(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

PARKERSBURG — Doctors, artists, politicians and other residents of equal renown are among the notable deaths in the past year.

They are:

* Leroy (Lee) W. Fritch Jr., 90, Signal Mountain, Tenn., formerly of Vienna, died Dec. 3. Fritch was an accomplished artist, winning numerous awards for his work. He also was a model ship builder, making two from scratch that were deemed museum quality by the Smithsonian Institution.

* Ollie Harvey, 91, Ripley, died Dec. 1. She was mayor of Ripley, a founder of the Jackson County Improvement Council, the Jackson County Community Foundation and Main Street Ripley.

* Tom Butterfield, 84, Vienna, died Nov. 30. A comedian, he played Uncle Doofus at numerous venues including the Ohio Valley Opry in McConnelsville.

* Anita R. Zide, 88, Williamstown, died Nov. 13. She and her husband, Bob, founded Zide’s Sports Shop in Marietta where she won a championship in the Ladies Golf League at the Marietta Country Club.

* Barbara Ann Lewis, 84, Williamstown, died Nov. 9. The former homecoming queen at Williamstown High School and vice president at Williamstown Bank served on Williamstown City Council for 17 years.

* The Rev. Daniel B. Kunselman, 84, Washington, W.Va., died Oct. 24. He was a retired minister in the Church of the Nazarene.

* Patty Sue Cooper, 69, Vienna, died Oct. 23. An historian, she was an historical interpreter performing portrayals of Mad Anne Bailey, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Beacher Stowe, Amelia Earnhart, Fanny Crosby and Red Neck Nellie, among others.

* Samuel A. Winans, 72, Vienna, died Oct. 23. He was co-owner of Winans Sanitary and served on numerous boards including the Humane Society, the Parkersburg Art Center, the Chamber of Commerce, Parkersburg Homecoming, the Camden Clark Foundation and St Joseph’s Hospital Board of Trustees, Convention and Visitors and Convention Bureau, Wood County economic development groups, West Virginia University at Parkersburg and the state Department of Arts, Culture and History. He also was in the Lions Club, Rotary, Knights of Columbus and the Sons of Italy.

* Donald C. Hamrick, 86, Parkersburg, died Oct. 21. He retired as a captain on the Parkersburg Fire Department and was a licensed paramedic who helped organize the ambulance service at Camden Clark Memorial Hospital where he was its coordinator.

* U.S. Army Sgt. Kester Bernard Hardman, 23, Smithville, died April 24, 1951, while a prisoner during the Korean War. Hardman remained unidentified until May 2, 2024, after a DNA analysis confirmed the remains were his. He was repatriated to the United States and buried next to his parents on Oct. 12 in the Hardman Chapel Cemetery at Smithville with military honors by the United States Army.

* Jack Kane, 77, a former news anchor for WTAP television, died Oct. 8 in Myrtle Beach. He was inducted into the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame and worked in radio and television including NBC Radio in New York City and more than 20 years at WOWK in Charleston.

* Kenneth E. “Kenny” Shafer, 80, Caldwell, died Oct. 4. He served several terms as a Center Township Trustee.

* Msgr. Joseph L. Peterson, V.G., 75, died Sept. 12. Ordained in 1975, Peterson in 2004 was appointed pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Parkersburg and vicar forane of the Parkersburg Vicariate. From 2006 to 2007, he was temporary administrator of St. John Parish in St. Marys and Christ Our Hope Parish in Harrisville. In 2008, he was temporary administrator of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Parkersburg and St. Monica Mission in Lubeck. He served as vicar general of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston from April 2023 and served in numerous administrative positions in the diocese. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI named him a Chaplain to His Holiness, entitling him to be addressed as monsignor. The next year, he was reappointed vicar forane of the Parkersburg Vicariate serving until 2016. He was pastor of St. Michael Parish in Wheeling from 2016 to 2018 and was then appointed rector of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling in 2019. He also served as vicar forane of the Wheeling Vicariate from 2018 to 2021. He retired from active ministry in 2020.

* Roger Dean Bibbee, 69, Vienna, died Sept. 6. He was on Vienna City Council for 24 years, was a deputy chief of the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department and was the West Virginia Office of Emergency Management Services Region Five director.

* L. Jane Hardesty Walker, 75, Marietta, died Sept. 6. She was the first woman to serve on Marietta City Council.

* Robert W. “Bob” Eakins, 86, Vienna, died Sept. 4. A teacher, coach and principal for more than 30 years in Wood County Schools, he was a president of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activity Commission and the LKC Athletic conference and was the Glenville State University Pioneer for 1958-59.

* David Dudley Hall, 71, Riverbank, Calif., died Aug. 28. Raised in Parkersburg, he was an executive director of the Parkersburg Housing Authority.

* Steve Hemmelgarn, 75, Parkersburg, died Aug. 24. He was a long-time sports writer and editor at The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

* S. Bruce McCoy, 81, Washington, W.Va., died Aug. 20. A teacher in Wood County for 49 years who substituted for another 11, McCoy was an umpire and referee for more than 50 years, was involved with local 4-H, Wood County Recreation and the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society.

* Patricia Ann Ables Kelly, 83, Davisville, died Aug. 17. She and her husband, Carl, founded Carl Kelly Paving in 1978 and All-Ways Paving in 1997 and was a founding member of the New Hope Baptist Church.

* Charles R. Uhl, 93, Parkersburg, died Aug. 17. He was the builder, owner and operator of the Grandview Apartments who developed the Grandview Addition in Parkersburg.

* William “Bill” Paul Warfield, 78, Parkersburg, died Aug, 8. He was a noted musician and was the band director for schools in Ohio County, performing with the Smoot House Band, the St. Mary’s Community Band and the Doug Hess Big Band, among others. He was an adjunct professor at West Liberty College, a member of the marching band, and a capella choir at Parkersburg High School. A singer, he performed December 2022 in the 60th reunion of the Chordables, a quartet created at PHS with his friends Roger Blackburn of St. Louis, Larry McKinley of Great Falls, Va., and David Kesselring of Parkersburg.

* Robert “Bob” Eugene Epler, 81, Tappahannock, Va., died Aug. 3. Epler was a city engineer for the city of Parkersburg.

* Betty Lou Weber Boersma, 92, Marietta, died July 31. She was the 2001 Zonta Woman of the Year.

* Thomas A. Azinger, 89, Vienna, died July 13. The Marine Corps veteran served 22 years in the House of Delegates, served six years on Vienna City Council and was involved in local service groups.

* Warren Robert Haught, 89, Smithville, died June 27. Working with the Glenn L. Haught & Sons Oil and Gas Co., he was a past president of the West Virginia Oil and Gas Association, a founding member of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department and served on the Ritchie County Board of Education.

* Darrell Lee Null, 74, Elizabeth, died June 24. He was the sheriff of Wirt County from 1993 to 2000 and from 2021 to 2024.

* Louise I. Fleming, 78, Vienna, died June 21. She was the recorder of the City of Vienna.

* John Enright Baker, 84, formerly of Belpre, died June 13. A businessman, Baker was active with many civic groups and organizations and was involved with several local businesses including the Ohio Valley Press.

* Nancy Rauch Harris, 66, died June 11. She was executive director of Career Services at WVUP and chaired the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

* Daniel Gale Benson, 67, Marietta, died June 5. He retired from the Marietta Fire Department in 2008 where he was an assistant fire chief and a fire inspector. He was the administrator of the popular Memories of Marietta Facebook page and published “Alarm Log MFD,” a history in photographs of the Marietta Fire Department. Benson worked with the Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home helping others with recovery from substance abuse and addiction.

* Travis Flores, 33, died May 23. Flores, who attended Frontier High/Middle School, gained notoriety for his battle against cystic fibrosis, diagnosed at the age of 4 months, and his advocacy for research to find a cure and to help other cystic fibrosis patients. He underwent three lung transplants. The Make a Wish Foundation in 2004 published his children’s book, “The Spider Who Never Gave Up,” about Sparkey, a spider who couldn’t spin a web, but could with support from friends.

* Morgan Spurlock, 53, died May 24. The Parkersburg native was a noted documentary filmmaker who rose to fame with “Super Size Me” in 2004.

* Sally Davis, 87, Vienna, died May 23. She organized the first Relay for Life in Wood County.

* Charles Ray Murray, 91, Morristown Community, Wirt County, died May 18. He was an organizer of the Wirt County EMT service, served on the Wirt County Board of Education, was sheriff of Wirt County for two terms and was a Wirt County Commissioner for 18 years.

* Bob Ashley, 70, Spencer, died May 15. Ashley was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1984 to 2015 and was appointed to the Senate in 2015. In 2016, after an unsuccessful campaign for the Senate, he was named the legislative director for Gov. Jim Justice.

* John R. Sandy, 75, Parkersburg, died May 13. Sandy served on Parkersburg City Council, was an inspector on the Parkersburg Fire Department and was director of Special Olympics in West Virginia.

* Dora Jean Bumgarner, PhD, 86, Marietta, died May 9. A native of West Virginia, she graduated from Glenville State College and earned her master’s and doctorate in education from WVU and was the first female superintendent of schools of Marietta Schools from 1993 to 2001 when she retired, but became an interim superintendent in school systems in Lancaster, Fort Frye, East Liverpool, Frontier, Northern Local, Caldwell Local and New Lexington. She received the 1985 Outstanding School Administration Award from the Ohio Department of Education, the 1997 Outstanding Administrator from the Ohio Music Education Association, the 2019 Difference Maker Award from the Ohio Valley Educational Service Center and helped start the Marietta City Schools Academic Excellence in Education Award.

* Daniel Eugene McPherson, 74, Washington, W.Va., died May 8,. The Glenville State University Pioneer in 1970, McPherson was involved in community causes and supported sports at Parkersburg South High School where he was involved in the fundraising for Erickson Field. He was an insurance agent, started a spring teen driving safety event and helped organize Lights in the Park.

* Dr. Rammy S. Gold, 62, Vienna, died May 2. He expanded neurosurgical services at local hospitals, helped bring robotics in spinal surgery to the region and was instrumental in the formation of Pars Neurological Associates.

* Ray Glenn Ray, 70, Little Hocking, died May 2. He worked in coal mines for nine years while at Ohio University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s, then earned a doctorate in interpersonal communication from the college. He was a development and training manager for GE Plastics, was director of the Institute of Education and Training for Business at the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business at Marietta College and in 2000 opened RayCom Learning, a consulting company. For 18 years he wrote a column, “Everyday Leadership,” for The Marietta Times and later The Monroe County Beacon. He was president of United Way and was a board member of the Economic Round Table, the O’Neill Senior Center and the Washington County Board of Elections.

* Ruth Williamson Ruf, 87, Williamstown, died April 28. Active in the Williamstown Relay for Life, she was a former member of Betsey Mills Club Trustees and the Williamstown Public Library Board, among other organizations.

* Jean Robinson Singer, 82, Parkersburg, died April 24. Singer was an award-winning music teacher at Parkersburg High School and was involved in numerous revues, Sports Carnivals, Christmas and Spring concerts and in the creation of the Chamber Choir.

* James Lee Booth, 83, Murfreesboro, Tenn., died April 22. A member of the 1958 Parkersburg High School state champion basketball team, he had a doctorate in speech education and communication from Purdue University and was a professor, department chairman, vice president for academic and student affairs, acting president and provost for many years before returning to be a professor at Murray (Ky.) State University.

* Wallace Jackson “Jack” Hardman, 97, Marietta, died April 19. An engineer, he was the manager of the Muskingum River Power Plant in Beverly and served on community boards including Marietta Memorial Hospital.

* Melvin Blaine Smith, 85, Parkersburg, died April 12. He served on Parkersburg City Council.

* Stuart M. McDougle, 94, died March 30. He was a plant manager at Borg-Warner and while at DuPont helped develop the DuPont Employee Recreation Center property. A former director of the Ottawa, Ill., Chamber of Commerce, he was a member of Inroads/West Virginia and the WVU at Parkersburg Foundation.

* Frank “Lee” Ogdin, 81, St. Marys, died March 26. A first responder for 63 years, he was a chief of the St. Marys Volunteer Fire Department and a founding member of the Pleasants County Emergency Squad.

* Ronnie Camron Singleton, 84, Washington, W.Va., died March 26. A member of the Washington Bottom Volunteer Fire Department where he started the ramp dinner fundraiser, he was a scuba diver who performed salvage dives after the Silver Bridge Disaster in 1967 at Point Pleasant.

* Marvin A. Petty, 89, Parkersburg, died March 21. He is the father of Judith Petty, whose murder in February 2008 has remained unsolved.

* Jerry Robert Richards, 80, Vincent, died March 21. An Army veteran, he was inducted into the Washington County Veterans Hall of Fame in November 2023.

* George A. Polen, 98, Morgantown, formerly of Parkersburg, died March 16. A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, he and his wife owned and operated Arlington Personal Care Home in Parkersburg from 1977 until 1997. As a member of the West Virginia Healthcare Association, he helped establish rules and regulations for personal care homes and assisted living facilities.

* Lawton Turner Sharp Jr., 79, Parkersburg, died March 19. An environmentalist, he was a board member of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition for 30 years, a supporter of the Highlands Conservancy and the West Virginia Wildwater Association, was active in the Old Growth Tree Network and helped have several old-growth areas in West Virginia dedicated to old-growth and was active in the state Big Tree Program.

* John E. Hoff, 80, St. Marys, died March 15. He coached the Frontier High School baseball team to the state tournament in 1980 and was a principal and superintendent in Frontier Schools and in the Shenandoah, Lawrence, Waterford, Barlow Vincent and Warren school districts.

* George Zivkovich, 74, Beavercreek, Ohio, formerly of Parkersburg, died March 1. An attorney, he was an executive secretary of the Workmen’s Compensation Fund and was on the boards of the Parkersburg YMCA, Parkersburg Country Club and the Parkersburg Police Civil Service Commission and was a Parkersburg assistant city attorney.

* Larry L. Matthews, 72, Beverly, died Feb. 29. He was on the Fort Frye Local Schools Board of Education from 1988-1991.

* Leo A. Tullius, 88, St. Marys, died Feb. 29. He retired as president of Pleasants County Bank in 2000.

* Roy Richard Trembly, 77, Parkersburg, died Feb. 27. He was active in numerous veterans organizations, for which he is the namesake of the Roy Trembly Food Drive in Marietta sponsored by the Marine Corps Veterans Association.

* Nancy L. Brandt, 78, Vincent, died Feb. 25. She was the first female foreman in the history of the former Demuth Brockway Glass.

* Gene R. Kunkle, 82, Vienna, died Feb. 25. He was a chemical engineer and a plant manager at Cytec.

* Monsignor P. Edward Sadie, 93, Charleston, died Feb. 11. A Parkesburg native ordained into the priesthood in 1957, Sadie was the rector of the Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Charleston from 1980 until his retirement in 2016. He served at the former St. Joseph’s Seminary in Parkersburg since its creation in 1963 and was a Latin teacher before reassignment to the basilica in Charleston.

* John Joseph Walsh, 84, Marietta, died Feb. 10. A chemist, he helped lead workforce development programs at Washington State Community College and served on the board of the Marietta Bicentennial Commission and the Sternwheel Festival committee. An avid supporter of the arts in the community, he wrote the score of “Bold Bank, Soft Stream” by Helen Faye Rosenblum about the founding of Marietta.

* James G. Midkiff, 81, Vienna, died Feb. 1. He was the police chief in Parkersburg from January 1982 to August 1984.

* Boyd Jackson Jr., 92, Parkersburg, died Jan. 24. An accomplished autoharp player, he often played the zither at local churches and Blennerhassett Island and composed the “Blennerhassett Waltz.”

* Frank Leonard Carpenter, 88, Toll Gate, W.Va., died Jan. 18. A car enthusiast, he once ran for mayor of Parkersburg.

* Jean Mullenix Ford, 90, Williamstown, died Jan. 12. She was the first woman mayor of Williamstown, having been appointed acting mayor in 1996 and elected to a full term in 1997. Ford was elected mayor for 11 consecutive terms and served on Williamstown City Council from 1990 until she became mayor. She and her late husband, Mel, operated Ford’s Jewelers and in 1990 opened Mel’s Diamond House. She was a player in bringing the state Welcome Center to Williamstown, construction of the new elementary school, the roundabout on W.Va. 14 near the interstate, the community swimming pool and numerous beautification and economic development projects in Williamstown.

* Dr. Melvyn Mayer Okeon, 86, Vienna, died Jan. 10. He founded Roentgen Diagnostics and was head of radiology at the former St. Joseph’s Hospital until the early 1980s.

* Barbara Vincent, 88, Sistersville, died Jan. 9. She was president of the Tyler County Development Authority for 15 years.

* Dr. Merle Eugene Riley, 83, Albuquerque, N.M., formerly of Waterford, died Jan. 7. He was a physicist at the Sandia National Labs in New Mexico and worked on many projects including the Star Wars program. He published more than 100 scientific and technical articles.

* Darell Ray Spears, 67, New Matamoras, died Jan. 7. He served on the Village of Matamoras Council.

* John E. Herlan, 84, Newport, died Jan. 4. He was a Newport Township Trustee for 20 years.

* Todd Baucher, 67, Lancaster died Dec. 29, 2023. He was a local radio and TV reporter with WTAP for more than 40 years.