Doris M. Heckadon, 96, of Adrian, Missouri, passed away peacefully at her home on Saturday, August 17, 2024. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, August 23, 2024, at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Adrian, MO.
Burial will follow at the Virginia Cemetery in Virginia, MO. The family will receive friends from 6:00-7:30 PM Thursday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Virginia Cemetery or Heartland Hospice. Doris Mae Heckadon was born July 30, 1928, to Claude Francis Williams and Hazel Gertrude (Miller) Williams in Drexel, MO. Her mother died when she was 4 years old, her dad remarried Esther (Higgins) who became her stepmother. To this marriage were born two sisters, Karen and Loretta, and then a brother, Joe, who passed away at the age of 2. Doris married Walter Heckadon on June 20, 1946, in Osawatomie, KS.
Together they had nine children, with two dying in infancy. She was a primarily a homemaker and helped her husband with farming, but went on to work at Bass Busters Lures, retiring after 14 years. She was a member of the Crescent Hill Church and then Adrian Christian Church, raising her children with Walter in the church. She was involved in the country neighborhood women's "Penny Savers Club" for many years, her children's 4-H club, and in church. Doris and her family moved to the town of Adrian in 1980. She stayed in her home after the death of her husband with children near until her passing.
Doris is preceded in death by her spouse; her parents; her sister, Karen Stroud; and sons-in-law, John Kershner and Danny Chastain. She is survived by her sons: Rodney and Stacy Heckadon of Adrian, MO; her daughters: Vickie (Randy Townsend) McElwain of Belton, MO; Penny (Ron McCunniff) Zerbe, Denise Kershner, Cynthia Chastain, and Lois (Steve) Hastings all of Adrian, MO; her sister, Loretta Estes; 13 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
