In Memory: Sept. 27

From Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory

Robert Pratt Webber, 94, Vero Beach

June 01, 1927 – September 14, 2021

Robert Pratt Webber, 94, died peacefully in his sleep September 14, 2021.

He was born in Salem, MA and lived there until 1933 when his family moved to New Jersey. A graduate of East Orange H.S., he joined the Army Air Corp in 1945. After discharge he served in the Navy V-5 program based at Stevens Institute of Technology where he graduated as a Mechanical Engineer.

In 1950 Bob married Jeanette Louise Wrege and they had 62 wonderful years together prior to her death in 2012. His career was with the DuPont Company primarily as manager of their safety management consulting business. Bob and Jeanette lived in Wilmington, DE and Chadds Ford, PA before retiring to Vero Beach, FL in 1995.

Activities in retired life included many trips with Jeanette to explore the world, spending time with family, volunteer work reading with first grade and preschool students, playing tennis and water volleyball with friends at Indian River Estates, and involvement with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

He leaves daughter Susan D McGrath and husband John of Ipswich, MA; son James G. Webber and wife Ellen of Sandstone, WV; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct 4 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach.

Memorial gifts may be given to the Endowment Fund of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach or a charity of your choice.

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory.

From Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory

Linda Michele Buagher, 44, Vero Beach

September 24, 1977 – September 07, 2021

Linda Michele Buagher, age 44, was brought home by Angels on September 7, 2021. Linda was born in West Palm Beach, Florida.

She moved to California with her mother, and had recently returned to live in Vero Beach, Florida.

Linda is predeceased by her mother, Harriette Black-Fuller (Jim), and her father James Baugher (Nancy).

She is survived by her two children, Alexander and Kayla Baugher; her aunts, uncles, and loving cousins. Services will be held privately with family.

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.

From Strunk Funeral Homes & Crematory

James Craig Stevens, 55, Vero Beach

August 07, 1966 – September 22, 2021

James Craig Stevens, 55, of Vero Beach passed away Wednesday, September 22, 2021.

He was born in Vero Beach on August 7, 1966 to Claude Stevens and the late Marilyn Adrosky Stevens..

Craig was a 1984 graduate of Vero Beach High School. He married the love of his life, Wilma Penuel Stevens in 1986 and together, raised a beautiful family.

He worked for the City of Vero Beach for 30 years, working and earning his way up the ranks from Meter Reader to Foreman.

Craig was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He was the kindest, selfless and most hardworking person you will ever meet. Craig was always there for anyone who possibly needed him, and always put his family first.In addition to his wife, Craig is survived by his three beautiful daughters; Ashley Stevens, Kelsey Schneeberg (Ricky) and Linsey Stevens, all of Vero Beach; 4 grandchildren, Chloe, Holli, Gwenivere and Camden; father, Claude Stevens; brother, Wayne Stevens; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and other family members and friends who will miss him dearly.

In lieu of flowers memorials can be made in Craigs honor to http://www.livelikecole.org/

Memorial Service will start promptly at 2:00 PM on Saturday October 2, 2021 in the chapel of Strunk Funeral Homes & Crematory in Vero Beach. Reverend Buddy Tipton will be officiating.

To plant Memorial Trees in memory of JAMES “CRAIG” STEVENS, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.

From Strunk Funeral Homes & Crematory

Dean Bozman Risher, 91, Vero Beach

August 06, 1930 – August 30, 2021

Dean Bozman Risher, 91, died on August 30, 2021 in Vero Beach, Florida.

Dean was a kind, loving and gentle man who was born on August 6, 1930, to Clara Emily Bozman Risher, and Robert Remick Risher in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.

Dean was born during the great depression of the 1930s. He learned very early about the importance of hard work and education… He worked the night shift in the steel mill in Aliquippa, while he was going to high school…

He was fun loving with a quick sense of humor and enjoyed acting in school plays. He loved people and made friends everywhere he went. During the summer, he loved to spend his time visiting his aunts who lived in Goose Rocks Beach, Maine.

Dean spent his freshman and sophomore years at Maryville College, in Tennessee, where he was a champion diver, and where he met Jean Gould, the woman that he would eventually marry. They both  transferred to Florida State University where they earned their bachelor degrees.

Dean and Jean and had three children, Kenneth Dean Risher, Janice Ailene Risher and Valerie Jean Risher.

During his lifetime Dean worked in many different occupations.

In his college years he drove a taxi cab and a dump truck, making sure that he had the resources needed to complete his education.

He was a veteran, serving in the army during the Korean War. After his time in the army, he moved his family to Cocoa Beach, Florida and began his career in the space program.

He relocated to Houston Texas, and became the Flight Control Tech Support Manager at Johnson Space Center. He was in Mission control during many of the Apollo missions. He was there when Apollo 11 landed the first man on the moon on July 20, 1969, and heard Neil Armstrong speak the words, “Houston, Tranquility Base here – The Eagle has Landed”. He worked on the Apollo-Soyuz mission with Russian Cosmonauts. He also worked on the Space Shuttle program.

After his time with the space program, he worked on radar arrays in Salt Lake City, Utah, and then he moved to Anchorage, Alaska to work in the oil industry before returning to Texas and retire.

In 2008 Hurricane Ike destroyed his house in Seabrook Texas.   Soon afterward, Dean moved to Vero Beach, Florida to be near his daughter, Valerie.

Dean was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Clara, his daughter Janice, son Kenneth, his older Brother Robert Remick Risher II, his nephew Robert Remick Risher III, and his lifelong friend and partner, Betty Mae Taylor.

He is survived by his daughter Valerie Jean Risher, and his “half family”, Jean Hopkins, Martha Nunez, Javier Nunez, Daniela Nunez, his nieces Barbara and Nancy and nephew Bruce, their children, and his many friends.

Dean will be interred at the Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, the date is to be determined.

To plant Memorial Trees in memory of DEAN BOZMAN RISHER, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.

From Strunk Funeral Homes & Crematory

Alfred C. DeCrane, Jr., 90, Vero Beach June 11, 1931 – September 22, 2021 Alfred C. DeCrane, Jr., died peacefully on September 22, surrounded by family in his home in Vero Beach, FL, at the age of 90.  The cause was complications from primary progressive aphasia, according to his wife of 67 years, Joan Hoffman DeCrane. Born in Cleveland in 1931 to construction contractor Alfred C DeCrane and Verona Marquard, a homemaker, Mr. DeCrane attended Cathedral Latin School, where he graduated as valedictorian, working summers as a florist and delivering ice.  He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, where he was named National Singles Debate Champion (and runner up in Extemporaneous Speech) his junior year.  Upon graduation he was commissioned an officer in the US Marine Corps and married the former Joan Elizabeth Hoffman of Algona, Iowa, in 1954.  With an honorable discharge from the Marines as Captain, he went to work for Joseph P Kennedy, father to the senators and president, as a speechwriter.  Observing that Joe Kennedy gave his most interesting issues to the lawyers, Mr. DeCrane left to attend the Georgetown University Law School.  He joined Texaco two years later and argued in front of the US Supreme Court at the age of 34.  Referring to one case he presented, he told his family, “The good news is that the decision was unanimous.  The bad news is we lost, nine to zero.” Mr. DeCrane’s extensive international travel began early in his career with Texaco as OPEC (formed in 1962) began its evermore-assertive role in setting prices and controlling resources.  He was on the frontlines as VP Production Eastern Hemisphere when the cartel began its oil boycott of the US and other nations in the 1970s. It was during these trying and volatile times that Mr. DeCrane learned he had been targeted to be kidnapped along with Saudi Petroleum Minister Zaki Yamani and three others from Yamani’s home outside Beirut in the early 1970s. Later, a Palestinian contact assured Mr. DeCrane, “Don’t worry, Al, they wouldn’t have hurt you.”  This assurance most probably was a result of the respect Mr. DeCrane’s style engendered with allies and adversaries alike. Mr. DeCrane was named Texaco’s general counsel in 1976, elected to the board the next year, and became president in 1983. It was in the following year that the company’s biggest travail began:  Texaco made an offer for Getty Oil and Texaco acquired the company, but Pennzoil sued, claiming it already had an agreement in principle to purchase less than half of Getty.  Years of strategy, negotiation and a Supreme Court decision resulted in Texaco paying Pennzoil $3 billion in 1988.  Mr. DeCrane, who had been named Chairman the year prior, successfully steered the company through the ordeal and became CEO in 1993.  (Pennzoil was subsequently acquired by the Quaker State Motor Oil Company; Chevron acquired Texaco in 2001.) Mr. DeCrane and his wife Joan never tired of caring for the community that embraced their family – Bronxville NY – throughout their very busy lives.  They contributed to their church St. Josephs, and we’re strong supporters of Lawrence Hospital and the Maxwell Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.  Five of their six children graduated from Bronxville High School where Mr. DeCrane regularly spoke to the students and gave a well received graduation talk for the class of 1982. Mr. DeCrane served on many corporate, cultural and charitable-boards, including but not limited to Bestfoods, Cigna, Birmingham Steel, Harris Corp., and Dean Witter Discover. Both through his business and personally he was also a proud contributor to the Metropolitan Opera.  He continued to consult for Chevron for several years. Paramount among Mr. DeCrane’s many extra-business interests was education.  He served as a trustee of the American University of Beirut since 1973, and after many years of support on the university’s Arts Council, was named a Father Theodore Hesburgh trustee at Notre Dame in 2019.  He and his wife Joan established the DeCrane Foundation Chair in International Economics at Notre Dame, as well as the Joan Hoffman DeCrane scholarship funds at both Notre Dame and St. Mary’s College in South Bend, IN, Mrs. DeCrane’s alma mater.  They had previously established a student scholarship fund at the Georgetown University Law Center in 1984. On relocation from Bronxville, NY,to John’s Island in Vero Beach, FL, he became an active sponsor and supporter of many charities including Habitat for Humanity, the Indian River Land Trust, the Woman’s Care Center of Indian River, and Food for the Poor, Inc.  Retirement also afforded him and his wife more time to travel, spend time with their children and grandchildren and to participate in the numerous activities Mr. DeCrane enjoyed, including golf, sailing, cycling and paddleball.  He also enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, opera, ice cream, dogs and watching sunsets with his family from their cottages in Lake Okoboji, Iowa. Alfred C DeCrane, Jr. was predeceased by a daughter, Stacie, and is survived by his wife, Joan, a brother, Vincent, sister, Clare and five children, David (Linda), Lisa (Alvaro), Stephanie (Paul), Sarah (Dan) and Jenny (Jon), 16 grandchildren and one great-grand child.  The family requests in lieu of flowers donations be made in Al’s memory to Hope for Families Center Vero Beach Florida, Notre Dame University or a charity of your choice. To plant Memorial Trees in memory of ALFRED C. DECRANE, JR., please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.

From Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory

Angel Marie Kennedy, 44, Vero Beach

June 21, 1977 – September 21, 2021

Angel Marie Kennedy, 44 of Vero Beach passed away on September 21, 2021. Angel was born on June 21, 1977 to John and Mary Kennedy in Vero Beach, Florida.

Angel was preceded in death by her father, John A Kennedy on August 13, 2021. She is survived by her mother Mary; grandmother, Frances Goss; siblings, Tabitha, Christy, Chad and Heather; several nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, September 23, 2021 from 3:00 until 6:00 PM at Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach.

To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Angel Marie Kennedy, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.

From Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory

Irene Margaret McLellan, 92, Vero Beach

October 27, 1928 – September 27, 2021

Irene Margaret McLellan, of Vero Beach, passed away September 27, 2021.

To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Irene M McLellan, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.

From Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory

Kevin Michael Irby, 70

November 11, 1950 – September 26, 2021

Kevin Michael Irby, passed away September 26, 2021.

To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of Kevin Michael Irby, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.