Remembering some of the notable deaths throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley in 2023

PARKERSBURG — Educators, business owners, attorneys and former public officials were among the well-known residents of the Mid-Ohio Valley who passed away in 2023.

They included:

∫ Dr. Donald Michael (Mick) Manzo died Dec. 24. He was an optometrist in the area for more than 40 years. He served as the optometrist for the football team at his alma mater, Parkersburg High School, for 30 years, traveling with the Big Reds and administering eye care to his favorite team.

∫ Donald D. Singer, 83, of Vienna died Dec. 19. He owned and operated Singer Sheet Metal.

∫ Janet W. Wells, 87, Friendly, died on Dec. 15. She was president and CEO of Sistersville Tank Works and Wells Cattle Farms.

∫ Louis “Sam” Edward Gwinn, 89, of Marietta died on Dec. 6. Gwinn served seven terms on Marietta City Council and was involved with the Reno Volunteer Fire Department, Marietta Jaycees, Marietta Civitan Club, Marietta Recreation Commission, Marietta Riverfront Roar, Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame Board, American Legion Post 64, VFW Post 5108, USS Salem Association and USS New Jersey Association. Gwinn spent 37 years coaching youth football, 20 years coaching youth basketball and seven years coaching Little League baseball. He was inducted into the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame, Mid-Ohio Valley Softball Hall of Fame and Washington County Veterans Hall of Fame.

∫ Seth Patrick Bryan, a 2021 graduate of Parkersburg High School, died Dec. 4 in Kherson, Ukraine, while serving with the Ukrainian Marines in their war with Russia.

∫ Charles Willard Kiser, 88, Little Hocking, died on Dec. 4. He was a project manager for construction and startup of several units at Shell, now Kraton, retiring in 1985 when he established the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Vincent where he was a senior and associate pastor.

∫ Jack Steers, 93, Fort Myers, Fla., formerly of Parkersburg, died on Dec. 1. He was the former owner of Steers Heating and Air Conditioning and was among the developers of North Hills and Greenmont.

∫ Jennifer S. Conaway, 80, Parkersburg, died on Nov. 30. She was the first executive director of the West Virginia Health Care Association.

∫ Fredrick William Skinner, 85, of Lowell died on Nov. 26. He was a police chief and a mayor of Lowell, a squad chief of the L-A Fire & Rescue Squad and served on Lowell Council.

∫ Sandra Darlene Vanoster, 86, of Marietta, died on Nov. 16. She was the owner of Sandy’s Plant and Gift Shop and served on Belpre City Council.

∫ Robert Woodrow (Woody) Wilson, 79, Parkersburg, died on Nov. 9. Wilson was decorated for service in Vietnam, taught for 28 years in West Virginia and seven years in Florida, was a National Board Certified teacher of social studies and history in 2000, DAR American History Teacher of the Year in 2002 and the first West Virginia recipient of the Guilder Lehrman American History Teacher of the Year award in 2006. He was active in the Parkersburg Choral Society for more than 25 years.

∫ William M. Bailey, 91, Parkersburg, died on Oct. 16. The owner of the Bill Bailey Insurance Agency, he spearheaded efforts for specialized insurance for volunteer fire and emergency services departments in West Virginia.

∫ R. Bruce White, 88, Parkersburg, died on Sept. 10. A lawyer, White was a Parkersburg municipal judge and assistant city attorney, a Wood County prosecuting attorney, chairman of the Wood County March of Dimes, president of the West Virginia County Officials Association, founder and board member of the Sheltered Workshop (now SW Resources), a member and chairman of the board of the Parkersburg Community Foundation, a member and chairman of the board of Camden Clark Memorial Hospital, a member of the board of directors of WesBanco Bank, member of the board of trustees of West Virginia United Hospital System and the board of governors of the Parkersburg Country Club, president of the Wood County Bar Association and member, founder and president of the Jazz Arts Group of the Ohio Valley.

∫ Michael David Flanagan, 77, of Vienna died on Sept. 1. Nicknamed Father Flanagan, he was an avid sports fan and the longtime director of the Boys & Girls Club in Parkersburg.

∫ Raymond Guy Campbell, 65, of Parkersburg died on Aug. 29. He was a retired floodwall supervisor for the city of Parkersburg.

∫ Terry Connolly, 77, of Vienna died on Aug. 29. He and his father built and operated MiniBel Golf Course. He was the captain of a UH-1 helicopter in Vietnam and founded Connolly and Associates Realty, which became Prudential Preferred Homes that merged with Berkshire-Hathaway.

∫ Marie Gustke, 96, of Coolville died on Aug. 26. She and her husband owned the Gustke Department Store in Belpre, Belpre V&S Variety Store, Gustke True Value Hardware and the Gustke Memory Mall.

∫ Joseph W. McFarland Jr., 60, Parkersburg, died on Aug. 25. He was an attorney, family court law master in West Virginia and an attorney in the West Virginia Fourth Circuit Public Defender’s office in Parkersburg.

∫ John Payne, 85, Parkersburg, died on Aug. 4. A butcher, he opened Payne’s A-1 Meat and Deli on 19th Street in Parkersburg and retired in 2002.

∫ H.K. Smith, 86, of Parkersburg died on Aug. 1. Smith, who ran track and was a running back at Parkersburg High School, was a Wood County clerk and a member of the Parkersburg High Chain Gang for more than 40 years.

∫ R. Lester Anderson, 89, of Marietta died July 1. Anderson was a department chair and retired professor of physics and astronomy at Marietta College. He was instrumental in launching early local S.T.E.M. initiatives including Space Camp, Women In the Sciences and Young Engineers and Scientists Days. An avid astronomer, he organized public viewings at the Mills Hall Observatory, especially during celestial events, and he is one of two namesakes of the Anderson Hancock Planetarium at Marietta College. An antique collector, a favorite pastime was entertaining audiences at festivals with his restored 1917 Wurlitzer band organ.

∫ Dan Franklin Baker, 100, died on May 15 in Claremont, Calif. Born in Marietta, at the age of 13 he sang soprano with the Singing Boys of America at Town Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City and was invited to join the Vienna Boys Choir, but his parents refused the invitation because of Hitler’s plans to invade Austria. In World War II from 1943-1946, Baker served in the 42nd Rainbow Infantry Division in the Ardennes Forest in the Battle of the Bulge and earned a battlefield commission as an officer and a Bronze Star for valor at Schweinfurt, Germany.

His unit helped liberate the Dachau death camp. After the war ended, he was assigned to the Vienna Area Command as an officer who auditioned and placed refugee artists to perform in U.S. enlisted and officers’ clubs in Austria and commanded Co. M. of the 8th Cavalry Division in Korea from 1950 to 1952. After discharge from service in World War II, he briefly worked in the family jewelry store, Baker & Baker, then earned degrees from Indiana University. He was a TV producer and director, a commercial and corporate voiceover artist in the Los Angeles market and a professor of broadcasting at the University of Georgia, Miami University, Michigan State University and Cal State University at Long Beach, where in 1967-68 Steven Spielberg enrolled in several of his classes. He was a member of the Hollywood chapter of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

∫ Sandra Jean Tischer Bonham Rowley, 88, Marietta, died June 16. She was a co-owner of Bonham’s of Marietta and Bonham’s of Cambridge Department Stores.

∫ Alan Leslie Klein, 83, of Vienna died June 7. His parents in 1951 established the Mister Bee Potato Chip Co. in Parkersburg, of which he was president. Klein was a past president of the War International Snack Food Trade Association, served on the Business Advisory Board at Ohio University, was a president of the Rotary Club of Parkersburg and served on the United Bank board.

∫ Dr. Dwight Kim Poole, 81, of Belpre, died May 22. A dentist for more than 50 years, he was a charter member and president of the Belpre Rotary Club, a past president of the Belpre Chamber of Commerce, organized the effort for a chemistry lab and greenhouse at Belpre High School, a member of the Belpre Area Community Foundation, a member of the Blennerhassett and Muskingum Dental Societies, a trustee at Marietta Memorial Hospital, a Jaycee and an avid WVU fan who loved to play golf.

∫ Dr. Michael A. Santer Jr., 84, of Vienna died May 20. A Parkersburg native and cardiologist, he was a founding member of Parkersburg Cardiology Associates and a Navy doctor at Parris Island, S.C., caring for Marine recruits preparing for duty in Vietnam.

∫ John Newton, 84, Vienna, died May 16. A soccer enthusiast, he was the United States Youth Soccer Administrator of the Year in 2015, was inducted into the West Virginia Soccer Association Hall of Fame in 2019 and was president of the Parkersburg Actors Guild where he was active for more than 50 years. He and his wife, Jean, were named by the Ohio River Valley Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters as Community Advocates of the Arts.

∫ David J. Kuhn, 60, of Lewisville died on May 11. He retired as coordinator of the Monroe County EMS and was a chief of the Lewisville Volunteer Fire Department.

∫ Charles Ray “Charlie” Swisher, 80, Ripley, died on May 5. He was director at the West Virginia Baptist Conference Center, Parchment Valley, in Ripley, where he assisted in the founding of Parchment Valley Baptist Church.

∫ Father Robert G. Park, 93, Wheeling, died on May 3. A Parkersburg native and graduate of Parkersburg High School, he was a principal at Parkersburg Catholic High School, served at St. Joseph’s Preparatory Seminary, opened and was director of the Behavioral Counseling and Ministry for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and was Delegate of the Bishop for Clergy and later the Ministry Delegate for Clergy for the diocese for 36 years. Bishop Mark Brennan presided at his Funeral Mass in Parkersburg and Wheeling.

∫ Mike McCauley, 81, Marietta, died April 5. McCauley served 20 years on Marietta City Council, 21 years in the Marietta Police Department and taught 17 years at Marietta High School.

∫ David Emerson Woody, 69, Parkersburg, died on April 21. A teacher at Parkersburg Catholic High School and Parkersburg High School where he retired in 2022, he taught social studies, psychology and Pink Floyd classes, coached basketball and softball, was a member of the West Virginia University Marching Band and played music in several groups.

∫ Corinna Grace (Yoho) Francis, 90, of Walker died April 17. She was one of the founders of the Wood County Tea Party in the 1980s.

∫ Richard “Dick” Warner, 77, Walker, died on March 30. He founded Dick Warner Pontiac in Parkersburg in 1978.

∫ Bobby H. Pickens, 90, of Parkersburg died on March 29. A U.S. Army veteran who was the driver for Brig. Gen. John Eisenhower, the son of Dwight Eisenhower, he became a Parkersburg police officer where he spoke to kids in schools, created a Scout police group for teenagers and started an honor guard in the police department.

∫ Daniel A. Ruley Jr., 95, Lewisburg, died March 21. He was a longtime attorney in Parkersburg where he was a city attorney, a judge on the West Virginia Court of Claims and president of the PTA at Lincoln School where led the installation of the outdoor basketball court. He was a longtime member and president of the Parkersburg Rotary Club and served on boards for the YMCA of Parkersburg, the Wood County Chapter of the American Red Cross where he was a regular blood donor, the Parkersburg & Wood County Public Library and the North Hills Swim and Racquet Club, as well as the Vestry and Board of Trustees of Trinity Episcopal Church. He was a U.S. Marine, served in the Korean War, rose to the rank of colonel in the reserves and for 18 years was the regional liaison officer for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

∫ Craig D. Richards, 61, of Vienna died on Feb. 19. He was an engineer with Burgess & Niple who directed the engineering section of the company’s Parkersburg office, was involved in numerous public works projects, was the immediate past president of the West Virginia Water Environment Association, was chairman of the Vienna Planning Commission and secretary-treasurer of the Northern Panhandle Watershed Council, among other affiliations. He was involved in the development of the West Virginia Infrastructure Report Card, the report that aided Sen. Joe Manchin in the passage of the U.S. Infrastructure Bill of 2022.

∫ Richard Allen “Dick” “Spin” Spindler, 83, Marietta, died on Feb. 19. Spindler was a partner in Rivertown Development, a director of the Dime Bank and a founding member and director of Settlers Bank.

∫ Otis Eugene Townsend, 86, of Parkersburg died on Feb. 12. Owner of Townsend and Son Excavating and Townsend Septic Sales and Service, he served on the West Virginia Sewer Advisory Board, was a Volcano Days board member at Mountwood Park and was a founding member of the Mid-Ohio Valley Wild Turkey Federation.

∫ David John Broughton, 66, Marietta, died on Feb. 10. He was the former general manager of Broughton Foods and served on the board of Marietta Memorial Hospital.

∫ Lester Edward Doyle, 81, of Wingett Run died on Feb. 2. Doyle and his band, Lester Doyle and the Dandies, were popular in the 1960s on WBRJ radio and WTAP TV.

∫ Dr. Jesse Ramirez Ada, 70, of Delaware and Marietta, died on Jan. 31. He was a president of the Washington County Medical Society, a fellow with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and was affiliated with First Settlement Orthopaedics in Marietta.

∫ Cynthia Katherine Cain Buskirk, 72, Vienna, died on Jan. 31. Buskirk was a noted historian and writer of many books of valuable reference information, including “Riverview/Riverside/Cook Cemetery in Parkersburg,” the “Neale Cook Cemetery in Vienna” and “Henderson Cemetery” in Boaz.

∫ Audrey Johnson Diehl, 96, Parkersburg, died on Jan. 28. She and her husband, Clark, established the Worthington Manor Nursing Center and owned and operated the Wallpaper and Blind Shop.

∫ Ray Roff Ritchie, 89, Ravenswood, died on Jan. 27. A veteran, engineer and scoutmaster, he served on Ravenswood City Council and was president of the Jackson County Board of Education.

∫ Robert K. “Lefty” Mason, 94, of Parkersburg died Jan. 19. Mason was a standout in basketball and baseball at Parkersburg High School and received a scholarship to play baseball at West Virginia University, later signing to pitch for the Boston Braves. He owned and operated the 19th Street Country Club for many years and eventually retired as chief deputy assessor of Wood County.

∫ Ralph Chambers, 85, Parkersburg, died Jan. 16. Chambers was a frequent letter writer to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and was a youth baseball commissioner in north Parkersburg, a president of the Parkersburg High School Band Boosters and Salvation Army volunteer. He enjoyed studying history, economics and chemistry and visiting battlefields in America and Europe.

∫ Michael Lee Ruben, 64, Ripley, died on Jan. 2. The award-winning journalist was the “voice” of Ripley’s Memorial Stadium for 45 years, a noted historian of Jackson County and was the founder and head of the Ripley Convention and Visitors Bureau. In 2014, he was presented with the Distinguished Community Service Award for making Jackson County a better place to live.

∫ Peggy Lee Smith, 70, of Belleville died Dec. 28, 2022. A school bus operator for Wood County Schools, Smith served on the Board of Education.