Deaths and funerals

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jan 16, 2005 by Capital-Journal

William Thomas Dinwiddie

HOUSTON --- Former Topekan William Thomas Dinwiddie, 84, Houston, died of natural causes in Houston on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005.

He was born to Frances and Charles Roy Dinwiddie on Sept. 27, 1920. He spent his childhood in Clarksville, Texas. In 1941, he received a Master of Education degree from Texas A&M.

He met a beautiful, young office secretary, Bebe, while on duty at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. They were married on July 4, 1943, in Indiana.

Bill completed flight and combat training by mid-1943 and was assigned as a B-17 commander, 8th Air Force, 390th Bomb Group, 569th squadron, Framlingham, England, in February 1944.

During the next five months, he piloted his faithful crew and battered Flying Fortress, the "Gung Ho," through 30 missions against targets in Germany and Nazi Europe.

Capt. Dinwiddie was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters for outstanding achievement in aerial combat. His diary of those missions will live on. Lt. Col. Bill Dinwiddie retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1980.

In 1981, Bill concluded a 35-year engineering career with Southwestern Bell that had taken him to management positions in Dallas, Mineral Wells and Lubbock, Texas, and finally, in 1963, to Topeka.

Bill enjoyed such activities as bridge, golf, woodworking, gardening, singing and volunteerism. He was a soloist for several church groups, sang with the Topeka Bell Aires Chorus, and played guitar for many nursing home sing-alongs. He was president of Little Leagues, Southwestern Bell Pioneer Clubs and engineering societies.

Bill volunteered for Ronald McDonald projects, Adopt-A-Highway cleanup, Salvation Army bell ringing, and Red Cross Christmas package wrapping. In 1966, he began the Fourth of July parade and celebration for the Topeka Briarwood subdivision.

Failing health required his 1999 move to a retirement center in Houston. Bill is survived by his wife of 61 years, Bebe; a sister, Ruth Merritt, Colquitt, Ga.; a son, William Jr., Houston; grandchildren, Shanna Jones and Shawn Dinwiddie, Austin, Texas, and Shane Dinwiddie, Dallas; and great-grandchildren, Madelyn and Kathryn Jones, and twins, Emma and Kylee Dinwiddie, Austin.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at American Heritage Funeral Home, 10710 Veterans Memorial Drive, Houston, 77038, (281) 445-0050. A graveside service and military burial will follow immediately across the street in Houston National Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Bill may be made to the Red Cross, Salvation Army or the SPCA .

Margaret Elaine Garst

DENVER --- Margaret Elaine Garst, 78, Denver, loving wife and widow of James Gail Garst, of Madison, Kan., passed to the next life on Jan. 5, 2005, at Lutheran Medical Center in Wheatridge, Colo.

Surviving her are three sons, Christopher, Jonathan and Timothy; and eight grandchildren.

A funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Overbrook United Methodist Church, 1005 N. Maple, Overbrook, Kan.

Condolences may be expressed through Stork Family Mortuary, 1895 Wadsworth Blvd., 80214. (303) 237-5350.

Irene D. Gilbert

WICHITA --- Irene D. Gilbert, 80, died Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005, in Bentonville, Ark.

A graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Monday in Lakeview Cemetery in Wichita. Visitation will be from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Monday at the Lakeview Funeral Home.

Irene was born Aug. 24, 1924, in Pawnee County, the daughter of Ira and Elma Dryden Mast. She graduated from Larned High School in 1942 and from Wesley School of Nursing in 1946.

Irene was preceded in death by sisters Margaret M. Barr, Larned, and Mary L. Conard, Arlington.

Survivors include a son, David Gilbert and his wife, Charlene, Wichita; daughters, Joyce DeZalia and her husband, Peter, Bentonville, Ark., Sarah Gilbert, Wichita, and Nancy Coshaw and her husband, Richard, Bonham, Texas; a sister, Mildred E. Scott, Wichita; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army, 350 N. Market, Wichita, Kan. 67202.

Laura Jean Laing

ANDES, N.Y. --- Laura Jean Laing, Andes, N.Y., formerly of Topeka, died Friday, Jan. 14, 2005, in Andes.

She was a former teacher in Kansas, and retired as a librarian at Delhi University in New York. She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Robert Laing.

Survivors include a son, Charles Robert Jr., and his wife, Loretta, Andes; a daughter, Roxanne Finkle and her husband, Darwin, Andes; and a granddaughter, Krista Jean.

William Thomas Dinwiddie