Harley A. McSpadden, 90, of Jackson passed away Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, at
Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.
He was born July 21, 1920, in Van Buren, Mo., to Moses and Stella Mae Kinnard
McSpadden. He and Eula Mae Martin were married March 8, 1942, in Van Buren.
Harley attended high school in Van Buren and then worked for the Civil
Conservation Corp in Van Buren. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving from
August 1942 to October 1945, honorably discharged as a Tech 4 with the 2019
Ordnance Maintenance Company. He was awarded two Bronze Stars for the campaigns
of Naples Foggia and Rome Arno. After he returned home from the service, the St.
Louis Browns baseball team was interested in signing him as a catcher. Harley
went to work for the former Raines Stave Mill Co. in Jackson. He then started a
50-year career throughout Southern Illinois and Missouri as a self-employed
timber purchaser, cutter and hauler. Harley retired in 1996 but continued to
sell and deliver firewood for his customers. He also owned and operated the
former City Service Station in Jackson from 1959 to 1961.
Harley was a former member of the Burfordville Baptist Church, where he was
ordained as a deacon. He and his wife later became members of the First Baptist
Church in Jackson where he was a member of the Sanctuary Sunday school class. He
was also a member of the VFW in Jackson and a member of the Whitewater Masonic
Lodge No. 417.
Survivors include his loving wife, Eula, of more than 68 years; a daughter,
Gwendolyn (Dewey) Nussbaum of Jackson; two grandsons, Kevin Paul (Jeannine)
Nussbaum of St. Louis and Stephen Douglas Nussbaum of Mount Zion, Ill.; one
granddaughter, Katina Marie (Aaron) Hankins of Springboro, Ohio; and five
great-grandchildren Jacob, Ashley and Autumn Nussbaum, Cameron and Haley
Hankins.
He was preceded in death by four brothers and three sisters.
Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. today at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation
Center in Jackson. A Masonic service will be at 7 p.m.
The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Tim
Miller officiating.
Interment will follow at 2:30 p.m. in Dry Valley Cemetery near Van Buren with
full military honors.