September 17, 2009

OBITUARIES

William Pearson

William Solomon “Sol” James Pearson died on Sept. 8.

Born in St. Louis, Mo., on Sept. 24, 1932, to the late Herman and Eula Pearson, William was the beloved fourth child and was baptized at the age of 8. The family moved to Massillon, Ohio, when he was 13, where he attended Washington High School. William played the trumpet in the marching band and graduated from high school in 1953. Affectionately called “Sol” by family and “Bill” by friends, he joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War in 1953, and was honorably discharged from service in 1961.

Although he graduated from Wright State University, William began his college studies in mechanical engineering at Akron University, where he met the love of his life and bride for 50 years, Beverly. They wed on March 21, 1959, in Akron at Providence Baptist Church. He worked for Cooper Tire in Akron, then moved on to Marion, Ohio, in 1963, to work for Marion Power and Shovel. He then accepted a job with Koehring Manufacturing in Springfield in 1967, where he worked for 24 years. William raised his family in Yellow Springs from 1968 to 1993. William and Beverly lived in the San Francisco area from 1993 to 2003, where they were members of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland. Bill worked diligently to build the church computer lab and the High Rise tutorial program. In 2003, they moved to Sugar Land, Texas, where they joined Covenant Glen United Methodist Church.

William Pearson is survived by his loving and caring wife, Beverly Scott; daughter Deborah Yvonne Jackson of Sugar Land, Texas; two sons, William James of Fairborn and Stephen Douglass [Jocelyn], Lithonia, Ga,; six grandchildren, Dante, Jemiel, William, Aaron, Kennedy Anne and Stephen; two great-grand children, Taya and Dante; mother-in-law Genevieve H. Board; three sisters, Mary Scott, Marguerite Zimmerman and Harriet Dowd all of St. Paul, Minn.; special cousin Ginger Terrell of Massillon and numerous nieces and nephews.

The celebration of William S. Pearson’s life was held on Thursday, September 10, at the Covenant Glen United Methodist Church in Missouri City, Texas, with Dr. Robert E. Childress officiating; internment was held at the Houston National Cemetery.

Mona Howard

Mona Ruth (Jackson) Howard died on August 18 at age 84 with sound mind and spirit. She was born August 31, 1925, in Bellefontaine, to Mary Ann and Robert Irvin Jackson. She retired from Wright-Patterson Air Force base in 1976, after employment as a computer systems analyst. She was known for creating beautiful beaded jewelry and crocheting afghan blankets and hats for family, friends, schools and nursing homes where she lived.

For the past 30 years she lived six months each in Yellow Springs and in Casa Grande, Ariz. She fell in love with the culture, people, land and weather of Arizona. She often commented that a person could not feel depressed there because the sun was always shining. She looked forward to the cross-country trip by automobile twice each year with her husband of 54 years, Vernie Howard, who died in 1999.

Mona was also preceded in death by her parents and five brothers, Harry (Lesta) Jackson, Robert (Dolores) Jackson, Larry Jackson, John (Jackie) Jackson and Charles (Marilyn) Jackson. She is survived by one daughter, LiAnne Howard of Cincinnati; one son, Robert Smith (Maria) Howard of Loganville, Ga.; and two grandsons, Liyob Ras Donel Howard and Ariel Soto. She also leaves two sisters, Martha Christine (Earl) Stewart of Grove City and Barbara Ann (Gordon) Riley of New Carlisle and two brothers, William D. Jackson of Bellefontaine and Gordon Henry (Janet) Jackson of McKees Rock, Pa. She also leaves a great many beloved nieces, nephews, in-laws and neighbors in Yellow Springs and Casa Grande whom she loved as a family, and many friends whom she cherished throughout the country.

Memorial services will be held on Sunday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m.–noon, at Jackson Lytle and Williams Funeral Home, 322 Xenia Avenue in Yellow Springs.