MICHAEL BIRD

ADVANCE -- Funeral for Gerald "Michael" Bird of Advance will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Morgan Funeral Home. The Rev. Larry Greenfield will officiate. Burial will be in Morgan Memorial Park, with military graveside rites.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 4:30-8 p.m. Friday.

Bird, 55, died Monday, Nov. 9, 1998, in Poteau, Okla.

He was born May 28, 1943, in Cape Girardeau, son of Ernest Gerald and Virginia Lee Shell Bird. He and Shabie Proffer were married Nov. 14, 1965, at Sikeston.

Bird had been a riverboat captain since 1973, and had most recently been employed by Kirby Inland Marine of Baton Rouge, La.

He was a member of First Baptist Church, VFW, and charter member of Advance Eagles. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He received four Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Shea Bird of Honsu Atsugi, Japan; a daughter, Shandra Costello of Advance; a sister, Beth Spitzmiller of Advance; and a grandson.