Obituaries
John Edwin “Papa John” Spanton
John Edwin “Papa John” Spanton, son of the late Edwin “Bud “and Hannah (Cobean) Spanton, was born May 12, 1948, in Monterey, Calif. He passed away on March 1, 2025, at his home in Mountain Grove at the age of 76. John grew up in the Monterey Bay area in California and served in the US Navy. John...
Diana Gail (Lawson) Mabe-Heubel
Diana Gail (Lawson) Mabe-Heubel, daughter of the late Gerald and Elsie (Crewse) Lawson, was born July 10, 1949, in Mountain Grove. She went to her heavenly home on March 11, 2025, at her home in Marshfield, at the age of 75. Gail attended the Crewse School in Graff, and graduated with the Mountain...
Kaleb Kurtis Affholder
Kaleb Kurtis Affholder, son of Tara (Curtis) Affholder and the late David Affholder, was born on July 8, 1987, in Springfield, and passed away unexpectedly on March 10, 2025, at his home near Mountain Grove, at 37 years of age. Kaleb grew up in the Mountain Grove area. He attended elementary school...
Warren Arthur Plunk
Warren Arthur Plunk, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, was born on July 31, 1941, in Mountain Grove, to Zula Tate and Arthur Plunk. Warren departed this life on Feb. 21, 2025. He was 83 years, 6 months and 21 days of age. Warren’s life was a testament to love,...
James Paul Payton
James Paul Payton, son of Paul R. and Grace (Hamon) Payton, was born Jan. 29, 1946, in Escalon, Calif. He passed away March 1, 2025, in Mercy Hospital in Springfield. He was 79 years, 1 month and 1 day of age. James met Gale Lynn Azevedo at a school dance at the age of 12 and they’ve been together...
Antonios “Tony” Serghides was born Jan. 16, 1947, on the island of Cyprus. He finished elementary school in his village of Philousa and through determined effort attended high school in a neighboring city. Tony first came to the United States as a foreign exchange student to a loving family in...
Ura Charles Hardin
Ura Charles Hardin, a devoted man of faith, family, and service, passed away at the age of 99 on March 5th, 2025, in Mountain Grove. Born on Oct. 21, 1925, in Texas County, Missouri, Ura lived a life marked by hard work, kindness, and an unwavering commitment to his faith and community. Ura was a...
Roberta Mellene (Norton) Schudy
Roberta Mellene (Norton) Schudy was born July 29,1940 in Kansas City to Melville Morgan Norton, Jr. and Florene Elizabeth Jones Norton, and went to be with her Savior on March 3, 2025 at the Kabul Nursing Home in Cabool. Mellene was a 1958 graduate of Branson High School. She was united in marriage...
Elizabeth (Morales) Saleh
Elizabeth (Morales) Saleh was born on July 30, 1967, in Chicago, Ill. to Ricardo and Alicia Morales. She died on March 3, 2025, after a battle with cancer. She was 57 years old. During her lifetime, she spent many hours on her favorite pastime of crafting. She had an eye and talent for creating...
Luther Van Curtis
Luther Van Curtis, 84 years, 8 months, and 11 days old, passed away on March 5, 2025, at Kabul Nursing Home in Cabool. Van was born at home in Douglas County, Missouri, June 25, 1940 to Luther Burbank and Omega Mae (Johnston) Curtis. Van was the seventh of nine children. He was raised on the...