On 31 Mar, 2003, a house fire in Ft. Worth TX killed 3 members of the Taney Co./Fall Creek area Coffelt family. The memorial service was held 7 Apr 2003. Gerald Lee Coffelt b 17 May 1933 Branson to Homer Lee Coffelt and Iva Treat. Homer was the s/o Andrew Coffelt and America Edwards. I have no information on Iva's parentage. They lived near the Lewallen Cemetery in Fall Creek Valley. Cora Monette Stuart b 30 Oct 1938 Houston, TX. Monette's biological father was a Battle. When her mother married Loren Stuart, he adopted Monette and her 2 sisters, so she grew up a Stuart. They came to the Bee Creek area north of Branson during the 1940s. My dad learned to ride a bike on their long, long driveway (really a road) on the ridge now called Oak Bluff. At the funeral, Loren read a poem he had written for Monette some years ago, and it was beautiful. Their daughter, Cora Layne Coffelt DeMilio b 16 Jun 1958 Branson, also died in the fire. Layne's daughter, and son escaped uninjured from the fire. Layne's son-in-law was seriously injured trying to rescue the others. I don't know that there are any Coffelt descendants on the lists, but they are seriously intermarried with many Taney county families; Edwards, Compton, Fausett/Faucett...well, you get the drift. If you're researching the western side of Taney county (I know many of you are), these folks were part of the backbone of Taney county genealogy. Gerald and Monette's granddaughter, Ashlynn, was a good friend of my daughter Victoria's before her family moved to South Carolina last summer. They were good people, and will be missed. Gerald had been seriously ill for the past year or so, which I suspect was why they were in their daughter's home--she was a hospice triage nurse. Vonda

Hey Vonda, Thanks for the Coffelt news, sad tho' it is. What a tragedy. What is it with fire this year? Seems there are just more than you usually hear about..... Gerald was a fine man. A farrier by trade with an excellent reputation. As I recall, he worked the race tracks in Florida for several years coming home every now and then for a good visit... and Homer would put him to work shoeing horses with "problem feet". Homer had the stables at the Shepherd of the Hills Farm for many, many years, not only operating the Trail Rides but supplying the wagons, buggies and stock for the Play. I know they still have family in the area and this must be a real blow to them. Prayers and good thoughts to them in this difficult time. Adrienne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vonda Sheets" <vonda@peoplepc.com> To: <MOTANEY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 8:53 AM Subject: [MOTANEY] Coffelt memorial > On 31 Mar, 2003, a house fire in Ft. Worth TX killed 3 members of the Taney > Co./Fall Creek area Coffelt family. The memorial service was held 7 Apr > 2003. > > Gerald Lee Coffelt b 17 May 1933 Branson to Homer Lee Coffelt and Iva Treat. > Homer was the s/o Andrew Coffelt and America Edwards. I have no information > on Iva's parentage. They lived near the Lewallen Cemetery in Fall Creek > Valley. > > Cora Monette Stuart b 30 Oct 1938 Houston, TX. Monette's biological father > was a Battle. When her mother married Loren Stuart, he adopted Monette and > her 2 sisters, so she grew up a Stuart. They came to the Bee Creek area > north of Branson during the 1940s. My dad learned to ride a bike on their > long, long driveway (really a road) on the ridge now called Oak Bluff. At > the funeral, Loren read a poem he had written for Monette some years ago, > and it was beautiful. > > Their daughter, Cora Layne Coffelt DeMilio b 16 Jun 1958 Branson, also died > in the fire. Layne's daughter, and son escaped uninjured from the fire. > Layne's son-in-law was seriously injured trying to rescue the others. > > I don't know that there are any Coffelt descendants on the lists, but they > are seriously intermarried with many Taney county families; Edwards, > Compton, Fausett/Faucett...well, you get the drift. If you're researching > the western side of Taney county (I know many of you are), these folks were > part of the backbone of Taney county genealogy. > > Gerald and Monette's granddaughter, Ashlynn, was a good friend of my > daughter Victoria's before her family moved to South Carolina last summer. > They were good people, and will be missed. Gerald had been seriously ill > for the past year or so, which I suspect was why they were in their > daughter's home--she was a hospice triage nurse. > > Vonda > > > > ==== MOTANEY Mailing List ==== > "My future is in my past and my past is my present. I must now make the present my future."--Vladimir Horowitz, "NY Times," 17 Mar 1965 > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237