also worked in construction as a home-builder. Ralph had a green thumb and found great joy in tending his flower garden.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth Walker; his children, Alan Walker and wife Patty, Carl Walker and wife Leigh, and Linda Necessary; seven grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; a sister, Phyllis Nantkes; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and by several siblings including his twin brother, Tommy, who passed away on Sept. 22, 2012.

Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28 at Rollins Funeral Home in Rogers. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at Temple Baptist Church at the corner of Dixieland and New Hope roads in Rogers. Burial will follow in Benton County Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Gideons International at www.gideons.org/donate, or to Circle of Life Hospice at 901 Jones Rosd, Springdale, Ark., 72762.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Leo Gabriel Klenc, 93, passed away in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Aug. 29, 2017. Leo is predeceased by his parents, John Jospeh Klenc and Ida Hochstetter of St. Louis; his wives, Vivienne Pavey and Lorraine Meicher; and his four siblings.

Leo is survived by six children: son, Stephen of Tulsa, Okla.; daughter, Linda and husband John Oliver of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; son, Larry and wife Lori of Sparta, Wis.; son, Richard and wife Julie of Anderson, Mo.; son, James and wife Charito of Honolulu, Hawaii; and son, John and wife Dena of Avoca, Ark. He leaves behind 12 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and countless friends and loved ones in multiple countries.

Leo was born on Oct. 29, 1923, in Tontitown, Ark., where and he was raised by his father, John, who was a carriage maker and farmer.

Leo was baptized at St. Joseph’s church in Tontitown, which he later helped rebuild in the 1930s.

Klenc Road in Tontitown is named after his family, whose farm was located there.

Leo attended University High School in Fayetteville, and worked at the family farm and helped his father at carriage making until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in May 1943.

He was shipped to the South Pacific and arrived at Australia in January, 1944. He was assigned to Recon Platoon, the 112th Calvary Regiment, of the Texas National Guard, and sent to New Guinea. Leo fought in four major battle campaigns in the Pacific during World War II. On October 1944, he joined General MacArthur and landed on Leyte Island, in the Philippines, where he was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. He was shipped to Japan and watched as the Japanese formally surrendered on the USS Missouri on September 1945.

Leo was honorably discharged, and upon returning home, started a career as a tile-setter in Tulsa, Okla.

In 1954 he married Vivienne Pavey of Iron Mountain, Mich., where they settled to raise their family for 18 years. They moved to Springdale, Ark., for 17 years before returning to Michigan.

They were married for 42 years, and Leo cared for and nursed Vivienne until she succumbed to cancer.

Several years later he married Lorraine Meicher, and they spent 10 happy years together until her passing.

Leo was an avid outdoors man and loved hunting, fishing and finding wild mushrooms, except on Sundays if the Green Bay Packers were playing!

He loved old country music and polkas, and discovered later in life that he loved to dance. Leo was curious, intelligent, and enjoyed learning new things. He loved attending the Tontitown Grape Festival, playing bocce ball, dancing at the senior center, and holding court in the mornings over coffee at McDonalds. He never lost his sharp mind and memory, and shared endless stories of his time in the military.

Leo was a lifelong member of the Catholic Church, and looked forward to reuniting with his loved ones in heaven. He was much loved and respected, a proud member of the Greatest Generation, and he will be missed by all.

Leo was buried in Iron Mountain, Mich., on Sept. 7, 2017.

Condolences to the family of Leo Klenc may be expressed online at www.ernashfuneral homes.com.