Chancie Pylant

KENNETT, Mo. -- Chancie L. "Mr. Rudy" Pylant, 82, of Kennett died Sunday, Dec. 7, 2003, at his home, after a long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and friends.

Mr. Rudy was born July 19, 1921, on his parents' farm near Leachville, Ark. He grew up during the Depression, in a large close-knit family. Like most people during that time, he worked on the family farm picking cotton, where he learned the value of hard work and dedication to family.

He was a 1939 graduate of Cardwell High School. He was working in St. Louis when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He returned home and went to Memphis to enlist in the Army. He was stationed throughout the South Pacific during World War II, including Guam, Wake and Saipan.

When the war ended, Mr. Rudy returned home and got his first job in broadcasting at WLOF Radio in Orlando, Fla. He moved back to Arkansas in 1947 and began working at KBTM Radio in Jonesboro. In July 1948, he moved to Kennett, where he began working for KBOA Radio. Mr. Rudy has been on the air for over 55 years, most recently at KOTC Radio in Kennett.

Mr. Rudy owned and operated several area radio stations and he was a co-founder of Walker and Associates Advertising Agency in Memphis. He was an avid golfer, public speaker and lead singer of The Redneck Rhythm Rangers. He loved all varieties of music. He took great pride in his country, his community, his friends and his family.

Mr. Rudy married Bernice Davis in 1950, and together they had three children. Bernice passed away in October 1969 after her own battle with cancer. In 1971, he married Sara Ann Sexton, and they had a son. Together they raised their six children, Pamela, Jeffery, David, William, Camille and Matthew.

Mr. Rudy was preceded in death by his parents, Chancie Everett and Macey Elizabeth Pylant; first wife, Bernice Davis Pylant; and his beloved brother, Max.

He is survived by a sister, Billie Fern Garver of Leachville; three brothers, Jack Pylant of Iuka, Miss., Ira Pylant of Memphis, Ted Pylant of Jonesboro; a daughter, Pam Pylant Bankston of Mountain Brook, Ala.; three sons, Jeff Pylant of Naples, Fla., Dave Pylant of Columbus, Kan., Matt Pylant of New York, N.Y.; a stepson, Will Sexton of Dallas, Texas; a stepdaughter, Camille Sexton Lockhart of Springfield, Mo.

He has two grandsons, David Bankston and Chris Bankston, students at the University of Alabama; ex-wife Sara Ann Pylant Wright of Thayer, Mo.; and countless cousins, nephews, nieces, and innumerable friends whom he loved like family.

The funeral will be at 1 p.m. today at the Pentecostal Church in Kennett. There will be a private burial service.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that in the true spirit of Mr. Rudy, you visit someone in a local nursing home. Or you may make a donation to the National World War II Memorial, 2300 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 501, Arlington, Va., 22201 or call 1-800-639-4WW2. You may also make a donation to the Rudy Pylant Charitable Foundation at Kennett National Bank, Kennett, Mo.

McDaniel Funeral Service in Kennett is in charge of arrangements.