January 2021

Page A38 JANUARY 2021 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A JAMES ANDREW BRELL JR of Maysville, KY died Novem- ber 17, 2020 at the age of 70. A member of the Ohio Funer- al Directors Association, he was a funeral director and presi- dent of Brell & Son Funeral Home. ROBERT C. “BOB” FISHERO of Veedersburg, IN died No- vember 28, 2020 at the age of 76. A fifth-generation funer- al director, he had previously owned and operated Fishero Funeral Home. He graduat- ed from the Indiana College of Mortuary Science in 1963. CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL MEKUS of Chicago, IL died November 26, 2020 at the age of 72. Chris was a founding principal of the architectural firm Mekus Tanager, Inc. Re- garded as an innovator and vi- sionary, he developed a specialty niche in the design of cemeter- ies and funeral homes, winning architectural awards for projects throughout the country. NEDRA NEHER DOWNS of Springfield, OH died July 22, 2020 at the age of 89. She was past president of the Neher Burial Vault Co and the Ohio Burial Vault Association. RAYMOND G. PARKER JR of West Frankfort, IL died No- vember 7, 2020 at the age of 74. He purchased the Reedy Funeral Home in West Frank- fort and operated it as Park- er-Reedy Funeral Home until his retirement in 2007. ROBERT EARL PETERS of Pittsburgh, PA died November 25, 2020 at the age of 92. A graduate of the Pittsburgh In- stitute of Mortuary Science, he worked as a funeral director at Coppersmith Funeral Home. In 1962, Bob and his wife, Grace purchased the former Leslie Green Funeral Home in Huntingdon and made it their home. BARTON RIPLEY “RIP” THOMAS of Charleston, MO died November 27, 2020 at the age of 72. He was a funeral di- rector and embalmer at Wil- liams Funeral Homes, Inc for several years. He received his bachelor’s degree in mortuary science from the Southern Illi- nois University in Carbondale. CHARLES LEE “CHUCKIE” GRAY of Kerrville, TX died De- cember 3, 2020 at the age of 67. He established Grimes Funer- al Chapels in 1976 and contin- ued to work there as a funeral director until his retirement in 2000. He returned to Grimes in 2006, working part-time. A 1975 graduate of the Dallas In- stitute of Mortuary Science, he was past secretary of the Hill County Funeral Directors Association. AUBREY E. FIFE of Junction, TX died November 8, 2020 at the age of 98. He served his ap- prenticeship in Lubbock before moving to Burnet, TX to begin his career as a funeral director. Fife operated Hodges Funer- al Home in Junction for sever- al years before purchasing it in 1961. He continued to own and operate Aubrey Fife Funerals for fifty years. Fife attended mor- tuary school in Houston, and served one term as presi- dent on the Texas State Board of Funeral Directors. JAMES EGAN “JIM” ABBOTT of Wabasha, MN died Novem- ber 19, 2020 at the age of 67. A funeral director, he worked for Clasen-Jordan Mortuary in Austin, and Adams Funer- al Home in Adam from 1978 until moving to Wabasha in 1989, when he purchased his father’s business, Abbott Fu- neral Home and Abbott Fur- niture. Jim sold the businesses in 2018 and continued to work on a part-time basis with the new owner, Doug Penning, until June 2020. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in mortuary science. RUSSELL CARL LOUDON of Salem, OH died Novem- ber 22, 2020 at the age of 92. A graduate of the Cincinna- ti College of Mortuary Science, he served his apprenticeship at the Eckard Funeral Home in Akron before moving to Salem to purchase part ownership of Stark Memorial from Jack R. Harroff, along with partner James Giffin, who later retired. Loudon became sole owner of the firm in 1978 and continued to own and operate it as a licensed funeral director and embalmer until his retirement in 2019. GERALD “JERRY” B. JANSEN JR of Niagara Falls, NY died No- vember 20, 2020 at the age of 55. A New York State funeral director since 1994, he served his residency at Rutland Cor- win Funeral Home in New- fane, where he was employed for several years. Jansen later served the Lockport commu- nity through Prudden & Kan- dt Funeral Home before joining the staff at M. J. Colucci & Son Niagara Funeral Home in 2008. He retired in 2020. He obtained his degree in mortuary science from SUNY Canton in 1993 and was a mem- ber of the New York State Funeral Directors Associa- tion, National Funeral Directors Association and the Erie-Niagara Funeral Directors Association. JAMES “JIM” G. WIDDOES of Fortuna, CA died Novem- ber 9, 2020 at the age of 83. A 1961 graduate of the San Fran- cisco College of Mortuary Sci- ence, he has been active in the funeral business since 1958. Widdoes was co-owner and manager of Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary since 1970. In 2004 he became partners with his son, Marc and son-in- law, Tom Howe until retirement and the sale of the mortuary in 2014. Death Notices Send obituary information to Funeral Home & Cemetery News, PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 • Fax (800) 321-9040 • E-mail info@nomispublications.com Featuring News Funeral Home & Cemetery online If you have an obituary you would like to see listed here, please send information to: PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514 Fax 1-800-321-9040 • E-mail info@nomispublications.com DOMINIC D. “DON” CUZZOCREA of Columbus, OH died November 29, 2020 at the age of 75. Prior to his retirement, Don served as president andCEOof Ac- cubuilt, having previously served as president and CEO of S&S/Su- perior of Ohio, Inc . Well known in the professional vehicle industry he served as president of the Lim- ousine Industry Manufacturer’s Or- ganization (LIMO) in 1998.

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