James W. Temple

James W. Temple, son of the late Fred and Christa Haynes Temple, was born in Dexter on July 10, 1924, and died at Missouri Southern Healthcare in Dexter on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, at the age of 84.

Mr. Temple had worked in St. Louis for 35 years and moved back to the Puxico area in the 1960s. He was a retired dry cleaner and had owned and operated his own dry cleaning business, Puxico Cleaners. He was a member of the Church of Christ in Asherville. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and had served in the elite 10th Mountain Division during World War II and was a lifetime member of the Puxico VFW Post #7822.

On Dec. 15, 1957, he was married to Ruth Malkowski in Hernando.

Surviving are his wife, Ruth Temple of Puxico; one son, Roy Temple of Alexandria, Va.; three daughters, Kathy Scott and Michelle Thomason, both of Puxico, and Debbie Mueller of St. Louis; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by one brother, Roy Temples; and three sisters, Lorene Cox, Alene Fleming, and Margaret Garner.

Visitation will be held after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, at the Watkins & Sons Funeral Home in Puxico. VFW services will be conducted at 7 p.m. by the Puxico VFW Post #7822.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008, at the Watkins & Sons Chapel in Puxico with Bro. Terry Stockman of Sikeston officiating.

Interment will follow in the Armstead Dowdy Cemetery near Dexter with Watkins & Sons Funeral Service of Puxico in charge of arrangements.