W. CLIFTON BANTA SR.

CHARLESTON -- W. Clifton Banta Sr., 82, a prominent Mississippi County attorney and civic leader died Sunday, Aug. 29, 1993, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Oct. 13, 1910, at Moselle, the son of Julius Edwin and Julia Anderson Banta. On Aug. 1, 1936, he married Mary Ellen Simpson, who preceded him in death on March 10, 1969.

He graduated first in class from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1933, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. He began a law practice in Charleston in 1934 with Frank Ashby, who he later served under as assistant prosecuting attorney. In 1941, he started his own firm, and, throughout his carreer maintained membership in the Mississippi County Bar Association, the Missouri Bar, the American Bar Association and the University of Missouri School of Law Foundation.

He was city attorney for Charleston, Wyatt and Wilson City from 1951-1976, and was appointed to serve as Judge of Probate Court and ex-officio judge from 1976-1978. He also was a member of the United Methodist Church in Charleston, where he served in various capacities including as a member of the administrative board and as a Sunday school teacher for 20 years.

Among his civic activities: he was past president and a member of the Charleston Kiwanis Club for 53 years; in 1950, he served as mayor of Charleston and as director and president of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce; from 1950-1956, he was a member of the Charleston School District Board of Education, including a term as president of the board.

He also served in various positions in the Mississippi County Child Welfare Advisory Board; the Mississippi County Welfare Commission; Mississippi County Chapter of the American Red Cross; Charleston Country Club; Mississippi County Library Board; Mississippi County Health Board; Watermelon Festival Committee; Boy Scout leader and Scoutmaster and the SEMO Council of Boy Scouts of America; and the Missouri State Board of Education.

Survivors include a son, W. Cliton Banta Jr. of Charleston; a daughter, Jane Elizabeth Hopkins of Poplar Bluff; a brother, Byron Banta of Lee's Summit; three grandsons; and two great-grandchildren.

Friends may call after 5 p.m. today at the McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston. Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the United Methodist Church in Charleston. The Rev. Richard Combs will officiate, and burial will be in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Charleston.