Taps

BY FATHER PHIL SALOIS, M.S.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Let us pray
Dear Lord God
We thank you for food and remember the hungry.
We thank you for health and remember the sick.
We thank you for friends and remember the friendless.
We thank you for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to serve one another.
May Almighty God and Grandfather Spirit remind us of the original spirit of generosity and hospitality, a lesson we learned at the First Thanksgiving when Native Americans brought food and gifts to the Pilgrims.
May the Spirit of Almighty God pour forth His grace and blessings as we observe the High Holy Days of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, and Christmas, the gift of His beloved Son, Jesus, and may God give us a deeper appreciation of gratitude for the gifts of the earth as we observe the days of Kwanzaa.
In God’s Holy Name, Amen!

Dale Edward Akins, Sr., 68, Iowa Chapter 776, died July 14. 

Lawrence Edward Atwell, 69, West Virginia Chapter 628, died January 10, 2017.

Milford Stanley Bartlett, 87, Tennessee Chapter 596, died April 30.

Michael Battisti, 67, at-large New Jersey, died September 28, 2013.

James A. Beavers, 67, West Virginia Chapter 628, died February 22.

Robert W. Beehler, 95, Montana Chapter 788, died December 17, 2017.

Peter Michael Belaire, 68, Michigan Chapter 310, died September 23.

Robert Joseph Bernier, Jr., 76, Maryland Chapter 172, died July 31.

William F. Blackburn, 84, Indiana Chapter 71, died August 10. 

Philip Lawrence Briggs, 67, at-large North Carolina, died December 18, 2017.  

David Jude Browne, Sr., 71, Georgia Chapter 772, died July 1.

Charles Quinn Brownrigg, 53, Texas Chapter 366, died December 12, 2003. 

Donald Keith Buchholz, Sr., 84, Idaho Chapter 972, died October 4, 2015.

John Calvin Burke, 67, Georgia Chapter 671, died December 19, 2016. 

William Ten Bruin Burke, 72, California Chapter 223, died July 26.

Frank C. Calandriello, Jr., 85, New Jersey Chapter 12, died September 6. 

Peter Caram, 70, New Jersey Chapter 12, died August 13.

John Leo Casey, Sr., 74, New Jersey Chapter 955, died August 8. 

Charles M. Ciofalo, 91, New Jersey Chapter 825, died April 11. 

Jack Harrison Cloud, Sr., 69, Oklahoma Chapter 1132, died September 7.

John P. Coffey, 77, North Carolina Chapter 530, died August 24.

Donald G. Colbey, 68, Pennsylvania Chapter 720, died August 16.

Neil I. Colon, 67, at-large Massachusetts, died recently.

Lester Robert Cotton, 76, New Jersey Chapter 899, died August 17.

John R. Crauswell, 80, Georgia Chapter 671, died January 1, 2016.

Aaron E. Crawford, 68, Ohio Chapter 97, died August 14. 

Vernon Delaware, 70, Pennsylvania Chapter 349, died September 28, 2017.

James W. Desmond, Jr., 75, Florida Chapter 23, died October 11.

Victor James Dinubilo, 72, California Chapter 53, died October 15, 2017. 

Wallace Dixon, 74, Michigan Chapter 528, died July 27.

Ervin P. Dobosiewicz, 74, Indiana Chapter 1027, died March 31.

Lawrence Joseph Doyle, 70, Illinois Chapter 928, died July 3. 

Ernest Harvey Dufresne, Jr., 72, Florida Chapter 1084, died August 8. 

Robert Walter Dusza, 75, Massachusetts Chapter 111, died August 26.

Michael Anthony Edwardson, 70, Nevada Chapter 989, died July 3.

Earl Joseph Elledge, 79, Missouri Chapter 913, died February 21.

Rodney Ervin, 65, New York Chapter 140, died September 26.

Daniel R. Eshelman, 66, Pennsylvania Chapter 435, died February 8, 2012.

Robert Harold Evans, 76, Tennessee Chapter 596, died May 26. 

Margaret Loretta Farley, 68, Florida Chapter 706, died March 13. 

Thomas Charles Finneran, 98, Indiana Chapter 1027, died August 25. 

William Maxey Fleming, Sr., 70, Tennessee Chapter 1089, died September 27. 

Frankie Henry Flores, 67, Texas Chapter 366, died recently.

Michael Eugene Foss, Sr., 72, Illinois Chapter 669, died August 14. 

Carroll D. French, 82, Missouri Chapter 913, died September 10.

Harold James Fruge, Sr., 69, Louisiana Chapter 1058, died October 9. 

James D. Garner, 69, Maryland Chapter 172, died August 8.

Ralph Edward Gasaway, 78, Kentucky Chapter 454, died October 3.

Gary Lynn Gilchrist, 74, Pennsylvania Chapter 862, died September 14.

Alfredo Zuniga Gonzales, 85, Texas Chapter 366, died November 1, 2014.

Steven Douglas Goodwin, 71, Virginia Chapter 81, died September 6. 

William A. Graybeal, 69, at-large Texas, died March 3. 

Hamilton Gregory, 74, at-large North Carolina, died June 9.

Gerald D. Green, Sr., 81, Oklahoma Chapter 751, died September 17.

William Edward Griffith, Jr., 72, West Virginia Chapter 628, died July 29. 

Michael Raymond Hagan, Sr., 70, Texas Chapter 292, died September 15.

Charles Elwin Hall, 74, Michigan Chapter 154, died August 19. 

Jerry Wayne Hardy, 73, Wisconsin Chapter 236, died August 9.

Charles Roger Harmon, 75, Virginia Chapter 710, died May 21, 2017. 

Larry Robert Harris, 71, Utah Chapter 961, died August 23.

Robert T. Hawkins, 76, South Carolina Chapter 925, died September 2. 

Larry V. Hawthorne, 67, Ohio Chapter 857, died September 6.  

Rufus J. Heartsill, 71, Texas Chapter 366, died recently.

Gary Jon Hoppes, 58, Arkansas Chapter 808, died July 11, 2005. 

Jesse D. Johnson, 86, at-large Oklahoma, died recently.

Kurt W. Johnson, 69, at-large New York, died recently.

Richard Murray Jones, 72, Texas Chapter 366, died August 5, 2017. 

Leon Wesley Kerr, 68, Missouri Chapter 1119, died recently.

William J. Kirker, 74, Nevada Chapter 17, died August 15. 

Edward F. Koehn, 73, Florida Chapter 1036, died August 31.

Richard A. Koziol, 76, Texas Chapter 1009, died August 19.

Zdzistaw J. Kurasz, 69, New Jersey Chapter 510, died August 10.

Gary Raymond LaFave, 71, Michigan Chapter 1083, died July 20. 

William C. Land, Sr., 75, Ohio Chapter 249, died April 23. 

Keith W. Lape, 69, New York Chapter 20, died July 26. 

William George Laughner, 75, Pennsylvania Chapter 862, died September 10.

Willie L. Lee, Jr., 76, Michigan Chapter 310, died September 16.

John William Lightner, 70, Pennsylvania Chapter 862, died July 1. 

Curtis M. Lilly, Sr., 75, West Virginia Chapter 628, died August 16. 

Carl Woodrow Lindbeck, 72, Wisconsin Chapter 224, died May 19.

Jimmy J. Luck, 70, Tennessee Chapter 942, died August 14.

George Louchlin MacKinnon, 75, West Virginia Chapter 1072, died August 3. 

James Swan Mansberger, 73, New York Chapter 82, died August 1.

Alonzo Martinez, 64, Missouri Chapter 794, died September 3. 

David Mata, Sr., 70, Texas Chapter 1069, died September 2. 

Leonard McDonough, 80, Missouri Chapter 913, died August 12. 

John Thomas McDowell, 67, Alabama Chapter 607, died August 10. 

Michael Metchnik, 69, New Jersey Chapter 955, died August 18, 2017.

Paul Milan, 92, Montana Chapter 788, died recently.

C. Earle Miller, 72, West Virginia Chapter 1061, died August 26.

Edward George Morhauser, 76, California Chapter 464, died October 16, 2016. 

Edwin V. Munis, 70, California Chapter 1065, died August 8. 

Jack Lee Myers, Sr., 72, Michigan Chapter 109, died September 22.

John Louis Myers II, 69, Alabama Chapter 864, died August 27.

Gary David Nejedlo, 67, Wisconsin Chapter 224, died October 1.

David William Nelson, Sr., 71, Michigan Chapter 109, died September 16.

James Richard Nelson, 72, Florida Chapter 1059, died August 12.  

Charles Daniel Norton, Sr., 79, Georgia Chapter 902, died August 3. 

Joseph R. Oltman, 76, Oregon Chapter 820, died August 4.   

David Michael Pagano, Sr., 74, California Chapter 464, died June 4, 2017.

Richard Zane Page, 66, North Carolina Chapter 1094, died recently.

John Parodi, 69, California Chapter 391, died recently.

Peter Edward Passavant, Sr., 70, Tennessee Chapter 596, died January 25. 

James R. Patterson, Sr., 70, Tennessee Chapter 596, died November 23, 2017.

Don Pearson, 70, Washington Chapter 319, died recently.

James Lewis Peters, 71, California Chapter 464, died April 2.

Robert E. Petersen, 69, Massachusetts Chapter 837, died April 24. 

Craig Louis Plaszenski, 66, Pennsylvania Chapter 720, died September 13.

Daryl E. Pollard, 76, Pennsylvania Chapter 967, died October 7.

Howard T. Ray, 86, Texas Chapter 366, died July 4. 

Robert Theodore Renner, 70, Florida Chapter 1036, died January 25.

Bessie Eleanor Risinger-Flores, 76, Texas Chapter 856, died June 2. 

Daniel S. Robertson, 66, Idaho Chapter 972, died October 4. 

Kenneth Anthony Romanelli, 75, at-large Vermont, died September 8. 

Dwight Edwin Rottenberg, 74, Texas Chapter 1122, died October 7. 

Carl Eugene Rowe, 74, Maryland Chapter 172, died August 21. 

Robert Lyle Ruhl, 71, Illinois Chapter 299, died June 1. 

Frank Henry Rutzke, Sr., 71, Montana Chapter 938, died January 17.

James K. Sak, 68, at-large Idaho, died November 23, 2015. 

Vincent Charles Sanguedolce, 69, at-large Florida, died September 5.

Scott Leroy Schenck, 69, South Carolina Chapter 960, died September 8.

Roger E. Schlee, 69, Michigan Chapter 528, died October 14, 2017. 

Thomas D. Schluchter, 71, Michigan Chapter 494, died December 26, 2017. 

Daniel George Schneider, 72, North Dakota Chapter 374, died August 27.

Dwight Eugene Scott, 71, West Virginia Chapter 628, died February 10.

Lawrence Arthur Seek, Sr., 75, Minnesota Chapter 684, died September 29. 

Frederick W. Seltzer, Sr., 71, Maryland Chapter 965, died recently.

Raymond E. Shine, 69, California Chapter 535, died August 4.

Howard Robert Snyder, 76, Maryland Chapter 304, died January 8.

John Vincent Spalding, 70, Missouri Chapter 458, died August 8. 

Michele L. Steele, 62, Delaware Chapter 850, died July 4. 

James Michael Stringfellow, 70, Ohio Chapter 97, died August 30.

Samuel Lee Swain, 87, Texas Chapter 366, died September 30, 2017. 

Millard L. Thompson, Jr., 76, Pennsylvania Chapter 67, died September 20. 

David Alan Toles, 70, Nevada Chapter 744, died July 7.

Thomas John Towner, 72, Wisconsin Chapter 351, died August 25.

Harry James Tweed, 65, New Jersey Chapter 955, died April 7, 2017.

Omar S. Vinas, 71, Florida Chapter 620, died July 7.

Donald Arthur Walker, 72, Idaho Chapter 890, died recently.

Ernest Anthony Watson, 72, Louisiana Chapter 852, died July 27.  

Samuel Frederick Watson, 71, Pennsylvania Chapter 967, died September 4.

Thomas Jenkins Whitten, 75, Texas Chapter 1009, died August 9. 

Donald R. Witner, 70, at-large Ohio, died September 9, 2016.

Tom Wolf, 73, North Dakota Chapter 941, died recently.

Ben L. Woods, 72, at-large North Dakota, died recently.

Michael J. Yeager, 69, Pennsylvania Chapter 948, died July 10. 

Peter Paul Zanis, Jr., 69, New Jersey Chapter 955, died May 1, 2017. 

Gordon G. Zeak, 71, Pennsylvania Chapter 967, died February 6..n

We regret the necessity of running only the most basic obituaries in The VVA Veteran.  However, full, detailed, and expansive obituaries—going back to 2009—can be read online at www.vva.org/taps.html