Harley McSpadden

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.

Memorials may take the form of contributions to the First Baptist Church in Jackson, and condolences may be sent to the family online at www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.