Stories from Monday, January 4, 2016

Christopher Allen Sperandio, 37, of Verona, was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29, as a result of a drowning accident. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Verona. Burial will follow at the Calvary Cemetery in Verona...

John Thomas "Tom" Laney, 67, of Cassville, died at 8:25 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 3. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, at Fohn Funeral Home in Cassville. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, at Fohn Funeral Home, Cassville...

Delores "Dee" Jean Johnson, 84, of Aurora, died Sunday, Jan. 3, at her home. The body has been cremated and will be laid to rest at Mt. Hope Cemetery in St. Louis. Arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home in Monett.

Trevor Lee Koenig, 16, of Pierce City, was called home to his Heavenly Father Saturday evening, Jan. 2, while at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Trevor was born Dec. 24, 1999, in Joplin. He attended Pierce City High School, where he was active and excelled in FFA, and would have graduated with the Class of 2018. ...

Fred Cone Herriman, 97, died Sunday, Jan. 3, at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mt. Vernon following a lengthy illness. Service arrangements are pending at this time. Arrangements have been entrusted to Buchanan Funeral Home, Monett.

Pastor Jonathan Jay Brobston, 59, of Lampe, died Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, at Grace Community Fellowship Church, Shell Knob, under direction of Fohn Funeral Home, Shell Knob. Burial will be at McCullough Cemetery in Viola...

Charles David Henson, 77, of Aurora, died at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 1, at his home. Graveside services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, at Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora. Visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, at the funeral home...

Dennis D. Barnes, 72, of Monett, died Wednesday, Dec. 30, at his home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4, at Hodge Presbyterian Church in Trenton. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5 at the Randolph Cemetery in Randolph, Iowa...

EIGHTY YEAR AGO Jan. 3-9, 1936 The telephone rang. "Times office," we said. "Hello, this is A.W. Terry. I wish you'd put in the paper that I'm not dead." Thus came to an end a story that obviously was just another one of those rumors that start in some unknown place and run across town like wildfire. It is not the first time such a thing has occurred. When P.N. Cook was in the hospital at Springfield, he heard of his own death so many times he got so he almost believed it himself...