Harry Richard Callison
Harry Richard Callison died at the home of his daughter in Templeton, California, on Tuesday, December 24, 2002.
The son of the late Denny and Rexford Callison, he was born September 11, 1918, at Beard.
Harry attended Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, where he obtained a degree in agriculture. He entered the Naval Officer's Training School in New York City, and was stationed in San Francisco on the USS Chinquapin as a diesel engineer. He served in the Pacific Campaign during World War II, and was in Okinawa when the war ended. He then served on the USS Marias and retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Commander.
He met and married his wife, Dolores, in San Pedro, and they had their home in San Pedro for their 52 married years. She died on September 2, 2002. They have two children, Richard and Peggy.
Harry was employed by the City of Los Angeles for over 30 years, working as a Senior Diesel Plant Engineer at Hyperian Treatment Plant. He had a flair for story-telling, woodworking, mechanical abilities, and golf.
He was active in the First Presbyterian Church at San Pedro, serving as an elder and contributing many of his woodworking talents to the church.
Surviving him are his son, Richard, of Eugene, Oregon; daugher, Peggy, of Templeton, California; four grandchildren; sister, Virginia Campbell, of Sinks Grove; brothers, Hubert Callison, of Beard, and Gilmer Callison, of Tucson, Arizona.
A memorial service was held Monday, December 30, 2002, at the First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro.
- - -

Ves Polen
Ves Polen, age 70, of St Albans, died April 7, 2003, at his home.
He was born in Bulgaria to Steve and Penny Polen and spent his childhood there. Coming to America as a teen, he and his family settled in the Charleston area. He attended Bethany College, Morris Harvey College, West Virginia State College and West Virginia Tech. He was a Coast guard veteran, was a master carpenter and, in 1955, founded Polen Home Builders. Later he was the assistant building inspector for the city of St. Albans.
Polen was a member of Washington Masonic Lodge 58, Scottish rite bodies of Charleston, Beni Kedem Shrine, where he was a retired clown, and Loyal Order of the Moose 868, St. Albans. He dearly loved spending time at his camp in the mountains of Pocahontas County and Durbin residents remember many good things he did for the area.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Polen; three sons, Linny, Greg, and Mickey, all of St. Albans; a daughter, Debbie White, of Charleston; and seven grandchildren.
Services were held Thursday, April 10, at Bartlett-Chapman Funeral Home, St. Albans, by Dr. Boyd Purcell. Burial was in Cunningham Memorial Park, St. Albans.
- - -

Jerry L. Billups
Jerry L. Billups, age 68, of St. Albans, died Tuesday, April 8, 2003, at Thomas Memorial Hospital, South Charleston.
He was retired from Republic Container Company in Nitro. He was of the Christian faith, a United States Marine veteran of the Korean War, and member of St. Albans Moose Lodge No. 868.
Billups was a long-time summer resident of Seebert, spending time golfing, gardening, and hunting.
Preceding him in death were his parents, Perry Timothy and Christena Adeline Cyrus Billups; sisters, Reba Ray, Rita Crouch, Helen Kinney, and Maxine Aickelin; and brothers, Raymond, Gene and Jack Billups.
He is survived by his wife, Pamela S. Billups, of St. Albans; daughters, Vicki Vaughan, of South Carleston, Gina Billups, of Richmond, Virginia; son, Jerry L. Billups, II, of Orlando, Florida; stepson, Michael T. Price, of St. Albans; sisters, Norma Dean Hansel and Christena Lake, both of St. Albans; and five grandchildren.
Funeral service were held Saturday at Bartlett-Chapman Funeral Home, St. Albans, by the Rev. Collett McMillon. Burial was in Cunningham Memorial Park, St. Albans, with military rites.
Memorial donations may be made to American Heart Association, Ohio Valley Affiliate, West Virginia Region, P.O. Box 12110, Charleston, WV 25302, or American Diabetes Association, West Virginia Affiliate, Inc., 1221-A Ohio Avenue, P.O. Box 1115, Dunbar, WV 25064.
- - -

Leona Z. Rainey
Leona Zoe Dilley Rainey, age 75, of Beverly, died Saturday afternoon, March 29, 2003, at the Elkins Regional Convalescent Center. She had been in declining health for the past four years.
She was born October 19, 1927, at Durbin, the daughter of the late Austin William Dilley and Iva Merle Wood Dilley.
On March 20, 1945, she was married to Roland Everett Rainey, who preceded her in death on May 18, 1998.
Surviving are two sons, Bradford Rainey, of Elkins, and Terry Rainey, of Clarksburg; one brother, Max Eugene Dilley, of Elkins, three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Preceding her in death besides her husband were two brothers, Raymond Jay Dilley and Melvin Austin Dilley.
She attended the schools of Pocahontas County and Green Bank High School, had worked at the Elkins Motor Lodge and Kmart, and was a member of the First Church of Christ.
Funeral services were held at Lohr & Barb Funeral Home April 1, by Pastor Ralph Andrus. Burial followed at the Beverly Cemetery at Beverly.
- - -

Henry Wendell Kershner
Henry Wendell Kershner, age 80, died April 12, 2003, at Good Samaritan Hospital, Dayton, Ohio, after a long illness.
He was born in July, 1922, on Droop Mountain, the son of Henry and Lucy Scott Kershner, and was the last remaining member of his family. The family's history dates back to the American Revolution.
In addition to his parents, William Henry and Lucy Kershner, Wendell was preceded in death by his brothers and sisters, Della Mae McDaniel, Snowden Kershner, Stoner Kershner, George Kershner, Sadie Walkup, June McDowell, Hilda Kershner, and Ima Pritt.
Henry was a World War II veteran from the Air Force and served proudly in the European Theater of Operations. He graduated from Hillsboro High School, Hillsboro, and ICS courses.
He was a dialysis patient at the VA Hospital for over seven years and then at Riverside Nursing Home. He was a Protestant. He was an avid history buff, wrote a family book dating ancestors to the early 1700's, baseball fan, and crossword puzzle expert.
Graveside services will be held Thursday, April 17, at the Veterans' Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio.
- - -

Lillian Genieve Beard Cole
Lillian Genieve Hook Beard Cole, age 87, of Marlinton, died Thursday, April 10, 2003.
Mrs. Cole attended school in Pocahontas County and then was graduated from a business school in Charleston; she worked for many years in the Bank of Marlinton.
The daughter of Owen Miles and Bertie Jane McLaughlin Hook, she was born at Mill Point December 23, 1915.
She was married first to James Beard, then to Fred Cole, both of whom are deceased. Also deceased are a sister, Elizabeth U. Hook Kaminitsky, and a brother, Francis W. Hook
Her only survivors are two nieces and a nephew, Carolyn Hook, R.N., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paul Hook, of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Stephanie K. Tucker, Esq., of Shreveport, Louisiana.
Funeral services were held Monday morning at VanReenen Funeral Home by the Rev. Stanley Clark and the Rev. Lucy Youngblood, with burial in Oak Grove Cemetery at Hillsboro.
- - -

Oley Marion Sharp
Oley Marion Sharp, of Little Rock, California, died April 2, 2003.
Born in Marlinton he was the son of the late Marion and Della Sharp.
He is survived by Dewey, Bill and Wade "Boots" Sharp, of Marlinton.
- - -

John McNeil Cochran
John McNeil "Curly" Cochran, age 83, of Moab, Utah, died April 11, 2003.
He was born April 19, 1919, in Dunmore, the son of Lincoln Seward Cochran and Emma Grace McNeil Cochran. His older sister, Elizabeth Cochran Blake, lives in Arlington, Virginia.
He graduated from Marlinton High School, attended Marshall College, and graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1943. On October 7, 1944, he married Margaret Naomi Smith, who survives him. They have two sons, Edwin M. Cochran of Grinnell, Iowa; Mark H. Cochran of Tucson, Arizona; two daughters, Shara M. McNeil of Santee, California, and Rebecca A. Cochran of Dayton, Ohio; and five grandsons.
Growing up the youngest child of Lincoln Cochran, the Pocahontas County sheriff and a federal agent during Prohibition, provided him with experiences and memories for a lifetime. He was an electrical engineer for Westinghouse, but his real life was in leading the annual backpacking family vacation in the West, in running, hiking, racing wild burros across the Mohave Desert.
Interment will be at Old Droop Cemetery, near Hillsboro, at a future date.
Memorials may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.

?