Monongah High Lions

                                                BRENDA SCRITCHFIELD JACKSON                                              WIDOW OF DONALD RAY JACKSON AND EARL GAMES WILLIAMS                                                                 Brenda Scritchfield Jackson, born in Monongah, passes away Brenda Scritchfield Jackson, born in Monongah, passed away Thursday, May 2 in Mannington. Lindsay Sutphin-Williams, Brenda’s grandchild, posted: “Brenda raised me and my brother for the majority of our lives. She was my best friend. I have truly never met a person like her, so full of kindness and hope. “I am...

                             MARION "JOE" MATHEWS Marion ‘Joe’ Mathews, 104, passes away   Marion “Joe” Mathews, former owner of Mathews Gun Shop in Monongah, passed away April 11 at the age of 104. His wife, Margaret Minear, passed away in 2000.     Joe   was an expert in creating furniture and his work with gunstocks. He was buried April 16 at Pruntytown’s West Virginia National Cemetery.   Joe’s obituary:     Marion L. ("Joe") Mathews, age 104, of Fairmont, West Virginia, died April 11, 2024. He was born on June 9, 1919, in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, to the late Marion Wheeler Mathews and Georgia Cochran Mathews.   Marion spent his early years in Williamsburg, West Virginia, before relocating to Fairmont. He was a machinist by trade, having worked at Consolidation Coal Company and then at Westinghouse Electric Corporation, from which compan...

  Jamie Davis Richards passes away   Jamie Davis Richards passed away. Her parents are Mary Ann “Minnie” Davis and Harry W. “Chick” Davis. Jamie’s siblings are Dianna Davis Fugera, Class of 1975 and Mark Davis, Class of 1978. Jamie married Tony Richards.   Monongah Mayor Johnboy Palmer posted: “ It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of Jamie Richards passing this evening after her courageous battle with cancer. Please join me in keeping her entire family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Jamie's strength and resilience will always be remembered. Rest in peace, Jamie.”

                               FRANK FRANZE  Frank Franze 2 nd MHS teen gang member to pass away in 4 days   Frank Franze, Class of 1950, passed Thursday, April 11 in Fairhope, Alabama 4 days before Donald “Jake” Halpenny, Class of 1950, both used their fathers' cars to transport the teen gang I ran around with in Marion County, passed away in Fairmont. Bruno’s parents were Lucille and Theodore Franz. His wives Earline Brownell Franze and Linda Corken Fraze predeceased him. Bruno, Jake and I were part of what I faceitiously called The Gang That Terrorize Marion County. We didn’t. We were just prowling for fun. Other members of the “gang” were Ronnie “Cooley” Delovich, Anthony “Plumber” DeMary, Lawrence “Sonny” Godby, Bob “Satch” Kasper, Joe Manzo, Jim “Judge” Starcher, all deceased, and Tony Eates, Duane Harbert and Steven “Bucky” Satterfield. We were a doozy dozen prowling Marion Co...

  Don ‘Jake’ Halpenny passes away     Donald “Jake” Halpenny, Class of 1950, passed away Monday, April 15 in Fairmont.   His parents were Luella May Kanavy Halpenny and Harvey Halpenny, who car we rode in often as teenagers with Jake driving it.   Don was the widow of Anita Rosalee Cremeans Halpenny. Their 5 children are Keith Halpenny, Brian Halpenny, Kathleen Halpenny Comas, Colin Halpenny and the late Shawn Halpenny. They have 9 grandchildren.   Don’s brother, John Halpenny, predeceased him.   Don was buried Friday, April 19 at Beverly Hills Memorial Garden in Morgantown.   Don, called “Jake” when he ran around with what I called faceitiously The Gang That Terrorized Marion County (we were harmless), is a   Fairmont State graduate. Jake, Class of 1950, lives with his daughter Kathleen, a retired nurse. His late wife, Anita Rosalee Cremeans, had 5 children – Brian, Colin, Kathleen, Keith and Shawn – and 9 grandchildren.     Don/Ja...

                          NICOLO "NICK" FIORI      2019 obituary for Nick Fiori, Class of 1948   The 2019 obituary for Nick Fiori, Class of 1948, stumbled into my view 5 years later. Nicolo Fiori passed away in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. His parents were Angelo Fiori and Pasqulina Garbrielli Fiori. Their Walnut Street home was adjacent to a Camden Avenue/Walt Street baseball field we used as children. Nick caddied at Fairmont Field Club when I did. He was famous for playing a Japanese soldier up a tree who fell out while shot from one of us playing an American soldier. Nick whacked all the breath out of himself for several minutes, to our dismay. But he recovered quickly. Nick served his country in the Navy, was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent his post-Navy life mostly in South Carolina. Nick’s sister was Rosemary, who brought along her friend Betty White to visit Nic...

  Emma Delovich Mike passes away     Emma Delovich Mike, Class of 1955, who married Frank Mike, passed away.   Eva Tarley Robinson, whose sister the late Annie Lee Tarley Delovich, Class of 1952, married the late great golfer Homer Delovich, told Dolores Edwards, who for decades helped organize the fantastic annual Monongah High Alumni Banquet that lasted for 100 years. Dolores told me. Now I’m telling you. Deloviches in Monongah High and Monongah history included Tony, Ronnie, Dave, 1987 North Marion grad Dewey, Mickey, Mary Ann Delovich Matheney, Class of 1976.   Dewey won the West Virginia high school Class AAA golf championship in 1968. Dewey met his wife, Adrianne Tetrick Delovich, at Green Hills when she was in college and working at the golf course’s restaurant and bar. Dewey was long-time golf professional and instructor at Kiaah Island Club in Cassique and is current director of operations at The Station in Freshfields Village and li...

  JOANNE DAVIS ASH, AS AN ADULT AND IN HER SENIOR PHOTO  Joanne Davis Ash, Class of 1954, passes away Joanne Davis Ash, Class of 1954, passed away March 15 in Marshfield, Missouri. She was the widow of former Monongah High baseball player Claude “Max” Ash, Class of 1953. They married in the last day of 1956. Max passed away in 2020. They their children Carl Ash and Shellie Ash Jones, also of Marshfield. Joanne was born in Four States to Fred and Nellie Riley Davis. Joanne was on the yearbook and newspaper staffs, in the band and in the minstrel at Monongah High. Max’s brother is Frank Ash, Class of 1965. Joanne’s obituary: Joanne Ash, Marshfield, was born June 8, 1937, to Fred and Nellie (Riley) Davis in Four States, West Virginia. She departed this life March 15, 2024, in her home at the age of 86 years. Joanne was a member of Crossbridge Church and Daughter of the American Revolution. She loved church and her family. She enjoyed attending the square dance...

          2017 MONTAGE OF THE PFLOCK FAMILY AND RELATIVES Good news about  'Toni' Pflock Hennis: She's alive! My article last year about Antoni "Toni" Pflock Hennis passing away sure missed the mark. Nita Pflock Brooks, Class of 1963, just corrected me on that one: “Toni is my sister and she is still alive. She is not in the best of health but she's still alive. She lives with her granddaughter in Crawfordville, Florida. “I was really shocked when I was reading your blog about the class of 1955. I hope you will correct it." Done, Nita. My apologies to Toni.  I’ll let my sister, Jackie Olesky Straight, Class of 1955, know, too. Jackie is a widow living in Rivesville, not far from Fairmont. Toni's husband, Russell Hennis, passed away in Florida in 2012. Pretty sure I got that right.  Nina lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, as I did for 35 years before moving to Tallmadge, which shares a border with Cuyahoga Falls.   She been doing Human Resou...

              SYLVESTER "SY" MILLER Sy Miller funeral Saturday, April 13   Sylvester Miller, Class of 1961, passed away. Harold Maze, also Class of 1961, tipped me off about the sad happening. Sy’s funeral will be noon Saturday, April 13 in Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, 4 Pine Street, Carolina after calling hours that begin at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Fairmont’s Grandview Memorial Gardens. His Carolina parents were Goldie Cooper Miller and Walter Miller. Sy served his country in the Navy, moved to Cleveland, worked as a carpenter and in the water department. When he retired he returned to his Carolina birthplace. Sy had prominent roles in the Shiloh Baptist Church and became a deacon in 2004. Sy’s brother, Charles Miller, became a pastor. Sy’s obituary: SYLVESTER D. MILLER June 2, 1943 - March 31, 2024 U.S. Veteran    Sylvester D. Miller, affectionately known to his friends and family as “Sy” or “Ves”...

              ORVAL RICHARD "RICK" BARNHART Rick Barnhart passes away   Rick Barnhart, former Monongah police chief with 38 years of police experience in Marion, Barbour and Harrison counties, has passed away. For those like me who didn’t know his birth name, it was Orval Richard Barnhart. His widow, and wife for 41 years, is Gerry Dorsey Barnhart. They have 3 children, Jeff, Michelle and Chad, and 7 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Rick was an All-State lineman at South Harrison High School before his 1969 graduation. He then graduated from the West Virginia State Police Academy. Rick’s obituary: Orval Richard “Rick/Barney” Barnhart, 73, of Lumberport, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2024 following a lengthy illness. He was born on March 2, 1951, in Clarksburg, the son of the late Orval Max and Mary Lucille Caynor Barnhart. Rick is survived by his wife of 41 years, Gerry Dorsey Barnhart, whom he married on May 29, 198...