leon chalmer smitherman

Leon Chalmer Smitherman was born April 24, 1917 at Arkansas City, Kansas. He grew up and attended school in Kansas. He was an independent oil and gas driller, producer and operator in the mid-continent, Rocky Mountain regions. He was a life-time member of the Wichita Petroleum Club, a member of the Major Benefactors Foundation Mayo Clinic Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona and a member of Messiah Lutheran Church in Denver. Survivors include his wife, Cora of the home; son, Leon Jr. and wife, Beverly Jean of El Dorado, Kansas; grandson, Leon III and wife Julie; and great-grandson, James Parker, Raleigh, North Carolina; brother, Glenn, Wichita, Kansas; sister, Karolynn, Wichita, Kansas; and his first wife, Dorothy, El Dorado, Kansas. He is preceded in death by his parents: Chalmer and Hazel (Foudray) Smitherman. Friends may call at the mortuary Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Funeral service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, January 15, 2003 in the Fairmount Mausoleum Chapel. The family has asked that donations be sent to the Parkinson Disease Association of the Rockies, 1420 Ogden St., Denver, CO 80218.