OBITUARIES
James Lee Appleton
James Lee Appleton, 59, of Gateway, died Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. He was born Nov. 14, 1957, in Merriam, Kan., to Jack and Gwen (Gunnels) Appleton.
Appleton received his education at Washburn and graduated from Southwest High School in 1975. For 27 years he was employed as a supervisor at Emerson Electric and then was a carpenter for Jim Herndon for 12 years. The last few years he worked for the City of Gateway and Gateway Rural Water Authority.
He was a member of Seligman First Baptist Church. He was an avid fisherman and woodworker.
He was preceded in death by his father, Jack Appleton, and grandparents, J.M. and Cleo Gunnels.
Survivors are one son, Bryan Appleton and his wife Tori of Rogers, and two daughters; his mother, Gwen Hilburn of Seligman, Mo.; fiancée, Delores Wilkerson of the home; one brother, Claude Appleton and his wife Melissa of Seligman, Mo.; three sisters, Jackie Burns and her husband Howard of Exeter, Mo., Cheryl Tillman and her husband Andrew and Sharon Barnett and her husband Lonnie, all of Gateway; and one granddaughter, Claire Appleton.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, March 3, 2017, in Gateway City Park, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville, Mo., with pastor Gary Griffin officiating.
Burial was in New Salem Cemetery at Seligman, Mo.
Contributions in memory of James may be made to C.A.S.T. Kids Foundation or Gateway City Park, in care of Fohn Funeral Home, P.O. Box 250, Cassville, MO 65625.
Visit www.fohnfuneralhome.com for online obituaries, guestbook and private condolences.
Opal Gladys Brammer
Opal Gladys Brammer, 92, of Siloam Springs, died Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Siloam Springs Nursing & Rehab. She was born June 5, 1924, at Mondale, Ark., to Herbert Roy Shrader and Effie Ellen Ash Shrader.
She married Max Neal Brammer June 17, 1945, at Mundale and then moved to Siloam Springs in May 1947 to make her home. She was a homemaker, enjoyed reading and talking to friends on the phone, watching TV and was an avid gardener. She was a member of Harvard Avenue Baptist Church in Siloam Springs.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a daughter, Ellen Brammer; one sister, Ruby Vinson; and three brothers, Theodore Shrader, Dale Shrader and Ralph Shrader.
Survivors are a daughter, Barbara Farnsworth of Gardner, Kan.; one granddaughter, Angela Crabbs and husband Ronnie; and three great-grandchildren Jacob, Ashley, and Roni Lynn Crabbs.
Visitation was 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, in Sisco Funeral Home.
Service was 1 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Sisco Funeral Home Chapel in Pea Ridge.
Burial was in Union Chapel Cemetery, Garfield.
Online condolences may be made at siscofuneralhome.net.
Barbara Hattie Bergen
Barbara Hattie Bergen, 84, of Garfield, died March 1, 2017, at Jamestown Nursing and Rehab Center in Rogers. She was born April 9, 1932, in Milwaukee, Wisc., to Edith and Paul Bergen.
Barb attended and graduated from Washington High School in Milwaukee, Wisc., and then attended Dental Hygienist School at Marquette University in Milwaukee. After a few years working in the dental field, Barb heeded the call of President John F. Kenney to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” She volunteered to serve in the U.S. Peace Corps and was assigned to teach two years in Ceylon (now Shri Lanka). Upon completing her time with the Peace Corps, Barb went back to school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and completed her teaching credentials, majoring in math and computer science. She then accepted a post at Hamilton High School in the Milwaukee Public School System as a math and computer science teacher and volunteered to serve as the girls’ swim coach, both roles she continued for the next 26 years.
After retiring from teaching, Barb bought a house in her “home” town of Muskego, Wisc. There she devoted herself to caring for her mother who was struck down with Alzheimer’s and sometime later, her older sister. She became quite a local advocate for the Muskego Public Library, helping to generate funds for its construction and operating budget. Additionally, she also found time to belong to two choirs and several card clubs. Her staunch loyalty for her beloved Green Bay Packers never wavered even during a number of losing seasons. Barb was a longtime member of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Milwaukee where she developed life time friendships and was known for her annual open house “Curry Dinner” and her “Christmas Cookie Bake” for kids.
There are untold number of students, friends and relatives who have benefited from Barb’s kind generosity. Among her favorite organizations she supported were: St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Save the Children, the Smile Train, the Heifer Foundation, Doctors without Borders, the World Wild Life Federation, the Humane Society, the SPCA, and the Muskego Public Library. Barb has left a legacy of giving and supporting all those in need of help, her life was a living testament of what we can expect when we are committed to the selfless act of caring for others.
She was preceded in death by her grandfather George and namesake Grandmother “Hattie” Bergen; her parents; her sister, Jean Sanders; and brotherin-law, Harold Sanders.
Survivors are her sister, Edith May and brother-inlaw Warren McCulloch of Collinsville, Texas; brother, Paul and sister-in-law Mary Ann Bergen of Garfield, Ark.; and seven nieces and nephews.
The family thanks the nurses, CNAs, and staff at The Village House in Bella Vista, The Meadows, Jamestown and the Circle of Life Hospice Care for their kind and compassionate care of Barb while she was a resident of their facilities and to Sisco Funeral Home in Pea Ridge for their compassionate care and treatment of Barb and our family. The family is planning a Memorial Service for Barb to celebrate her life at a later time.
Online condolences may be made at siscofuneral home.net.
Martha Lue Rakes Featherston
Martha Lue Rakes Featherston, 91, of Bentonville, Ark., died Thursday, March 2, 2017, at Circle of Life Legacy Village Hospice in Bentonville. She was born Nove. 6, 1925, in the Shady Grove Community near Pea Ridge, Ark., to Charles Parker and Blanche Ellen Walker Rakes.
Her parents relocated her young family to Board Camp Community near Mena, Ark., when she was a small child. She attended Board Camp and Cherry Hill schools. She moved to Houston after graduating high school to live with family and worked in a munitions factory during World War II. Later, she attended and graduated, from Springfield Beauty Academy in Springfield, Mo. She also worked for many years in Bentonville and out of her home.
Mrs. Featherston loved and was devoted to her family and to the Lord. She was very creative and a master of many talents such as quilting, basket weaving, gardening and home cooking.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 62 years, Glenn; and a brother, C.P. Rakes Jr.
Survivors include her son, Sam Featherston and wife, Crystal of Bentonville, Ark; a sister, Patsy White and husband, Ken, of Rogers, Ark.; two grandchildren, Chandra Perkins and husband, Matt, and Kayla Geigle and husband, Weston, all of Bentonville, Ark.; and four great-grandchildren, Dylan, Samuel and John Perkins and Luke Geigle.
Visitation was from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, March 5, 2017, in Stockdale-Moody Funeral Chapel.
Graveside services were at 11 a.m. Monday, March 6, 2017, in Benton County Memorial Park Cemetery with her sons-in-law, Weston Geigle and Matt Perkins officiating.
Memorial may be made to Circle of Life Legacy Village Hospice in her honor, 1201 NE Legacy Pkwy, Bentonville, AR 72712.
Arrangements were by Stockdale-Moody Funeral Services in Rogers. Online condolences may be shared at stockdalefuneral.com.
Norma Kathleen ‘Kathy’ Vansandt
Norma Kathleen “Kathy” Vansandt, 88, of Pea Ridge, died March 2, 2017, at Ashley Health and Rehab in Rogers. She was born Feb. 14, 1929, in Barry County, Mo., to George Henry Gemmecke and Ella Mae Clanton Gemmecke.
Kathy was the youngest of seven children and married Roy Eugene Vansandt Sept. 2, 1950. She retired as a keypunch operator at Crane Corporation in Rogers and farmed locally. She was a member of the Church of Christ Church in Pea Ridge.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Eugene; two brothers, George and Vernon Gemmecke; four sisters, Helen Wardlaw, Mary Tringale, Mildred Jarvis and Neva Hurlburt.
Survivors are two nieces, Minta Belle Messer and husband Dean of Pea Ridge and Susan Easley of Pea Ridge; a sister-in-law, Marge Gemmecke; and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation was at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 4, before the service at the church.
Service is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 4, at Pea Ridge Church of Christ with Malcolm Scott officiating.
Arrangements were by Sisco Funeral Home in Pea Ridge.
Burial was in the Pea Ridge Cemetery.
Online condolences may be made at siscofuneral home.net.
Pauline Wight
Pauline Wight, 92, died March 1, 2017, in Rogers. She was born on April 19, 1924, in the Oak Hill community southwest of Rogers to Freeman and Edna Farmer Turner.
In 1936, the family moved to Birmingham, Ala., then to Haleyville, Ala., in 1940. She graduated from Haleyville High School in 1942 and was employed in Birmingham at a munitions factory from 1942 to 1946.
She and her family returned to Rogers and she married Carl Wight in 1946.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Carl, and 10 of her siblings.
Mrs. Wight worked as an X-ray and lab technician for many years at Rogers Medical Center under Drs. Wilson, Jennings and White. She also worked at Rogers Memorial Hospital under Sr. Marie Celine and later returned to Rogers Medical Center where she retired in December 1985.
She lived in Little Flock from 1946 until her death. She attended and was a member of Little Flock Primitive Baptist Church.
Survivors are one son, Edward Allen Wight (Pat) of Tucson, Ariz.; one sister, Dorothy Gard of Wichita, Kan.; two step-grandchildren and several great- and great-great-grandchildren in Arizona and Florida.
Visitation was 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in Little Flock Primitive Baptist Church.
Funeral services were at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, in Litte Flock Primitive Baptist Church.
Burial was in Little Flock Cemetery.
Arrangements were under the care of Rollins Funeral Home.
Online condolences can be made at www.rollinsfuneral.com.