Donald Ledbetter

Donald Amos Ledbetter, 80, of Gordonville, Mo., died Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

He was born on Aug. 14, 1931, in Ullin, the son of Amos Alfred and Elsie Margaret Curt Ledbetter.

He and Edna Elwilda Bell were married in 1952. She died in December 1972. He then married Dena Joy Manewal on Feb. 9, 1973.

He graduated from Ullin High School in 1949 and from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in vocational agriculture and soil conservation.

He served in the U.S. Navy for seven years during the Korean conflict, earning the rank of chief petty officer. He served in the Korean and China Theater. He later served in the U.S. Army National Guard and the Army Reserve for a total of 26 years.

While in the service, he served as a nuclear and biological chemical warfare instructor. He also served as a recruiter.

He farmed in the Linn County, Mo., area and worked as a balanced farming agent for the University of Missouri Extension Service and an agent with Missouri Farm Bureau. He also farmed in the Ullin area and worked for the Soil Conservation Service, retiring in 1994.

He was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jackson, Mo. He was a 4th Degree in the Knights of Columbus and a member of Altenthal-Joerns American Legion Post No. 158 in Jackson, Mo.

Survivors include his wife, Dena of Gordonville; a son, Mike (Jane) Ledbetter of New Bloomfield, Mo.; five daughters, Lorie (Steve) Brendecke of Riverside, Calif., Rhonda Sisson of San Diego, Calif., Amy Thompson of Cape Girardeau, Donna (Don) Aufdenberg of Tilsit, Mary Chalmers of Cape Girardeau; a brother, Harold Richard (Yutaka) Ledbetter of Riverside; 13 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial Mass was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Immaculate Conception Church, with the Rev. John Harth officiating. The rosary was recited at 9:30 a.m.

Burial was in New Hope Cemetery in Ullin, with military honors conducted in his honor.

Arrangements were handled by Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home in Jackson, Mo.