Lonnie Don Cureton, son of Herman and Clara Rogers Cureton, was born July 24, 1945 in Lebanon, and passed away peacefully in his home on Nov. 4, 2020 near Hartville, at the age of 75 years, 3 months and 10 days. Lonnie was united in marriage to Betty Ward on April 7, 1969, and to this union of 30-plus years, four daughters were born. Lonnie also has one son from a previous relationship. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Betty; brother, Dean Ford; and a son-in-law, Rick Amason. Lonnie is survived by his children, Bruce (Nola) Jones, of Mountain Grove; Tina (Tony) Hooker, Misty Amason, Shelly (Rick) Kuhn, and Heather (Jason) Claborn, all of Hartville; his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, that he adored and spent a lot of precious time with; three brothers, Rick Ford, Donnie Ford and Danny Ford; three sisters, Irene Ward, Judy Doeden and Nina Stockam; along with several other family members, neighbors and friends. Lonnie was always a hard worker and taught his children to work hard and earn what you get in life. He was a labor worker all of his life working at the saw mill, farm work, stave mill and garment factory. But his passion was working on his own farm daily raising beef cattle, fixing fence, doing hay or cutting wood. In his spare time, he loved to fish, so he built a pond just for his kids and grandkids where many picnics and dinners were had while fishing and enjoying family time together. He was a good neighbor and friend and was always there to lend a helping hand to anyone in need and of course being there if his kids needed him.Lonnie was saved and baptized and was recently attending Hartville First Baptist Church. The day he got saved was one to remember. He had gone to church in Springfield and felt God calling him but didn’t listen. But before he could get home he had to stop on the side of the road and surrender to God on what our family refers to as (Jumping Jesus Hwy) or JJ and 38 Highway. Lonnie loved his family and enjoyed spending time with them, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We will all miss him and cherish our memories as they will forever be in our hearts, but we have the assurance that we will see him and mom again someday. A memorial has been established for the family. Donations can be made through Holman-Howe Funeral Home, P.O. Box 236, Hartville, Mo. 65667.
Services were held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 at Holman-Howe Funeral Home with the Rev. Jeff Ward and Tony Hooker. Escorts were Donnavon Cureton, Dale Ward, Greg Hoffman, Dwayne Ward, Delaine Cardwell, Jason Claborn and Bruce Jones.
