Obituary - Melford Ash

Melford Francis “Frank” Ash, 85, of Raymore, Missouri, was born July 7, 1935, on the family farm in Sweet Water, Missouri, the son of Melford T. and Mable A. (Cline) Ash-Keeton. He went to meet his Heavenly Father on Thursday, June 17, 2021, at his home surrounded with love and family.

Melford was the fifth of twelve children. At the age of nine he made the grand decision to obey the Gospel of Christ and was baptized into the Church of Christ where he was a faithful member and Elder for the remainder of his life.

At the age of 18 Melford enlisted in the United States Army and proudly serving his country from September 19, 1955, to September 20, 1961.

In May of 1959, his world changed as he met and fell in love with his future wife Wilma Lorene Retherford. They were united in marriage on November 20, 1959, and soon started a family raising four children. His love for Wilma was unquestionable; he may have teased her a bit, but his love for her was without end.

Melford was employed as a truck driver for the Graves and Hyman truck lines for 37 years and was a member of the Teamsters Union Local #41. He retired in 1994 and never sat still. He filled his days, lending a hand to anyone who needed help with a remodel, handyman work, or even building a new home.

He was an avid outdoorsman. He loved fishing and hunting with his brothers, son, sons-in-law, and grandsons. He also enjoyed coon hunting, bee keeping, gardening and mushroom hunting. He also loved to throw horse shoes and in the early 1950’s he competed in the grand championship at the Missouri State Fair. Most of all he loved gospel music. He loved to sing and beat time with his hand.

Melford was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Virgil Ash, Clifford Ash, Ernest Ash, Walter Ash, John Ash, Donald Ash, and stepbrother, Larry Keeton; his sisters, Bernice Christian and Margaret Ash; and his stepsisters, Fern Keeton, and Evelyn Keeton.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Wilma of the home; one son, Lloyd Ash of Raymore; three daughters, LaDonna (and Randy) Garrison of Pleasant Hill, LaVonna (and Gene) Malott of Blue Springs, and LaRonda (and Kevin) Catanzaro of Clinton; grandchildren, Adam, Matthew, Rachael (and Brad), Rebecca (and Zach), Derek, Tony (and Tori), Jessica, Atean (and Nicole), Chayton, Rachael, and Hunter; great grandchildren Haley, Trent, Brent, Morgan, Deegan, Kennedy, Iva, Leeann, Audra, Reed, Shinia, Amara, Neena, and Baby Willis; brothers, Arnold (and Linda) Ash and Bill (and Nancy) Keeton both of Tonasket, Washington; sisters, Margie (and Bob) Weaver of Warsaw, and Anna Hamerick of Odessa; numerous nieces and nephews; other relative and a host of many church friends.

Visitation will be held at 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at the Stanley-Dickey Funeral Home.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at the funeral home. Elder Rick Veatch will officiate. Interment will follow in the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery, Higginsville. Casket bearers are Derek Ash, Lloyd Ash, Atean Catanzaro, Chayton Catanzaro, Tony Findley, Adam Garrison, and Matthew Garrison.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Awareness Association or St. Croix Hospice and may be sent in care of the funeral home.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.stanleydickeyfuneralhome.com

Arrangements: Stanley-Dickey Funeral Home, 203 N. Armstrong St., Pleasant Hill, Missouri 64080 (816) 540-5550.

13 year old Nevada boy seriously injured in Vernon County ATV accident

On June 19th around 8:05 p.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Vernon County along with Vernon County Sheriff's Deputies responded to a ATV accident on private property around 1 miles east of Deerfield, Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident occurred when a 13 year old juvenile male was riding a 2018 Kawasaki Brute Force 300 when he struck a hole and went airborne.

The male sustained serious injuries in this accident and he was transported by private vehicle to Nevada Regional Medical Center for treatment.

View Accident Report Here:

https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=210308628

Drexel man was hurt after falling out of jeep in McDonald County.

On June 19th around 12:20p.m. the Missouri State Highway Patrol in McDonald County responded to a accident on Highway 59 just south of Lanagan.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident occurred when a 2012 Jeep Wrangler driven by 20 year old Jerry D. Lakey of Rockville, Missouri was making a left hand turn when his passenger 28 year old Dillon C. Mawhirter of Drexel, Missouri fell out of the vehicle while it was turning.

Mr. Mawhirter sustained moderate injuries and he will seek his own treatment at a later time. 

View report below:

https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=210306749

Missing Columbia man found dead in Warsaw

On Saturday June 6th at approximately 4:00 PM the Benton County Sheriff’s Office received a notification about a possible missing person in the area, Cody B. Garrett 28, of Columbia, MO. Garrett’s mother reported him missing to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office after Garrett had not been in contact for approximately 48 hours. Garrett’s mother reported that Garrett had told her he was headed to Benton County with some friends to do some shooting and never returned.

A ping of Garrett’s phone lead Benton County Deputies to his vehicle located on Benton House Avenue in Warsaw. While investigating the vehicle Deputies encountered a bicyclist exiting trails that were located nearby who offered to assist in searching the area due to the narrow bike trails. 

Garrett’s body was located approximately ½ mile away from his vehicle, down a secondary bike trail. Due to the deterioration of the body and the torrential downpour on Friday, detectives had to wait for the preliminary report from the Jackson County Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death. It was ruled by the medical examiner to be a homicide.

Detectives are working several leads; this is an ongoing investigation that will take some time to unravel. If you have any information about this crime or any other, please contact the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at (660) 438-6135 or email bc.sheriff@bentoncomo.com. 

I will keep you up to date when we have more information.

Courtesy of Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox 

Shooting Investigation near Warsaw

On Friday, June 18th at approximately 5:00 p.m. the Benton County Sheriff's Office  responded to a residence located on Panorama Road near Warsaw for a domestic disturbance involving gunfire. 

After an investigation, it was determined that Heather M. Mathias (McCormick), 50, of the residence, shot Charles M. McCormick the 3rd, also of the residence, twice before taking her own life. There was a juvenile in the residence at the time of the shooting who was not involved and unharmed.

Mr. McCormick was life-flighted to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. McCormick’s condition is unknown, but as of the time of this report I know he is still alive. - Benton County Sheriff Eric Knox.

Mid America Live News will continue to follow this story and bring updates when they become available.

Henry County Sheriff's Office looking for suspects who fled from a vehicle pursuit near Blairstown

The Henry County Sheriff's Office is looking for 2 males & 1 female who fled on foot after a vehicle pursuit by Johnson County ended in the Blairstown area!

If you seen anyone suspicious in this area please call 911! If you live in this area please lock your door!

Mid America Live News will update when more information is made available to us.

Obituary - D. Jeanine Wilson

D. Jeanine “Jeannie” Wilson passed away on June 17, 2021. Jeannie was born Deborah Jeanine Matchette in Presque Isle, Maine on November 16, 1952. She died of complications due to repeated medical incompetence and apathy over a six year period. She leaves her husband Charles of the home. They had no children. Jeanine graduated from Central Missouri State University with a BSED in English and French.

Jeannie was a Renaissance woman in a specialize world. She refused to be pigeon-holed into a mundane life. Even though she majored in the humanities, Jeannie studied a variety of subjects like fencing and genetics. Jeannie was a world traveler and spent time in Australia, New Zealand, most of western Europe, and Mexico just to name a few. Whether she was parasailing in Mexico, standing on the Mount Cook glacier, or snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, life was an adventure to savor. Jeannie was linguistically gifted and spoke French and Spanish. She also studied Greek, Latin, Italian, and Hawaiian as well as dabbling with German and Portuguese. Jeannie was a self-taught pianist and organist. She was a prize winning photographer, gourmet cook, and crochet artist. Jeanine was a published poetess. At the time of her death, she was still creating magic in the kitchen and was working on a cookbook. At age 35, she designed her dream home which was featured in the 1988 Parade of Homes. It included a two-story library with a spiral staircase. The interior was so colorful that it was written about in the Kansas City Star.

Jeannie loved cats both domestic and wild. She had an astounding level of expertise regarding all felines and had a goal to photograph every wild cat in the world. Jeannie identified strongly with the Egyptian Cat Goddess Bastet and always surrounded herself with feline companions.

Jeannie retired in 2010 after an exceptional 32 year career in government service. For the first 16 years she excelled as a customer service specialist. She spent the next 16 years designing, editing, and publishing training material for her agency. Before joining the government, Jeannie was a businesswoman and owned a small motorcycle corporation in south Missouri. Jeannie became a professional wildlife photographer upon retiring. She had recently published a book of political commentary.

Jeannie served on the board of The Heart of America Indian Center in the late 1990s. While in government service, she also served as an officer on the Haskell Indian Nations University Advisory Board and the Federal Executive Board for Native Americans. She was a member of her agency’s American Indian Committee. Jeannie was also an EEO Investigator for eight years.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to a local animal shelter.

Obituary - William Ernest “Bill” White

William Ernest “Bill” White, 74, of Pleasant Hill, Missouri, was born, January 23, 1947, in Pleasant Hill. He peacefully departed this life, Tuesday, June 15, 2021, at the Pleasant Hill Health & Rehabilitation Center, comforted by family and friends.

Bill was a 1965 Pleasant Hill High School graduate.

On December 7, 1966, he was united in marriage to Susan Tye in Pleasant Hill. They later divorced.

Bill was a gifted Autobody Mechanic owning and operating both the Can-Do Autobody Shop in Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville Auto Body in Harrisonville. Bill truly loved working on old cars. He loved spending time visiting with family and friends and especially enjoyed a cold beer or cocktail.

Bill was preceded in death by his father, Robert N. McGinnis; his mother, Harriett J. Wescott; his stepfather, Robert “Bob” White; and infant sister, Shirley White.

Carrying on his legacy are his children, Jerry (and Stacey) White and Echo (and Tony) Lloyd of Pleasant Hill; seven grandchildren, Cassidy (and Ben) Willard, Bailey White, Avery White, Kelsey Smith, Kace Beattie, Kaitlyn Lloyd, and Kylie Lloyd; five great grandchildren, Hadlee, Fischer, Xander, Houston, and Miles; one half-brother, Henry “Hank” (and Betsy) McGinnis of La Porte, Indiana; one half-sister, Patty (and Andy) Kremke of Westville, Indiana; other relatives and friends.

Cremation has been accorded.

A celebration of life gathering will be held 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2021, at the funeral home.

Inurnment will be in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery at a later date.

Memorial contributions are suggested to Meals on Wheels and may be sent in care of the funeral home.