Ira Coons Jr.

Ira J. Coons Jr., 92, of Kearney, Neb., died Nov. 19, at Mother Hull Home, Kearney.

Born Feb. 8, 1917, in Hymer, to Ira J. and Myrtle Ann (Kirkman) Coons, he grew up in Chase County and graduated from the National Trade School in automotive mechanics, Kansas City, Mo. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II from Feb. 28, 1942, to Nov. 30, 1945.

He married Marjorie Elinor Wilson Feb. 2, 1946, in Eureka. They made their home in El Dorado and Wichita, where he worked as a mechanic. They also made their home for 35 years in Peabody where he worked as an oilfield pumper.

His wife died in May 1991. His parents; brothers Dale, Carl, and Verl; and sisters Josephine and Eula Mae Ashbrook preceded him in death.

Survivors include a son, Michael of Cedar Falls, Iowa; two daughters, Patricia Davis of Kearney and Kathleen Wicker of Byhalia, Miss.; a sister, Mildred Barker of Abilene, Texas; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

A memorial service with military rites will be held at a future date at Kansas Veterans’ Cemetery at Fort Riley.

Memorials have been established with Mother Hull Home in Kearney and the Hero Flights fund and may be sent in care of O’Brien-Straatmann Funeral Home, PO Box 2344, Kearney, NE 68848-2344.