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Edison

Edison Kaderly

Henry Edison Lincoln Kaderly, passed away on March 5, 2013, in Joplin, Missouri.  He was born February 12, 1926, on his family farm near Jasper, Missouri.  He was a lifelong Barton County resident. He graduated from Lamar High School in 1943, after which he proudly served his country in the Navy during WWII.  Edison was a plank owner of the USS Floyd B. Parks DD-884, a destroyer.  His service was largely in the Pacific Theatre. Edison attended Drury College and then the University of Missouri at Columbia where in 1950 he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a law degree in 1952. His professional career spanned over sixty years.  He served for twelve years as the Magistrate and Probate Judge of Barton County beginning in 1955, and a two-year term as Barton County Prosecuting Attorney beginning in 1967.  He was the youngest man to ever serve as President of the Magistrate and Probate Judges Association of Missouri.  He served on the Probate and Trust Committee of the Missouri Bar.  Beyond his private practice of law, Edison was involved in the banking business having co-owned and operated the Bank of Jasper and the Bank of Diamond.  He also owned and operated Lamar Mini Storage, and he considered himself a “gentleman farmer” like his father. He was a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge No. 292 of Lamar, having received his 50-year pin on December 27, 2005, and a member of the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners, for which he received his 50-year pin in September, 2006. Edison was actively involved in the Democrat Party and he attended the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago as a voting delegate.  He worked on and supported many campaigns, local, regional and statewide, and he served as a Colonel in the Honorary Staff for his good friend Missouri Governor Warren Hearnes. He believed in the community and served as an alderman for the City of Lamar for nineteen years before becoming the City Attorney.  Following the generous donation by Marion Thiebaud to the City of Lamar, he spearheaded the effort that resulted in the construction of Thiebaud Auditorium.  He also served as City Attorney for Golden City, and as a member of the Lake Cemetery Board, Fair Board, Chamber of Commerce Board, Boy Scout Advisory Committee and Bridge Club. He was a member of the Lamar Country Club for which he was actively involved in the incorporation thereof.  He was a long time member of the Family Motor Coach Association #21223 and the Recreational Vehicle Fellowship of Rotarians.  He generously supported the local Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Good Samaritan Shop. Edison was a long-time member of the First Christian Church of Lamar, where he served as a deacon for many of those years and chaired fund drives for the Church building program, land acquisitions and the flagpole. Edison’s dedication and passion for service showed most clearly in his love of Rotary.  He served as District 6110 Governor in 1994-1995, and as Rotary International President’s Representative to District 5280 in Long Beach in May, 1998. Locally, he served as club president, Ladies Night chairman, fund raising committee chairman and foundation committee chairman.  At the District level, he served as the foundation chairman, benefactor program chairman, major gifts subcommittee chairman, PETS instruction staff, GSE and scholarship selection committees, and the College of Past District Governors.  He served as Sergeant-at-Arms at multiple international conventions.  He was recognized as a major donor, benefactor, multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary Foundation District Service Award, Citation for Meritorious Service, and 58 years of perfect attendance in the Lamar Rotary Club.  He believed in all that Rotary stood for and applied the Four-Way Test in everything that he did.  For 50 years, he “kissed the Fair Queen” as the master of ceremonies for the Lamar Fair Queen Contest, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lamar. As avid RV’ers, Edison and Freda crisscrossed the country, beginning with a small pop-up camper and evolving into their 35’ motor home.  They were always off on their next adventure, Freda in the co-pilot seat, atlas at her side and Edison in search of the next great trout stream.  They visited many national parks, forty-nine states and all Canadian provinces in an RV, plus several treks to Hawaii.  Travels to foreign lands were always exciting for them, and they traveled with the American Bar Association and Rotary on an international basis.  They often found themselves “at sea” for another great cruise.  For over fifty years, Edison was “trackside” on Memorial Day weekend, for the greatest spectacle in racing, the Indy 500.  He and Freda sat all around the track, saw many changes in the facilities and cars, a few tragedies and even rode in the Goodyear Blimp.  It was his final set of tickets, near the start-finish line in the penthouse, that he declared to be “the best seats in the house”. In 1969 he was appointed to serve a six-year term on the Board of Regents of the then Southwest Missouri State College, now Missouri State University.  He served as President of the Board of Regents in the final two years of his term.  During his tenure, five buildings were added to the campus, including the John Q. Hammons Student Center, and the college became a University. On August 22, 1948, he married the love of his life, Freda Mae Thompson Kaderly.  For fifty-six years, they shared this adventure of life.  Together, they raised two children who survive, Steven Kaderly and wife Katie, of Lamar, and Belinda Elliston and husband Mark, of Carl Junction.  Edison’s life came full circle with the blessings of five grandchildren, Miranda Elliston, Josie Kaderly, Lincoln Kaderly, Dallas Elliston and Truman Kaderly.  He is also survived by his sister, Elzene (Kaderly) Yancey of Mountain View, California, two nephews, David Yancey and wife Anglia, and Michael Yancey and wife Dianne, all of San Francisco, California, five great nephews, two great nieces, and his faithful secretary of forty-six years, Linda Hagins.  He was predeceased by his parents, Henry Kaderly and Mary Alice (Highbaugh) Kaderly, and his brother-in-law, Chester Yancey. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2013, at 2:00 P.M., at the First Christian Church of Lamar, under the direction of Daniel Funeral Home, Lamar, Missouri www.danielfuneralhome.net. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Christian Church of Lamar or the Rotary Foundation in care of the funeral home.
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