Obituary of David Suddarth

David Wayne Suddarth Funeral services for David Wayne Suddarth of Elsberry, MO were held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 16, 2003 at the Elsberry United Methodist Church. Rev. Michael Lockhart, church pastor, officiated with burial in Elsberry City Cemetery. Peggy Stonebraker served as organist and Allen Stonebraker served as soloist. Serving as pallbearers were Gary Hudnall, Jim Welch, Jim Beck, Jess Mueller, David Hensley and Bart Creech; honorary pallbearers were James Ansley and Larry Myers. Mr. Suddarth, 52, died early Sunday morning, December 14, 2003 at Pike County Memorial Hospital in Louisiana, MO. Born November 9, 1951 in Louisiana, MO, he was the son of Leslie Curtis and Lutie Annabelle Harrison Suddarth. He was a 1969 graduate of Elsberry High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1973. He was united in marriage on August 12, 1972 in Webster Groves, MO to Janet Mary Bemis. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1976. His first job was as law clerk to the Honorable Judge James A. Moore, Division 16, Circuit Court of Jackson County, MO, an honor he always treasured. He then associated with the law firm of Sheridan, Sanders and Simpson in Kansas City, MO. The Suddarths moved back to his home town of Elsberry to open a law practice in 1978. During this time he also accepted the position of Assistant Prosecutor in Troy, MO. In 1981 Bobette Shipman also returned to Elsberry and joined Mr. Suddarth in the law firm of Suddarth and Shipman. In 1984 he moved his office to Troy and joined in partnership with Jess Mueller, with James Beck later joining the firm. The partnership of Mueller, Suddarth and Beck continued until declining health led to Mr. Suddarth's retirement in 2000. His professional affiliations were with the Missouri Bar Association, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, the American Bar Association and the American Association of Trial Attorneys. Mr. Suddarth was a former member and president of the Elsberry Kiwanis, and a charter member of the Troy Elk's Lodge. In November 1988 he became a member of the Board of Directors of the Winfield Banking Co. and later became a director of Peoples Bank & Trust Co. after the two banks merged. Upon his retirement in 2000 he was elected a Director Emeritus. He was a member of the Elsberry United Methodist Church. He was preceded in death by his mother, Lutie Annabelle Suddarth in 1981; and two sisters: Leslie Kay Suddarth who died as a child, and Joyce Annabelle Graham who died in 1994. Survivors include his beloved wife of 31 years, Janet Suddarth of Elsberry; and their daughters, Lauren Grace Suddarth and Krystal Hope Suddarth, both of Elsberry. He also leaves his father, Curtis Suddarth of Elsberry; four brothers: Curtis Paul Suddarth and his wife, Margaret, of Bowling Green, MO, Daniel Ray Suddarth and his wife, Cindy, of Troy, MO, Clarence Eugene Suddarth of Hannibal, MO, and Christopher Allen Suddarth of Elsberry; and two sisters: Judith Melinda Myers and her husband, Larry, of Clarksville, MO, and Sherry Lynn Ansley and her husband, James, of O'Fallon, MO; several nieces, nephews, other relatives and a host of friends. Visitation was held from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Monday, December 15, 2003 at the Elsberry United Methodist Church, 109 North Fourth Street, Elsberry, MO. Memorials may be made to the David W. Suddarth Children's College Fund in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 107 South Fifth Street, Elsberry, MO 63343 or at People's Bank and Trust Co., 430 East Wood St., Troy, MO 63379.