In Memoriam

1997

Evelyn E. Decker

Evelyn Everta Auxier Decker, 77, passed away on March 17, 1997 in Wichita, Kansas. She was born March 14, 1920 on Oil Hill Road near August, Kansas, the daughter of George Anthony Auxier and Orlena Johnson Auxier. She was the granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin Auxier and Mary Ellen May Auxier and the great granddaughter of John B. Auxier and Eveline Lane Auxier of Mason County, Illinois.

Evelyn had retired from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company where she worked as a computer programmer. Her most important work in life was her children. She had four sons and two daughters. She worked tirelessly to see that they received their higher education. As the wife of a Kansas wheat farmer, she worked beside her husband and sons during the wheat harvest where she prepared meals before daylight and sewed clothing for her family throughout the night. Her hard work and devotion will live long after her through her children.

OLGA AUXIER PRESTON

Olga Auxier Preston, age 85, died May 12, 1997. She was born on May 14, 1911 at Whites Creek, Wayne County, West Virginia, the daughter of the late Nathaniel Lincoln Auxier of Blockhouse Bottom, Johnson County, Kentucky and Mary Borders Auxier of Borders Chapel, Lawrence County, Kentucky. She was the granddaughter of Major John Brown Auxier and Mary Ann Tilsley Auxier, and the great granddaughter of Samuel Auxier II and Rebecca Phillips Auxier

Olga graduated from Ceredo-Kenova High School at age 16. She and her sister rode seven miles each way between home and school. Their father later built a house in Kenova and rented the lower half to a family who watched out for his daughters who lived in the second story during the school year. Olga attended Marshall University at Morehead, Kentucky, the University of Kentucky and received a B.S. degree in Library Science from Pikeville College . She taught at the one room Borders Chapel and Lost Creek schools in Lawrence County, Kentucky. She and her husband were merchants in Allen, Kentucky for 40 years. After retirement she served 17 years as librarian for Betsy Layne Elementary and High Schools. She was custodian of Borders Chapel Cemetery and a benefactor of the Borders Chapel United Methodist Church. Olga was a past regent of John Graham Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution of Prestonsburg, and past KSDAR Sixth District Press Chairman. She was a member of the Floyd County Retired Teachers Association and was named a Kentucky Colonel.

MARTHA ANN RAPIER

Martha Ann Rapier, age 77, of Paintsville, Kentucky, died Sunday, July 17, 1997, at Highlands Regional Medical Center, Prestonsburg, Kentucky

She was born July 11, 1920 in Johnson County, Kentucky, the daughter of Dr. Ernest Archer and Martha Fannie Auxier Archer. She was the granddaughter of James William Auxier and Martha Ann Stafford Auxier.

She was a former board member of the Johnson County Public Library and past president of D.A.R. Harmon Station.

She is survived by her husband; one son; three daughters and 10 grandchildren.

Services were July 29, 1997 at the Mayo Memorial United Methodist Church. Burial was in the Richmond Cemetery in Paintsville, Kentucky.

LOREN JOSEPH AUXIER

Loren Joseph Auxier , age 87, of Hanover, Indiana, passed away on Friday, November 21, 1997 at the King's Daughter Hospital in Madison, Indiana. He was the last surviving member of his family. Services were held on November 25, 1997 at the New Prospect Baptist Church. Reverend David Griffay and Loren's nephew, Reverend James David Goble, officiated. A sonnet written by his grandson, Russell Travis Wallace, was read and a letter written by Sharon Auxier in which she told about Sunday afternoons at her Granddad and Granny Auxier's farm was read by Bill Goble.

He was born on November 29, 1915 in Van Lear, Kentucky, the son of John Downing Auxier and Frankie Davis Auxier, the grandson of Joseph Decab Auxier and the great grandson of Enoch Auxier.

Loren attended school in Van Lear, Kentucky and often attended school reunions. He was a retired electrician with the former Wilco Electric Company in Madison, Indiana, a member of the New Prospect Baptist Church, the New Prospect Cemetery Association Board and the Hanover Lodge # 652 F. and A. M.. He enjoyed receiving the Auxier Newsletter and was amazed by "how many people he was kin to." Loren attended the Auxier Family Reunion in 1995 and was looking forward to the next family reunion in 2000.

Loren was preceded in death by his wife, Geneva Mae Simpson Auxier, one son Loren Downing Auxier, three brothers and four sisters. He is survived by two daughters and eight grandchildren.

CLARENCE R. AUXIER

Clarence Raymond Auxier Sr., age 89, passed away in Independence, Missouri on November 26, 1997. Services were held on November 29, 1997.

He was born April 18, 1908 in Elk City, Oklahoma. He was a draftsman for oil companies in Tulsa, Oklahoma until retiring in 1970. Since his retirement he was employed at the RLDS auditorium. He married Maxie Goold on May 20, 1936. They were the parents of a son and a daughter.

Clarence was preceded in death by 3 sisters; Carrie Auxier, Fannie Auxier and Lillian Auxier Landes.

Clarence was the son of John Brown Auxier and Mahala Ellen Conley, the grandson of Henry Jefferson Auxier and Harriet Music and the great grandson of Samuel Auxier II and Rebecca Phillips.

MYRTLE RICHMOND

Myrtle Richmond, age 74, a retired medical technician, passed away on December 9, 1997, at Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center in Paintsville, Kentucky. Burial was in the Richmond Cemetery in Paintsville, Kentucky.

She was born November 28, 1923, in Johnson County, Kentucky, the daughter of William Richard Richmond and Alice Joseph Richmond. She was the granddaughter of John Richmond and Susan Angeline Auxier Richmond and the great granddaughter of Samuel Auxier and Agnes Wells Auxier. Her great great grandfathers Samuel Auxier I and Richard Wells were veterans of the Revolutionary War.