Obituary of Wayne Kurfman

Funeral Services for Wayne Kurfman of Elsberry, MO will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 1, 2016 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. Rev. John Zellmer, pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church, will officiate with burial in the Elsberry City Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Brian Kurfman, Jr., Matthew “Kip” Kurfman, Wendell Kurfman, James Kurfman, David Kurfman and Larry West; and honorary pallbearers will be Gordon “Butch” Hillman, Tom West and Bob West. Mr. Kurfman, 93, passed away Monday night, June 27, 2016 at the Mercy Lincoln Hospital in Troy, MO. Born April 15, 1923 in Versailles, IL, he was one of eleven children born to Raymond W. and Etta Miller Kurfman. Wayne was raised in the Versailles, IL area until 1937 when the family moved to the Foley, MO community. He attended eighth grade at the Foley school before going to High School in Elsberry, graduating with the class of 1941. After graduation, he returned to Illinois and went into farming with his brother, Lendell. They spent the next twenty years farming the Eckert Farms. He moved back to Elsberry in 1967 and married Mary Willena Mayes on January 22, 1967 in Wood River, IL. This union was blessed with one son, Brian Wayne. They were in the Elsberry area the remainder of his adult life, and Wayne was active in the farming community. He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Etta Kurfman; four brothers: Lendell Kurfman, Owen Kurfman, Russell Kurfman and Emil Kurfman; six sisters: Nina Fuller, Gladys Jourdan, Virginia Foster, Mary West, Anna Lou Sutton and Ruby Kurfman; and his beloved wife of 48 years, Mary Kurfman who died February 21, 2015. Survivors include one son: Brian Kurfman and his wife, Lori, of Elsberry, MO; four grandchildren: Trista Dawn Cohea and her husband, C.J., of Perry, IA, Brian Wayne Kurfman, Jr. of Elsberry, Breanna Michelle Kurfman of Wentzville, MO, and James Raymond Kurfman of Elsberry; and three great-grandchildren: Tucker James Ramshaw, Ahryn Willena Cohea and Mykyra Miracle Pike. Wayne also leaves several nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Visitation will be held from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Thursday, June 30, 2016 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. Memorials may be made to the Charity of the Donor’s Choice in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 107 S. 5th Street; Elsberry, MO 63343.