January 7, 2014

George H. Head

George H. Head, 82, of Moores Hill, passed away Saturday, January 4, 2014. Services will be at the convenience of the family. Sibbett-Moore Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements. Go to www.sibbettmoore.com to make online condolences.

Oliver Lane Ballmer

Oliver Lane Ballmer, 5, of Holton, passed away Wednesday, January 1, 2014 at the Jennings St. Vincent Hospital in North Vernon. He was born at Louisville on August 14, 2008, the son of Josh and Kayla Wingate Ballmer.

Survivors include his parents; his brother Reese; and his sister Olivia; maternal grandmother Patricia Pollitt of Connersville; paternal grandfather Kevin Ballmer of Milan; paternal great-grandparents Pat Cubert of Milan and Kermit and Wanda Ballmer of Independence, Kentucky; maternal great-grandparents Raymond and Margaret Ross of North Vernon; uncles Tyler Ballmer of Versailles and Nathan Ballmer of Milan.

He was preceded in death by his paternal grandmother Susan Ballmer, maternal grandfather William Ross, and maternal great grandparents Bill and Frances Wingate.

Oliver attended the Very Blessed Children Preschool at the Versailles Baptist Church.

Funeral services were held Monday, January 6 at the Stratton-Karsteter Funeral Home in Versailles with Rev. Mark Ballmer, Oliver’s great uncle, officiating. Burial was at the Craven Cemetery at Milan. Memorials may be given to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in care of the funeral home.

Daniel King

Daniel King, 51, of Dabney, passed away Thursday, January 2, 2014 at his home. He was born at Middletown, Ohio on May 18, 1962, the son of Estil and Norma Sizemore King.

Survivors include his mother, Norma King of Dabney; three brothers, Jerry (Felicia) King of Dallas, Texas, Steve (Bambi) King and Phil (Kelly) King both of Dabney; along with several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Estil King, and his sister Vicki King.

Mr. King was a 1980 graduate of South Ripley High School. He was a former employee of TRW in Knoxville, Tennessee and had been employed for six years at Honda in Greensburg where he worked in maintenance.

Funeral services were held Monday, January 6 at the Stratton-Karsteter Funeral Home in Versailles with Rev. Mike Cantrell of the Versailles Baptist Church officiating. Burial was in the Dabney Cemetery. Memorials may be given to the Dabney Cemetery in care of the funeral home

Sharon Ann Hostetler

Sharon Ann Hostetler, 70, of Moores Hill, passed away Tuesday, December 31, 2013. Funeral services will be private for the family. Memorials may be made in her memory to the Dearborn County Humane Society through Sibbett-Moore Funeral Home, Box 156, Moores Hill, In. 47032. (812)744-3280. Go to www.sibbettmoore.com to make online condolences. Sibbett-Moore Funeral Home, Moores Hill, is handling arrangements.

Linda L. Gray

Linda L. Gray, 69, of Moores Hill, passed away Monday, December 30, 2013 at University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Linda was born Tuesday, October 17, 1944 in Moores Hill the daughter of Elmore and Pauline (Weise) Wingate. She married Raymond Gray on May 21, 1963 who preceded her in death on January 11, 2007.

Linda had worked for McPhersons for 25 years. She loved being with her grandchildren. She liked cooking, sewing, crafts, reading and bird watching.

Survivors include son: James (Robbi) Gray of Moores Hill; sisters: Rose Nocks, Doras Pilz, Norma Musgrove; two grandchildren: Evan and Hunter Gray. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, three sisters and two brothers.

Funeral Services were held Saturday, January 4, at Laws-Carr-Moore Funeral Home, Milan with burial in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Moores Hill. Memorials may be given to Cancer Society. Laws-Carr-Moore Funeral Home, Milan, was entrusted with arrangements. (812)654-2141, Box 243, 707 S. Main St. 47031. Go to www.lawscarrmoore.com to sign the online guest book.

Robert Dobbs

Robert Dobbs, 64, of Pulaski, Tennessee, passed away Wednesday, January 1, 2014 at the Hillsdale Hospital in Pulaski. He was born at Batesville on May 19, 1949, the son of Leonard and Margaret Miller Dobbs. He was married to Rita Swinney and she survives.
Other survivors include one daughter, Lori Dobbs of Nashville, Tennessee; two brothers, Joe Dobbs of Batesville and Roy (Kathy) Dobbs of New Marion; one sister, Mary (Don) Nealis of Madison, several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Mr. Dobbs was a 1967 graduate of South Ripley High School and earned his B. S. degree in accounting from Ball State University. He served in the US Army from 1967 to 1971 and was a veteran of the Vietnam War.

Mr. Dobbs was employed with Brindley Construction and later was a partner in the Abernathy Hardware. He had also devised a financing/leasing plan with Fed Ex trucks working with a firm in Mt. Juliet.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, January 4 at the Bennett-May-Giles Funeral Home in Pulaski. Graveside services were held on Sunday, January 5 at the New Marion Cemetery with military graveside rites by the Versailles American Legion. Memorials may be given to the New Marion Cemetery in care of the Stratton-Karsteter Funeral Home, Versailles.

Zachary Smith

Zachary Smith, 32, of Versailles, passed away Sunday, January 5, 2014 at the Margaret Mary Community Hospital in Batesville as the result of an auto accident. He was born at Batesville on September 3, 1981, the son of Billy Pettit and Linda Smith. He was married to Amanda Bush on December 12, 2012 and she survives.

Other survivors include his father Billy Pettit of Versailles; the mother of his children Amanda Schmidt of Versailles; three sons Jordan, Tyler, and Ethan Smith; two daughters Kaitlyn and Allysan Smith all of Versailles; stepchildren Brooklyn Burgmeier and Danica Bush both of North Vernon; and one sister Alicia Pettit of Benham.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 9 at 7 p.m. at the Stratton-Karsteter Funeral Home in Versailles with Rev. Roger Dean officiating. Burial will be in the Cliff Hill Cemetery at Versailles. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. until time of services. Memorials will be accepted for Mr. Smith’s children in care of the funeral home.

Karen Hale-Walke

Karen Hale-Walke, 59, of Rensselaer, formerly of Greensburg, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. Visitation was held Monday, Jan. 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with funeral services following at Meyers Funeral Home, Batesville. Burial was in the St. Louis Catholic Cemetery. Memorials may be given to the family. Meyers Funeral Home, Batesville, is in charge of arrangements.

Jack McCarty

Jack McCarty, 66, of Versailles, passed away Wednesday, January 1, 2014 at his home. He was born at Scottsburg on August 13, 1947, the son of Stanley and Edna Nichols McCarty. He was married to Caroline Strubbe on March 25, 1970 and she preceded him in death on July 1, 2013.

Survivors include three sons, Brian (Mary) McCarty, Brad (Elizabeth) McCarty, and Tyler McCarty all of Versailles; five grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his parents.

Mr. McCarty was a 1965 graduate of Versailles High School and worked as a fork lift operator for Ohio Rod from 1968 until his retirement in 2008. He served in the US Army from 1966 to 1968 and received the National Defense Service Medal and the Sharpshooter Badge. Jack was a member of the Versailles Church of Christ and the Versailles American Legion.

Funeral services were held Saturday, January 4 at the Stratton-Karsteter Funeral Home in Versailles with Rev. Becky Pohle officiating. Burial was in the Tanglewood Cemetery with military graveside rites by the Versailles American Legion. Memorials may be given to the Tanglewood Cemetery or the Versailles American Legion in care of the funeral home.

Carolyn Lee

Carolyn Lee, 63, of Versailles, passed away Friday, January 3, 2014 at the Margaret Mary Hospital in Batesville. She was born at Millsboro in Bell County, Kentucky on May 4, 1950, the daughter of Hugh and Emma Thomas McConnell. She was married to Kenneth Lee and he survives.

Other survivors include her mother, Emma McConnell of Pierceville; two sons, Kenneth Lee and Kevin (Rebecca) Lee both of Versailles; two daughters, Jennifer (Steve) Hodgson of Westport and Kimberly Lee of Versailles; five grandchildren and three great grandchildren; five brothers, Jack (Donna) McConnell of Aurora, Doug (Annette) McConnell and Steve (Regina) McConnell both of Osgood, Mark (Kerry) McConnell of Delaware, and Larry (Bev) McConnell of Milan; three sisters, Patricia (Richard) Sproessig of Versailles, Rita (George) Anderson of Osgood, and Peggy (Jeff) Schueler of Anderson.

She was preceded in death by her father, her niece April Asherman, and her nephews Michael Sproessig and Heath McConnell.
Mrs. Lee was a homemaker and a member of the Pentecostal Holiness Church at Sunman. She enjoyed her family, crocheting, and camping.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 7 at 10 a.m. at the Stratton-Karsteter Funeral Home in Versailles with Pastor Sue Hacker officiating. Burial will be in the Tanglewood Cemetery. Memorials may be given to the Pentecostal Holiness Church at Sunman in care of the funeral home.

Marvin “Mooch” Keith Graves

Marvin Keith “Mooch” Graves, 60 of Osgood, passed away on Friday, January 3, 2014 at his home. He was born on April 6, 1953 in Greensburg, the son of Marvin and Ruth (McIntosh) Graves. He married Marchell Ann Vierling on February 5, 1999 at St. Louis Church in Batesville.

Marvin was a member of the New Marion Baptist Church. He enjoyed being outdoors, reading, listening to music and feeding the birds. His wife said he had a big heart and would do anything for anybody. Marvin loved his grandchildren and especially loved being with his family.

Survivors include his wife; daughter, Crystal Graves and her fiancé Greg Shafer, and daughter Anita Hooten and her fiancé William Feldman; along with his grandchildren, Olivia, Patrick and Payton Howard; and his siblings; Dale Graves, Cynthia (Kenny) Beeman, Sherry Denton and Robin Beeman. In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by his brother Scott Graves.

Friends may call on the family Wednesday, January 8, from 12-2 p.m. followed by memorial service at 2 p.m. all at Meyers Funeral Home in Batesville with friend Dan Meisberger and Fr. Shaun Whittington officiating. Ashes will be buried immediately following in St. Louis Catholic Cemetery in Batesville. Memorials may be given to Margaret Mary Hospice. Meyers Funeral Home, Batesville, is in charge of arrangements.

LaVonna Mae Holtman

LaVonna Mae Holtman, 82 of Seymour, passed away on Friday, January 3, 2014 at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour. She was born in Ripley County on October 11, 1931, the daughter of the late Wilber and Edna (Thomas) Burman. On July 17, 1966 in Jackson County, she married Ralph E. Holtman and he preceded her in death on October 23, 2009.

LaVonna was a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church where she would fold the bulletins for Sunday morning worship service. She graduated from Cross Plains High School in 1949.

LaVonna had worked in the insurance business before leaving to raise a family and work at home. In her past time she enjoyed crocheting for her family and working in the flower garden. She was a loving wife and a mother who also volunteered her time at the Lutheran Community Home. She always enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren.

She is survived by her sons, Carl Holtman and Mark (Jennifer) Holtman; grandchildren Brandon and Alexis Holtman, Makayla Kestler and Paige Kestler; sister, Glendora Meier; niece, Sandra Zaccagnini; and nephew, Rick Thomas. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and brother Gerald Burman.

Funeral services will be Thursday, January 9 at 11 a.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church with Rev. Ralph Blomenberg, Rev. Philip Bloch, Rev. James Rodriguez and Vicar Mark Huff officiating. Family and friends may call at Voss Chapel on Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. and at the church on Thursday after 10 a.m. until time of service. Burial will follow at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery.

Condolences may be sent to the family through Voss Funeral Service. Memorials may be written to the Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lutheran Hour or Trinity Lutheran High School through Voss Funeral Service, Seymour.

A complete obituary may be viewed on the funeral home website at www.vossfuneralservice.com. Voss Funeral Service, Seymour, is in charge of arrangements.

William C. McCoy

William C. McCoy, 88, died on December 18, 2013 in his Leisure World home at Seal Beach, California after a long illness. He was born on December 12, 1925 in Osgood, the son of Charles N. McCoy and Anna (Fremdling) McCoy. He married Coletta Schwier on April 18, 1948 and they gave birth to two children Steven and Deborah. The family resided in Covington. Bill married Marjorie Townsend on September 20, 1971 and she preceded him in death.

Survivors include son Steven of Seattle WA, daughter Deborah of Linton, two granddaughters, three great granddaughters, and one great grandson.

Per his request, Mr. McCoy was cremated. Graveside services will be held at the McCoy family graves in Napoleon later this year. He was the youngest of four children, preceded in death by sisters Leah (McCoy) Bailey of Texas, Mildred (McCoy) Starker of Indiana, and brother Robert McCoy of Florida. In his youth, Bill was a star player for the Ripley County Cowboys basketball team from 1941-1943. Bill graduated from Osgood High School in 1943.

In April 1944, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp. Initially he was stationed in Miami Beach, Fla., and later in San Antonio, Texas, until the war ended. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII.

After discharge from service, Bill attended Indiana Business College in Indianapolis, graduating in 1948. After retirement, Bill and Marjorie moved to Leisure World, Seal Beach California.