April 3, 2008

OBITUARIES

Lawrence Berry

Lawrence W. “Larry” Berry of Springfield died Monday, March 24, in his residence. He was 73.

He was born March 5, 1935, in Springfield, the son of Howard Paul and Gertrude (Drennen) Berry. Mr. Berry was a member of the Liedertafel Club, the Order of the Moose and the Fraternal Order of Eagles for several years.

He was retired from Morris Bean and Company of Yellow Springs following 35 years of service.

He was preceded in death by his -parents.

Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Janet Ann (West) Berry; two daughters and sons-in-law, Rhonda Berry and Eddie Hipp of South Carolina and Kim Berry and Lee Shaffer of Springfield; four grandchildren, five great grandchildren, one brother, Howard R. “Red” Berry; one sister, Emma Mae Berry Ferriman; three great aunts, several brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews from both sides of the family.

Funeral services were held Thursday, March 27, at the Jones-Kenney-Zechman Funeral Home, with entombment following in Rose Hill Mausoleum.

Mary Campbell

Mary Campbell of Yellow Springs died Wednesday, March 26 at Hospice of Dayton. She was 101.

She was born Feb. 5, 1907, in Hazard, Ky, the daughter of the late Austin and Sallie (Fugate) Godsey.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Kelmon, in 1982; a daughter, Ada Stockton; two sons, Paul and Virgil Campbell; a grandson, Kelly Stockton; four brothers; and three sisters.

She is survived by a daughter, Gail Campbell of Yellow Springs; nine grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; three great great grandchildren; as well as numerous other extended family and friends.

A funeral service was held on Monday, March 31, in the Belton-Stroup Funeral Home, Fairborn, with burial following in the Byron Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Dayton.

Gertrude Lucas Churchman

Gertrude Lucas Coleman Churchman, former Yellow Springs resident, died Wednesday, March 20. The youngest of five children, Gertrude was born in Meridian, Miss., to Daniel Lucas and Minnie Lucas Bookman, of Chicago, Ill. She joined St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church at a very early age. Upon moving to Wilberforce, Gertrude joined Holy Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church where she was a faithful member and served on the trustee board and member of the missionary society and the church choir.

Gertrude attended Spelman College and graduated from Henderson Business College. She later received a bachelors in business education from Central State University and a masters in business education from the Ohio State University. She began her career in Meridian as a secretary in the Berry and Gardner Funeral Home and later worked in the bursar’s office at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss.

She moved to Wilberforce in 1956 to work in the bursar’s offices at Central State University. After moving to Columbus with her husband, Clinton, she taught business courses at Whetstone High School. Upon returning to this area she retired after teaching business operations for 16 years at Greene County Career Center.

She was preceded in death by two brothers, Daniel Lucas of Los Angeles, Calif., and Frank Lucas; two sisters, Minnie Lucas Anderson of Detroit, Mich., and Myrtle Wallace; and by her husband, Clinton Earl Churchman, Ph.D.

She is survived by her daughters, Zoe Coleman Simpson of Memphis, Tenn., and Wanda Coleman Dean (Arthur) of Warrensville Heights, Ohio; four grandchildren, Andrea and Angie Hubbard of Cleveland, Angelo (Cybil) Hubbard of Atlanta, Ga., and Arnetta Dean of Warrensville Heights; three great grandchildren; five nieces, three nephews, many devoted friends and special friend Leonard Nelson.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, April 5, noon, at Holy Trinity Church, Wilberforce Clifton Road, Wilberforce, Ohio. Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. and the Wilberforce Chapter of Links, Inc. ceremonies will be 11–11:30 a.m.

Gretta Scott

Gretta Marie Scott died peacefully at Friends Care Center in Yellow Springs on Saturday, March 30. She finally joined the love of her life, her late husband James Earl “Dud” Scott Jr., in heaven. She was 74.

She was born May 23, 1933, in Springfield.

Gretta was a hard worker and a true renaissance woman. She began her career studying cosmetology at Frederick’s Beauty Academy and went on to be a waitress running the show at the Top Hat Restaurant, both in Springfield. She continued on to work in the Springfield City Schools and then assisted her husband, Dud, in his automotive service in Yellow Springs.

In addition to numerous jobs, she was always a homemaker, holding a life-long passion for sewing. At Friends Care Center she was widely known as the sassy, reigning bingo queen. She was a doll collector, a foster care parent, and a den mother to many neighborhood children. She also took in just about every stray animal and raised both cows and ponies. She loved collecting antiques. Avidly remodeling her family’s home, Gretta was often seen wielding crowbars and wheelbarrows (or hauling her children from practice to practice). She had the courage to do it her way.

She was preceded in death by her son, Rory Lee Northup; and her parents, Harold and Frances Williams.

She is survived by her daughters, Katherine Crew and her partner, Rick Parker; Anna L. “Tina” Dorn and her husband, Steven; Penelope Su “Penny” Adamson and her partner, Emily “Bengal” Seibel, of Yellow Springs; Joann E. Sampson and her husband, Tyrone, of Dayton; Janet Lee Scott-Harris in Texas; her sons, Yancy N. “Bub” Adamson in Kentucky; Russell T. Adamson and his wife, Tammy, of Springfield; and John E. Scott and his wife, Gwen, in Virginia; 17 grandchildren; five great grandchildren; 14 cats; nine dogs; and a turtle. Her grandchildren will always know her as “Mimi.”

A memorial service for Gretta’s many friends and family will be held on Friday, April 4, at 2 p.m., at Friends Care Center in Yellow Springs. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gretta’s honor to the Dud Scott-Howard Kahoe Scholarship Fund at the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, P.O. Box 55, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 45387. This scholarship helps students every year go to community colleges and trade schools.

William E. (Bill) Hoag

William E. (Bill) Hoag, 60, of Xenia, passed away Thursday, February 7, 2008, at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. He was born October 14, 1947, in New Burlington, Ohio, the son of Richard E. and Ruth (Sparrow) Hoag.

In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by his brother, Richard E. Hoag, Jr., in 2000.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Sheila (Hatch) Hoag, whom he married August 20, 1979, his son and daughter-in-law, William T. and Susan Hoag of Sarasota, Florida; sister Helen (Hank) Vezza of Jamestown, brother Bud (Ann) Burden of Cedarville, sister-in-law Sharon Hoag of Xenia; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Bill grew up in Goes Station, attended Xenia High School, and was known by many people around the Yellow Springs and Xenia areas. He was hired by Jack Alexander in 1968 at PK Lumber in Yellow Springs as a truck driver, quickly worked his way into sales, and was promoted to manager in 1985 (the first time in the history of the company that a salesman had been promoted directly to manager). He continued to work for the Lumber Company for the next 40 years through it’s mergers as Erb Lumber and then Stock Building Supply, where he won numerous awards in sales and management. He also served as General Manager of the Springfield, Englewood, Trotwood and Dayton stores with Stock Building Supply for the remainder of his career. He had a loyal following of local builders and handymen/women wherever he went.

He was a multi-talented man, and was frequently consulted at home concerning building and repair projects. He enjoyed woodworking, motorcycles, restoring old trucks — and walking in his woods with his wife and his dog. Bill also enjoyed listening to the Beatles and, among his heroes, were Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and John Lennon. He could often be heard quoting some of John Lennon’s lyrics. Bill’s many friends will miss his unique sense of humor and his outlook on life. He had a million jokes and friends would often laughingly ask him to tell Joke #43 or Joke #57. He was never short on words, everyone always knew exactly where they stood with him.

One of the biggest jokes on Bill was the fact that he always insisted that “there would be no dogs in the house”. In 1990, a happy little stray dog came to their house that was part schnauzer and part yorkie terrier. “Maggie” had to stay outside for all of two or three weeks. Sheila went to Florida to visit her sister for a few days and Bill let Maggie in the house. That was “all she wrote” as he used to say. Maggie lived a life of leisure for the remaining eighteen years of her life. She was his faithful friend and he was won over heart and soul by her. Maggie passed away on March 6, 2008 and, as one of Bill’s friends said, “He not only let her in the house, he even took her to heaven with him!”

Bill was a happy man. Bill was a good and honest man. He was truly a good samaritan. He would always go out of his way to help a friend in need. He is greatly missed and will be remembered for his many “Hoagisms” (his stories and jokes). For these reasons, anyone that knew Bill can understand what a hole his passing has left in their life.

Funeral services were held on February 11, 2008 at McColaugh Funeral Home in Xenia. Burial followed in Clifton Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Childrens’ Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, in his memory. In addition, anyone wishing to share thoughts about their life connections with Bill are invited to write in the Guest Book at www.DaytonDailyNews.com (click on Obituaries, type in Hoag under “Search Options”, then click on Guest Book).