May 2022

Shirley Holtzclaw

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Shirley Holtzclaw age 62 a resident of Excelsior Springs passed away peacefully on Tuesday May 17th, 2022. 

The funeral services held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 23rd, 2022, at Bross & Spidle in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. 

Shirley was born on July 27th, 1959, to Johnnie Joseph Johnson and Ruth Elizabeth Hines from Chillicothe, Missouri along with nine brothers and sisters. 

She was united in marriage to Wayne Holtzclaw on August 5th, 1978. 

Shirley Holtzclaw

Robert “Bob” Grooms

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Robert “Bob” Grooms, 66, of Excelsior Springs, MO entered the gates of heaven on May 18, 2022 from cancer at Kanas City Hospice House surrounded by his loving family. 

Robert “Bob” Grooms

Paul Curtis Teegarden, Jr.

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Paul Curtis Teegarden, Jr., aka “Chopper,” 66, passed away Saturday, May 14, 2022, on Hospice after his long battle trying to recover from a stroke.   

Robert “Bob” Kephart

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Robert “Bob” Kephart, 79, Excelsior Springs, MO, passed away May 16, 2022.  

Robert married Donna Lee Meyers on June 11, 1962, they had three children.  He worked for Farmland Industries for nearly 40 years before the warehouse was shut down. He spent the next nine years working as a custodian for the Excelsior Springs School District before retirement. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, Phares and Veda (Shanks) Kephart; and wife of 45 years, Donna.  

Robert “Bob” Kephart

Norene Vernon

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Norene Vernon, 77, of Excelsior Springs, MO, passed away May 10, 2022, at Liberty Hospital.  

Mrs. Vernon was born Nov. 23, 1944, in Kansas City, MO. Dennis and Norene were married on Nov. 9, 1962. 

She was preceded in death by her father, Norris Groves; and mother, Nina (Hanks) Groves; sister, Katheryn Urie; and brother, Norris (Jeff) Groves. 

Survivors include her husband, Dennis Vernon; sons, Brian (Jacqueline) Vernon and Eric (Jennifer) Vernon; and four grandchildren. 

George L. Green, Jr.

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George L. Green, Jr., 84, passed away peacefully, at his home in Lawson, MO on May 14, 2022.  

George was born Oct. 2, 1937, to George L. and Helen (Marley) Green in Lawson, MO. He married Judith Lee Denton on June 20, 1958. Together, they had two children, Joel Scott and Shawn Denise.  

William S. “Bill” McNeel

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William S. “Bill” McNeel, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the Cameron Missouri Veterans Home, Tuesday, May 11, 2022. 

Bill was born Aug. 31, 1943, to Eugene and Christine (Stephens) McNeel. 

Bill joined the Navy right after graduation and was on the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) during the Vietnam War. Upon leaving the Navy, Bill went to work for Missouri Power and Light, later becoming Ameren Electric Company, which became his lifelong career. Many of Bill’s friends referred to him jokingly as “high bill” due to their electric bill. 

William S. “Bill” McNeel

Lewis Allen Bozarth

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Lewis Allen Bozarth, 84, of Excelsior Springs, MO, passed away on May 13, 2022, at North Care Hospice House with his wife, Helen, and sister, Linda by his side.  

Lewis was born in Pattonsburg, MO, to Alva Bozarth and Rebecca (Lewis) Bozarth on March 3, 1938. 

Lewis attended Lathrop High School for three years and graduated from Lawson High School in 1956. He joined the United States Marine Corps a week later. “Always a Marine” and very proud of it. 

Lewis Allen Bozarth

Sheriff investigates alleged assaults

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EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is investigating four reports that an Excelsior Springs School District staff member assaulted several Cornerstone Elementary School students. The sheriff’s investigation is separate from district and Missouri Childrens Division investigations.