William J. Blachford
William J. Blachford, 88, of Capron, Ill., died Nov. 9. He was born Sept. 29, 1923, in Spring Township, Boone County.
Mr. Blachford served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a dairy farmer all his life. He was a member of the American Legion.
A service was held Nov. 14. Interment in Blaine Cemetery. A memorial is being established in his memory.
Mr. Blachford is survived by wife Velma Adaleen; son Alan W. Blachford of Capron; daughter Alane Pena of Loves Park; brother Donald of Belvidere; sisters Theo Hildebrand of Belvidere, Lorraine of Miller, S.D., Berneitta Kays of Bradenton Beach, Margaret Kariainen of Trout Creek, Mich., and Alberta Bowen of DeForest, Wis.
Beulah Maxine Conlon
Beulah Maxine Conlon, 92, of Bradenton, died Nov. 5.
Mrs. Conlon was born Sept. 2, 1919, in Bath, Maine, to the late Ezra Allen Coffin and Dorothea DuPont.
Mrs. Conlon moved to Palmetto from Deadham, Mass., in 1951. She managed the Handy Dandy in Palmetto, then in Holmes Beach. She opened the Sewing Center in Holmes Beach in the late 1960s. She helped start the Manatee Area Youth Soccer Organization /MAYSO in the early 1970s and coached for four years. She also formed the area’s first adult amateur soccer team, the Manatee Stingers.
Mrs. Conlon was a devoted Catholic and member of Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles Catholic Church, wife, mother and friend to many.
Visitation was Nov. 11 at Brown and Sons Funeral Home on 43rd Street in Bradenton. A Catholic Mass was held Nov. 12 at Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles Catholic Church in Bradenton.
She is survived by son Dana and daughter-in-law Kelly of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; son Dale of Bradenton; grandchildren Erin, Benjamin, D.J., Dawn and Erin; two great grandchildren and an extended family that includes sister-in-law Betsy Maynard of Statesville, N.C., and a number of nieces.
Johnnie Fulford Provost
Johnnie Fulford Provost died Nov. 4 at her home in Bear Creek, N.C.
She was born Feb. 14, 1930, to the late John and Vera Fulford in Manatee County.
Mrs. Provost is survived by sister Mona Bennett of Columbus, Ga. and Shirley Moore of St. Petersburg; children Jo Provost, Beckie Street, Pattie Cox and Drexel Salmons; grandchildren Bryan Salmons, Baker Street and Stormy Salmons; many nephews and nieces, and many friends, especially Wilma Midgette.
Graveside services were Nov. 7 at the Russell Family Cemetery in Bear Creek.
Donations may be made to the Harold “Butch” Webb Jr. Liver Transplant Foundation, c/o Jennifer Kettner, 114 S. Water St., Swansboro, NC 28584.
Maurice H. Guthrie
Maurice H. Guthrie of Jefferson, Pa., died Oct. 30.
He was born to J.O. and Grace (Fulford) Guthrie of Cortez.
Mr. Guthrie was a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War.
Before and after the war, he was a commercial fish dealer. He retired in 1975.
There were no local services.
Mr. Guthrie is survived by wife Carol, daughter Lisa Deabill and her husband Eric of Pennsylvania, sister Jerry Cross of Tombstone, Ariz., brother J.O. “Junie” Guthrie and his wife Betty of Cortez, several nieces and nephews and many cousins and friends.
Ruth Catherine (Burger) Kramer
Ruth Catherine (Burger) Kramer died June 24. She was born Aug. 24, 1918, in Toledo, Ohio. Mrs. Kramer came to Anna Maria Island in 1999.
Her parents came to America on a cattle ship. They settled near Toledo, married and raised a family of eight. Mrs. Kramer recalled with pride her humble beginnings during the Great Depression and World War II. Having graduated from Woodward High School in 1936, she taught Sunday school and attended Davis Business College. She began a career in accounting at the Henry J. Speiker Construction Co.
In 1950, the family moved to Fostoria. While a homemaker, she was active in PTA, the Child Conservation League, Scouts, YMCA and Hope Lutheran Church. She was the last surviving charter member of Emblem Club-B.P.O.E Elks Lodge 935, where she served as president and district deputy.
In the 1960s, she went to work as a payroll clerk at Atlas Crankshaft Corp., a division of Cummins Diesel Engine. She retired in 1982 as director of payroll operations.
After retirement, she volunteered at Fostoria City Hospital, Independence House, Good Sheppard Home and at the soup kitchen. She rejoined the Senior Ohio CCL and was active in the Fosteria Women’s Club.
On Anna Maria Island, she was a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, serving in the Quilters.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 6608 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.
Memorial donations may be made to the Fostoria Athletic Boosters Association, P.O. Box 882, Fostoria OH 44830
Mrs. Kramer is survived by son William and wife Juliette of Marietta, Ga., Walter of Holmes Beach, and grandson William John IV of Marietta, Ga.