Wilma Wolverton's brother James Newberry died 11/14/2008

James Floyd Newberry -   11-14-08

My brother, James, died November 14.   He was an avid checker player and was close to Master status.  He played in many tournaments in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s until his health started failing.  He and Gayle Helterbrand played thousands of games with each other.  They played “minute” games”.  

I think that is one reason Gayle always moves so fast.

All of my siblings except one played checkers with my dad and with each other while growing up.   James and I and Carl were the ones who continued in the tournaments.    Of our younger days learning checkers at home, my brother James said, “We just thought we were playing checkers!”   Wilma Wolverton

Hi Everyone
I just got back a short time from a trip to West Plains where I attended the funeral of uncle James.  I have scanned the program which was distributed at the funeral home.
Thankfully the weather was absolutely perfect.  It was sunny and the temperature was very pleasant.  The service was very nicely organized and conducted. The singing by the Curry Street folks was superb and bro. Bill Noblin did an excellent job.

Uncle James was buried at the Bakersfield Cemetery.  This cemetery is located just off highway 142 just north of Bakersfield.  I went down to Bakersfield to attend the grave side service.

Many of the Newberry family were there.  I won't try to name everyone for fear I would overlook someone.  It was good to see everyone excepting the circumstance.  However, Uncle James is now in a far better place.  He suffered a lot with his illnesses.

Uncles James was an exceptional man in many ways.  He had a great aptitude for mechanical and electronic devices.  Grandpa (John A) discovered this aptitude early on.  Grandmother had an old gasoline powered washing machine and James was allowed to stay at the house on wash day and keep the machine running.  I guess he was about the only one in the family who
could.  James had a great sense of humor and enjoyed humor.  His garage on St Louis street was wall papered with funny signs.  Uncle James was a superb checker player and also really enjoyed chess.  More importantly, Uncle James was an exceptional student of the Bible.

I was pleased to make the acquaintance of Kermit Bell at the funeral.  Kermit is a first cousin of my grandmother, Emma Jane Andrews Newberry (wife of John Alfred) Kermit is 95 years old.  He and his wife Georgia are very nice folks and very nice to talk to.  They live down in Salem Arkansas.

I am sure all of our best wishes and prayers go out to aunt Violet and cousin Alice

Al       James Floyd Newberry Funeral Program      

Obituary – Elmer L. Cottle, 101˝, passed away Sunday, Mar. 23, 2008, at Parkdale Manor Care Center in Maryville,

MO. He was born Sep. 27, 1906, to Nathaniel Francis and Clara Belle Cottle of South Haven, KS. He was

the next to the youngest of 12 children. He graduated from South Haven High School in 1923. He farmed

in rural Skidmore, MO most of his life. He married Ermil Etoila Stevenson on June 1, 1938 at the family

home in rural Skidmore. The bought the farm in Dec. 1939 from Ermil’s family and resided there most of

their lives. The farm is listed as a century family farm. To the union six children were born: George

Franklin, Merle Lee, Steven Elmer, Hubert Erman, Phillip Arnold, and Phyllis Ann. Elmer loved fishing and

hunting and sports. Most of all he loved to play checkers and played by mail all over the U.S., Canada, and

Europe. He also played in many checker tournaments in the U.S. and won the MO State Fair Tournament

in 1979. Elmer won his last first place trophy at Bedford IA Fair Tournament in July 2003 at the age of 96.

He was a member of the MO Checker Association and was one of the nationally ranked players for many

years. (copied from the Missouri Checker Association Newsletter)   I remember Elmer as a mail player

 in the MCA mail tournaments.

Obituary – My trophies at last I lay down

Leon Francis Kwiatkowski, 88˝, was born in Buffalo, New York on December 20, 1919 and passed

away in Sun City, California on July 24, 2008. Leon persevered through a harsh childhood after

losing his mom at the age of 3. He grew to be a very articulate and intelligent man. He loved to read

and study history. He also liked words and had a beautiful voice. Leon is survived by his loving

wife Victoria; his cousins Dennis and Carol Maciuba; his brother and sister-in-law Stanley and

Violeti Kolby; and many friends. Leon was a devout Catholic and a fourth degree member of the

Knights of Columbus. He had a passion for playing and promoting the game of checkers. He was

a member of the International Checker Hall of Fame and was a book dealer in the subject of

checkers. (Copied from the MCA Newsletter which copied from the Press-Enterprise) 

Mr. Leon Kwiatkowski sponsored the MCA mail tournaments on the 12 mail games.

Grandmasters, Masters, & Players Obituaries