Dad was born at home southeast of Rich Hill on May 27, 1941, to William E. and Ethel Virginia Kelly Trammell. He was the youngest of three boys, William Eldon and Lowell Edwin being older. Dad attended elementary classes at North Muddy until the one-room schoolhouses were consolidated. He then attended and graduated from Rich Hill in 1959.
After graduation, he worked in construction for two years and then went into the National Guard for six years. His unit was activated to handle the riots in Kansas City when Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. Dad worked some at the Window Factory in Rich Hill but all along farmed with his dad and brothers. In 1985, Dad and Mom took over farming together.
Dad met our mom, Elsie Van Lue, while taking a load of grain to the elevator in Rich Hill. Mom once confessed she took an archery class that Dad was taking just so she could see him. After dating four years, they married on February 27, 1971, in Nevada. The following year, their favorite daughter, Kelly Ranea (Trammell) Gayman, was born, and three years later, their favorite son, Robert Scott Trammell, was born.
Dad loved red Ford trucks and was a little on the picky side when it came to choosing a needed vehicle. A friend of the family found dad’s dream truck, which he fondly named “Shane” after the man he purchased the truck from. Dad also loved John Deere tractors for all his farming. He once said he’d rather be in the field working than eating when he was hungry.
Dad was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Virgie; his brothers, Eldon and Lowell; and his granddaughters, Adrianne Elaine Gayman and Mary Bridgewater.
Dad is survived by his wife, Elsie, of the home; daughter Kelly and her husband, Matt Gayman; son, Scott and his wife, Kathryn Trammell; grandchildren, Abigail Gayman, Jasmine, Whitney and Thomas Trammell; and many family and friends.
Special thanks to Kathryn, his daughter-in-law, for taking such great care of Dad for so long in so many ways, along with Loretta Wilson, Jolene Barker, Colleen Keller, and Natalie Beusing, along with many other caregivers and St. Croix Hospice out of Harrisonville.
Funeral service will be 10 am Tuesday May 10, 2022 at the Heuser Funeral Home. Burial will be in the Carbon Center Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 pm Monday, May 9 at the Heuser Funeral Home. Contributions are suggested to Carbon Center Cemetery, c/o Heuser Funeral Home, P.O. Bxo 42, Rich Hill, MO 64779. Online condolences can be left at www.heuserfunerals.com.
