John David Gatrell, 71, a resident of Parsons, departed this life Tuesday evening, Aug. 20, 2002, at his home. He had been in declining health and death was attributed to cancer.
He was born May 23, 1931, at Bretz, a son of the late Elmer “Bus” Gatrell and Ann Ours Gatrell.
On June 19, 1957, at Bolt, he was married to the former Donnia L. Bishop, who survives.
Also surviving are two sons, John B “Butch” Gatrell, Redding, Conn., R. Len Gatrell and wife, Sue, Frederick, Md.
He was the last surviving member of his immediate family.
He was a graduate of Parsons High School with the class of 1949. He worked for the Fingerprint Division for the FBI of Washington, D.C. He served with the U.S. Navy during the Korean Conflict. He graduated from West Virginia Tech with a degree in printing management. He was production control manager for the Merkle Press at Washington, D.C. and the Henniage Print Company at Rockville, Md. He was a former salesman for WesVaco. He was a former agent for the U.S. Information Agency. He retired in 1995 from the Bowater Paper Co. at South Carolina as a tech representative. He was a member of the Pythagoras Lodge 128 AF & AM of Parsons. He was an experienced authority on the U.S. Constitution and the Civil War. He was an artist, an avid reader and gardener.
The family will receive friends at Barb & Greenlief Funeral Home from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. Final rites will be conducted at the funeral home parlor on Saturday at 1 p.m. Pastor Allen Dale Crosten will officiate and interment will follow at the Parsons City Cemetery in Parsons.
