Notable area deaths in 2019

In 2019, this area experienced the loss of several people known for their prominent roles in local business, leadership and education. From entrepreneurship to advertising to national government, these individuals left an impact on the community.

Also, Missouri executed death-row inmate Russell Bucklew in 2019 for crimes he committed more than 20 years ago.

The following summaries highlight several individuals whose names regularly appeared in the Southeast Missourian over the years.

Terry Kitchen

Coach Terry Kitchen sits on the bleachers inside the Central Junior High School gymansium Jan. 26, 2016, in Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

Terry Wyatt Kitchen, 66, died Feb. 4. Kitchen was a beloved coach in the Cape Girardeau School District, where he served as a teacher and administrator for more than 40 years.

Kitchen started his career in sports education as the assistant baseball and basketball coach at Shawnee High School, later becoming the head baseball coach for Cape Girardeau Central High School. He became the Central High School athletic director in 1991 and junior high athletic director in 2003.

Kitchen retired in 2009 but held the title of junior high athletic director until his death. The junior high school was renamed for Kitchen following his death.

Marvin Proffer

Marvin Proffer

Marvin E. Proffer, 88, died March 27. At age 25, he joined the Jackson City Council and the Jackson Chamber of Commerce and Rotary, where he was be credited with creating the Jackson Jaycees and a new recreation program for the city.

He was elected to the Missouri General Assembly, where he worked with legislation involving the Show Me Center, Missouri Veterans Home and Missouri Conservation Center, as well as the Missouri Seat Belt Law.

Dennis Vinson

Dennis VinsonTYLER GRAEF

Dennis L. Vinson, 63, died Dec. 1. In 2003, Vinson founded Signature Packaging and Paper in Conyers, Georgia, a business he later moved to Jackson when his family moved in 2007. The business won several awards, including Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce Industry of the Year in 2011 and Black Enterprise’s BE 100 List of the Nation’s Largest Black-Owned Businesses. He was a member of the Jackson chamber, SoutheastHEALTH System Board of Directors and Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents, and was also recognized as one of B Magazine’s 2019 Newsmakers. He was on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Missouri and was scheduled to join the PORCH (People Organized to Revitalize Community Healing) Board of Directors in late December.

Albert Lowes

Albert Lowes testifies as a witness in a hearing challenging former client Joshua Kezer's murder conviction Dec. 2, 2008, at the Cole County Courthouse in Jefferson City, Missouri.Southeast Missourian file

Albert C. Lowes, 87, died Dec. 9. He served in the Marine Corps from his high school graduation in 1950 to his discharge in 1954. Lowes, a lawyer, was known for his distinctive personality and creative expressions in the courtroom. He was involved in more than 400 jury trials and more than 150 appeals. He was also the member of many professional and community organizations, such as the Missouri Bar, the Cape Girardeau County Bar, the Eighth Circuit Bar and Federal District Bar, as well as several Masonic orders and St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau.

William J. ‘Rock’ Finch

William "Rock" Finch

William J. “Rock” Finch, 68, died Dec. 29. Finch served in Vietnam as a member of the U.S. Navy. He taught high school for two years before founding Finch Insurance, which later became Marathon Benefits Group. He retired in 2019 and helped create MTC Truck Driver Training in Scott City. He was a president of the Lions Club and member of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Jerry Lee Priest

Jerry Priest

Jerry Lee Priest, 87, died Aug. 15. Priest served for four years in the U.S. Air Force. He was a lifetime pool player who owned and operated the pool hall and bar Pladium from 1959 until his retirement in 1994. He was recognized as the Billiards Proprietor of the Year by Sporting News in 1980, and won several national billiards championships.

Bill Burlison

Bill BurlisonSoutheast Missourian file

Bill D. Burlison, 88, died March 17. He graduated from Wardell High School in 1949 and earned seven degrees from Southeast Missouri State University, University of Missouri-Columbia, Catholic University of America and Washington College of Law at American University. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps for more than three years. In 1960, he became an assistant attorney general of Missouri and later the prosecuting attorney of Cape Girardeau County. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 10th Congressional District from 1969 to 1981. After leaving the House, he practiced law in Maryland and the District of Columbia and was involved in Maryland community government.

Paul Walker

Paul Walker

Paul Ronald “Ronnie” Walker, 75, died Feb. 20. A sales representative and advertising manager for the Southeast Missourian for more than 25 years, Walker was known for his career in marketing. He opened Cape Girardeau’s first advertising agency, Caxton Advertising Agency, in the 1960s. He later worked with several media outlets, including the Bulletin-Journal and Fox TV station. He also created TBY Magazine, a special publication for the Southeast Missourian. Walker enjoyed photography, painting and music.

Glenn Reeves

Glenn and Rhoda Reeves pose for a photo in 2012 at Horizon Screen Printing in Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

Henry Glenn Reeves, 90, died Nov. 6. He graduated from Austin College, was a graduate student at Louisiana State University and served in the Korean War. Reeves operated Horizon Screen Printing, founded by his wife, after a career as a salesman and later manager for Sears. He is remembered as someone heavily involved in the community, especially in the way he managed the printing business. He retired at 84 and was the member of several business organizations in Cape Girardeau. Reeves was a board member of Girl Scouts of America, an assistant scout master to the Boy Scouts of America and a member of Old Town Cape.

Frank Kennedy Ellis Sr.

Frank Ellis is seen in 2018 at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.Southeast Missourian file

Frank Kennedy Ellis Sr., 57, died Nov. 20. His professional career was spent as an educator, first as a teacher at May Greene Elementary School and then in schools in Missouri and Illinois. He was part of the “Growing Your Own” program, which focused on recruiting local graduates to stay in the area to teach and served as a minority recruiter. Ellis was the first African American assistant principal in the Cape Girardeau School District, where he was later promoted to principal. Following his public school retirement, he taught at St. Augustine School in Kelso, Missouri. Ellis is remembered as the voice of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament where he was the public address announcer for 26 years. Among his volunteer efforts, Ellis was a member of Knights of Columbus and served as a Eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Cape Girardeau.

Russell Bucklew

This undated photo shows Russell Bucklew.Jeremy Weis Photography via AP

Russell Bucklew was declared dead Oct. 1 by administration of lethal injection. In April 1997, Bucklew was convicted of rape, kidnapping, murder, burglary and armed criminal action after he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend Stephanie Pruitt Ray’s boyfriend, Michael H. Sanders, and held Ray at gunpoint. He was sentenced to the death penalty in May 1997. His execution was rescheduled several times because of concerns about Bucklew’s medical condition. An April 2019 vote ruled his condition would not violate the Eighth Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment.