James E. Batdorf 1908-2003 Obituary
James Ellis Batdorf, 94, a former resident of 1649 Taylor Ave., Elkins, and for the past four years a resident of Colonial Place and Nella’s Inc., departed this life Monday morning, Jan. 27, 2003, at Davis Memorial Hospital. He had been in declining health.
He was born Wednesday, Oct. 15, 1908, at Keyser, a son of the late John Ellis Batdorf and Beulah Adams Batdorf.
During 1935, in Wheeling, he was married to the former Dorothy May “Dot” Jones, who preceded him in death on Jan. 5, 1997.
Surviving are one daughter, Molly Adams White and husband, G.E. “Sonny” White, Webster Springs; one son, John Ellis “Jack” Batdorf and wife, Bonnie, Elkins; one grandson, Jeffrey Sechrengost; one granddaughter, Beth Batdorf Corley and husband, Keith; two great-grandchildren, Benjamin Ellis Sechrengost and Alexa Renee Corley, all of Elkins; and one niece, Joy Morris, Keyser.
He was preceded in death by one sister, Frances Smith; and an infant brother.
Mr. Batdorf was a graduate of Keyser High School and received his business training at Potomac State College and Penn State University. He had worked as the area manager of Columbia Gas of West Virginia, retiring on Nov. 1, 1972, with 39 years of service. He was very active in civic work in Elkins. He was a member and past president of the Elkins Rotary Club and the Elkins Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Elkins Lodge No. 1135, BPOE and had served as commissioner of the Elkins Housing Authority. He also held office in the Randolph County United Way, the Central West Virginia Council of Boy Scouts of America where he received the Silver Beaver Award, and the Mountaineer Chapter Izaak Walton League. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church, where he had served as Sunday School secretary and assistant chairman of the administrative board for several years. He was an avid sportsman, enjoying hunting and fishing during his retirement.
Friends will be received at Lohr & Barb Funeral Home from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday. Final rites will be conducted at the funeral home chapel Thursday at 11 a.m. Dr. Ellis E. Conley will officiate and interment will follow at Maplewood Cemetery. The Lohr & Barb Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for James Ellis Batdorf. www.lohrbarbfuneralhome.com
James E. Batdorf 1908-2003 Obituary
