James Donald Decker, 94

 

A funeral service for James Donald Decker, 94, of Gainesville, was held Dec. 27, 2021, at Greenlawn Funeral Home with Pastor Jeff Dotson officiating. Burial was at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. 

He died Dec. 20, 2021, in Missouri Veterans Home at Mt. Vernon.

He was born Sept. 3, 1927, in Manila, Arkansas, to Dalton and Bertha Decker. He married Betty on Oct. 15, 1948. The couple welcomed fire children into their home.

He was a longtime resident of Ozark County.

His children remember him as a kind and gentle father who encouraged them to pursue their goals. Don was an active member and a deacon of Lilly Ridge Baptist Church. He retired from Hiland Dairy and enjoyed working with wood, building guitars and spending time with family and friends.

Mr. Decker is survived by his children, Rod Decker of Ozark, and Deborah Hedin and her husband Charles of Billings; sisters, Doris Mills of Manila, Arkansas, Mickie Weaver of Harrison, Arkansas; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. 

He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Lavonne Decker and sons, James Michael, Rickey Gene and Randall Allen Decker.

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423