JOAN MAE GRAPES
KEARNEYSVILLE, W.Va. - Joan Mae Grapes, 63, of Kearneysville, formerly of Cresaptown, Md., died Friday, July 31, 1998, in the V.A. Medical Center.
Born Sept. 10, 1934, in Cumberland, Md., she was the daughter of the late James Frederick McIntosh and Evelyn Clem McIntosh.
She was a veteran, having served in the U.S. Air Force.
She is survived by one son, Steven Campbell, Frederick, Md.; two daughters, Joan Gail Stallings, Cumberland, and Julie Ann Whisner, Cumberland; six grandchildren; three brothers, Gerald W. McIntosh, Fort Ashby, Frederick Lee McIntosh, Naples, Fla., Michael Shipley, Zihlman, Md.; and one sister, Lois Ann Smith, Lanagan, Mo.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Floyd Thomas Grapes.
Graveside services will be held on Friday, Aug. 7, 1998, at 11 a.m. at Sunset Memorial Park in Cumberland.
The family will receive friends at the Brown Funeral Home on Thursday evening from 7 to 9 p.m.
JOAN M. GRAPES
KEARNEYSVILLE, W.Va. - Joan M. Grapes, 63, of Kearneysville, formerly of Cresaptown, Md., died Friday, July 31, 1998, at the VA Medical Center, Martinsburg, W.Va.
Born Sept. 10, 1934, in Cumberland, Md., she was the daughter of the late James Frederick McIntosh and Evelyn (Clem) McIntosh. She also was preceded in death by her husband, Floyd Thomas Grapes.
Mrs. Grapes was a veteran having served in the U.S. Air Force.
Surviving are one son, Steven Campbell, Frederick, Md.; two daughters, Joan Gail Stallings and Julie Ann Whisner, both of Cumberland; six grandchildren; three brothers, Gerald W. McIntosh, Fort Ashby, W.Va., Frederick Lee McIntosh, Naples, Fla., and Michael Shipley, Zihlman, Md.; and one sister, Lois Ann Smith, Lanagan, Mo.
The family will receive friends at the Brown Funeral Home, 327 W. King St., Martinsburg, W.Va., Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.
Graveside services will be held at Sunset Memorial Park, Cumberland, Friday, Aug. 7, 1998, at 11 a.m.
WILLIAM G. KENNEY SR.
FURNACE ACRES, W.Va. - William Garner Kenney Sr., 62, of Furnace Acres, died Monday, July 6, 1998, at his residence.
Born Nov. 11, 1935, in Patterson Creek, he was the son of the late Charles and Carrie (Senn) Kenney.
Mr. Kenney had been employed by the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company for 12 years, where he had been a tire builder. He also belonged to the United Mine Workers.
Mr. Kenney was then self-employed, doing furnace installation and repair work until his illness.
He attended the United Church of Christ and was a member of Lodge #271, Loyal Order of Moose, Cumberland.
While belonging to the Rocking Chair League, his accomplishments as a pitcher were numerous. He played in many tournaments and in three World Championships.
In addition, Mr. Kenney was an avid hunter.
Survivors include his wife, Gladys Mae (Willison) Kenney; two sons, William G. Kenney Jr., Cumberland, and Donald Wayne Humbertson, Fairview; two daughters, YoLanda M. Massey, Deep Creek Lake, Md., and Debra Nicholson, Ridgeley; one brother, Joseph Kenney, Stephens City, Va.; two sisters, Norma Mae Hines, Elizabeth City, N.C., and Mary Lease, Stephens City; and six grandchildren.
Friends will be received at the Upchurch Funeral Home Inc., Route 28, Fort Ashby, on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. and on Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
The funeral service will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. in the funeral home with the Rev. Owen Preston and the Rev. John Herbst officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 111 S. George St., Cumberland, MD 21502.
WENDELL "DEL" HESTER
WINCHESTER, Va. - Wendell "Del" Hester, age 78, of 115 Armstrong Circle, Winchester, died Monday, Oct. 12, 1998, in the Winchester Medical Center.
Mr. Hester was born on May 24, 1920, in Marion, Ill., the son of the late Everett and Verna Jones Hester. He was President and C.E.O. of Pierce Foods and Hester Industries. He was a member of the Duffy Memorial United Methodist Church, Moorefield, W.Va., and was past president of the Moorefield Lions Club, former Mayor of Moorefield, W.Va., and was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1993 by the State of West Virginia. He was a veteran of World War II, having served in the United States Army.
His wife, Dorothy Pickard Hester, preceded him in death in 1993.
Surviving are three daughters, Wendy A. Hester, of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Holly J. Welsh, Naples, Fla., and Rebecca D. Dixon, Islamorada, Fla.; one son, Jeffrey D. Hester, Winchester; five grandchildren; one sister, Yvonne Baske, DesPlaines, Ill.; and one brother, Kenneth Hester, River Forest, Ill.
A memorial service will be conducted at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Duffy Memorial United Methodist, Moorefield, W.Va., with the Rev. Pat McBride officiating. A memorial service will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Friday at the Braddock Street United Methodist Church, Winchester, Va., with the Rev. Charles Harless and the Rev. John Peters officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to the William and Henry Evans Home for Children, 330 East Leicester St., Winchester, VA 22601; or to the Moorefield Library Fund, Main Street, Moorefield, WV 26836.
Arrangements are being handled by the Omps Funeral Home, Winchester.
THOMAS J. KADY
KEYSER, W.Va. - Thomas J. Kady, 63, of 475 Armstrong St., Ext., Keyser, died Wednesday, Aug. 5, 1998, at the Potomac Valley Hospital, Keyser.
Born on Feb. 20, 1935, at Piedmont, he was the son of the late Francis Edward and Nellie Caroline (Athey) Kady. He also was preceded in death by a brother, Donald E. Kady.
Mr. Kady was employed as a custodian with the Mineral County Board of Education with 18 years of service. He was a 1953 graduate of Keyser High School and served in the U.S. Air Force.
Surviving are his wife, Darlene "Bitsy" (Brown) Kady; children, Bridgette S. Kady, at home, Michael Kady, Canada, Sean Kady and Frances Kady, both of England; two sisters, Mary Frances Hallett, Annapolis, Md., Ann Morin, Cumberland, Md.; one sister-in-law, Marjorie Kady, New Carrollton, Md.; two grandchildren; and close companion, Mick.
Friends will be received at the Rotruck-Smith Funeral Home, Keyser, on Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
Funeral services will be conducted in the funeral home chapel on Saturday at 11 a.m. with Father Ivan M. Lebar, T.O.R., officiating.
WENDELL HESTER
WINCHESTER, Va. - Wendell Hester, 78, passed away peacefully at the Winchester Medical Center on Oct. 12, 1998, following a long battle with Relapsing Polychondritis. A loving and generous husband and father, his numerous activities as a business visionary enhanced the lives of many citizens within his local areas of Winchester, Virginia, and Moorefield, West Virginia, as well as throughout the nation and the world.
Wendell Hester was a staunch believer in the American way of life and the American Dream. He achieved his own dream through his extraordinary talent as a promoter, developer, marketer, innovator, and pathfinder into the field of further-processed poultry products. His products were, and are still, the superior benchmark against which all competing companies are based and compared, nationally and worldwide. His products are used in restaurants from Tokyo and Singapore to the United Nations building in New York City - as well as in most every truck stop and Mom and Pop restaurant throughout America's heartland. He always felt that his employees were his greatest asset. He was a lover of people and ideas, and believed that there was only one person he should ask to be responsible for his success - the person he saw every morning shaving in the mirror.
He grew up in Chicago, Illinois. His two greatest loves as a child were getting on a bus and spending the entire day walking the halls of the Chicago Museum of Modern Art, and attending every vaudeville show of his era. He loved to laugh and to hear the sound of other people's laughter. He instilled in his children the love of fine art and the love of humor.
Wendell Hester was a veteran of World War II, Troop 476MPEG. He went over the Atlantic on the Sea Fiddler, landed in Gurrock, Scotland, crossed the English Channel on the Leopold (taking 4 days to zigzag the mines). His military company transported German prisoners to England. At one point while the company was assembled at Lucky Strike (a beach on south France) waiting for reassignment to the Orient, the word came that the A-bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima. They were, instead, shipped to Rheims, France. One month later, he landed an announcer's job at a military radio station in Paris (where he got to meet many celebrities of his day).
His life was filled with circumstance ... but the truth be told, the harder he worked, the luckier he got. By placing a small ad in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, newspaper, he met a man who had an idea and a product. Del Hester added his own talent, perseverance, conviction, and total commitment to promoting this idea of frozen pre-cooked fried chicken.
He received Shenandoah University's Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1992, and the West Virginia Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1993. That was a bittersweet year, because that fall he also lost the love of his life, mother of his children and wife of 45 years. Together, they had struggled from a background in bitter poverty, to achieving a testimonial to free enterprise based on hard work, superior products, management, and marketing. In 1996, he received the Distinguished West Virginian Award, was inducted as a lifetime member of the West Virginia Poultry Association, and was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Law Degree by Shenandoah University.
Wendell Hester was born on May 24, 1920, in Marion, Illinois. His twin brother Kenneth, and sister Yvonne Baske, both presently live in the Chicago, Illinois area. His mother was Verna Jones Hester, whom he cherished dearly. He is preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Ann Pickard Hester, his brother Eugene Wiley, and his brother Robert DeVere Hester. His surviving offspring include Wendy Hester of St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.; Holly, Philip and Karen Welsh of Naples, Florida; Rebecca Dixon of Islamorada, Florida; and Jeffrey, Brian, Jason and Allen Hester of Winchester, Virginia
