Bass & Gasper Funeral Home Inc

Don Thomas Gatke, 81, of Westport, passed away at 7:44 p.m. on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at his residence. He was born on February 7, 1944, in Warsaw, Indiana the son of Don Edward and Lucile (Andrus) Gatke. Don was born in Warsaw and raised in Winona Lake and moved to Jennings County in 1971. He was a teacher and football coach and retired in 2000 from the Jennings County Community Schools after 30 years of service. He was a member of the American Legion Post #49 in Warsaw, Indiana. Don enjoyed farming along with soil and timber conservation. He was a Vietnam veteran having served with the United States Marine Corp. Don married Connie Lee Heiman on June 11, 1971, in Winona Lake, Indiana...

Michael Alexander Dix, 74, passed away on November 02, 2025 at Franciscan Health. He was born on January 09, 1951 in Bartholomew County Hospital to Gerald L. & Georgia M. (Coffey) Dix. As a young teen, Mike was employed as a lifeguard at CERAland. Simultaneously, he learned woodworking and fine cabinetry skills while working with his Dad. He was a proficient machine repair and millwright journeyman at Cummins, Inc. and at Navistar. Mike grew up and lived in Columbus until his retirement from Cummins in 1999. He then moved to Greenwood to work at Navistar. After his second retirement from Navistar, he began remodeling his current residence in Columbus including an addition to his detached...

Carolyn Cozette Stephens, 92, of Columbus passed away Tuesday October 7, 2025, at Our Hospice in Columbus Indiana. She was born on December 10, 1932, in Greensburg, Kentucky, the only daughter of Dudley and Fern (Harrison) Jeffries, where her childhood was spent in the hollers of Kentucky. The only daughter of four meant she spent her days helping care for her younger brothers on the farm. She married James B. Stephens in Glasgow, Kentucky on January 12, 1949. She worked for over 20 years for Benzol Cleaners then retired from Cummins Engine Company. She then went to work for the Bartholomew County School Corporation for many more years. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great...

Arthur Robert McCullough, 94, of Westport, passed away at 7:06 p.m. on Monday, August 11, 2025, at Our Hospice inpatient facility in Columbus. He was born October 15, 1930, in Decatur County, the son of Simon J. and Mabel (Tanner) McCullough. He had been a Decatur County resident most of his life, graduated from Sand Creek High School in 1950 and from Lane College in Indianapolis in 1957 with an associate's degree in science. He was employed for 31 years at Cummins Engine Co. as a tool design drafter. Arthur was a veteran having served with the US Army during the Korean Conflict. He was a member of the Union Flat Rock Baptist Church, the Westport IOOF Lodge #681, the Greensburg American...

John Scott Dougherty, 82, passed away on August 9, 2025, in Columbus, Indiana. Born on January 3, 1943, John was a true citizen of the world, having lived in numerous places due to his upbringing as an Army brat. His stops included Texas, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, California, Hawaii, The Philippines, Japan and Germany. John graduated from Kaiserslautern American High School in Germany in 1961 and furthered his education at San Bernardino Valley College followed by San Diego State University. His career spanned various disciplines, primarily as a dynamic salesman in the moving industry, industrial sales, and specialty advertising. John served in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman...

David E. Buzzard, 57, of Columbus, passed away at 10:42 p.m. on Friday, August 1, 2025, at the Columbus Regional Hospital. He was born on October 23, 1967, in Columbus, the son of Donald Eugene and Eleanor "Kay" (Salmons) Buzzard. He was a lifelong resident of Bartholmew County and was a 1986 graduate of Columbus East High School. He retired from Toyota Industrial Equipment after 20 years of service and worked at Jim Daily Farms. David was a member of the Alert Methodist Church. He enjoyed woodworking along with spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. He married his high school sweet heart, Jacqueline Hoppus on November 30th, 1985 in Columbus, she survives along with...

Trent A. Jones, 69, of Westport, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at his residence. He was born on July 6, 1955, in Greensburg, Indiana the son of Harold A. and Joy E. (Jessup) Jones. He was a lifelong resident of Westport and attended Special Education classes at Adams, St. Paul and Greensburg. He also attended Sandcreek School. He was a member of the ARC of Decatur County. Trent was the first employee at DSI when they opened in 1975. He was recognized by the State of Indiana in 1995 for Resolution 69 at the Indiana General Assembly. He was member of the Westport Methodist Church where he served as an usher and sang solos. Trent enjoyed volunteering at the Greensburg...

Della J. Hamilton, 86, of Westport, passed away at 9:50 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at her residence. She was born February 10, 1939, in Anderson, the daughter of Clyde F. and Mary M. (Beeman) McCroy. She lived most of her life in Westport. Della was a minister and established the Della J. Hamilton Praise Ministries in 1975. She enjoyed doing crafts, music, reading and was a people person. She married George W. Hamilton on December 6, 1959, in Nebraska, Indiana. He preceded her in death on October 4, 1996. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Campbell of Westport and Jeannetta Overfelt of Greensburg; her sister, Susie J. Barthlow of Columbus; her three grandchildren; her great...

Linda Carole Fisher, 81, of Columbus, passed away at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at her residence. She was born June 24, 1943, in Russell Springs, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry Milton and Stella P. (Curry) Bryant. She was born and raised in Kentucky and has been a past resident of Burney, Grammer, where she owned the Grammer Grocery Store for 5 years and was postmaster, Alert and Elizabethtown. She has been a Columbus resident since 2016. She graduated from Burney High School in 1960; received her bachelor's degree from Indiana University and her master's degree from Liberty University. She was the principal at Crossroads Christian School and a counselor at Bartholomew...

Lee Michael Watts, 40, of Columbus, passed away at 1:02 p.m. on Sunday, January 12, 2025, at Columbus Regional Hospital. He was born September 5, 1984, in Columbus, the son of Tom and Danita (Deaton) Watts. He was a lifelong resident of Columbus and was a 2003 Graduate of Columbus East High School. He previously worked as a salesman for Hubler Honda. He attended St. Peters Lutheran Church, and the Sidekicks Walk and Run program. Lee was an avid motorcyclist with a sense of humor enjoyed by all. He loved his dogs Nera and Sunny and found joy in time spent with family. He is survived by his mother, Danita Watts of Columbus; his father, Tom (Celia Allman-Watts) Watts of Columbus; his daughter,...

Cathy Irene Case, 75, of Hope passed away at 10:44 a.m. on Friday, December 20, 2024 at her residence. She was born on July 26, 1949 in Jennings County the daughter of Donald Robert and Violet Mae (Cathey) Case. She was raised in Westport and moved to Hope in 1982. She graduated from Sandcreek High School in 1967 and attended Indiana University for 1 year. Cathy retired from Sears in the Sales Department after 32 years of service. She was a former member of the Westport Christian Church. She enjoyed traveling, reading and embroidering. She is survived by her daughter, Tammy (Brian) Shaw of Hope; son, Ed Schwering of Hope; brother, Larry Jo (Mary Ann) Case of Edinburgh; grandchildren, Erynn...

Mitchell Banks Coombs, 96, of Cumming passed away Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Born May 5, 1928, in Carrollton, KY to the late John and Ina Banks Coombs he had lived in Cumming for the past 24 years, moving here from Indiana, Maryland and Pennsylvania before settling in the area and retiring from Cummins with over 33 years of service. His wife of 75 years, Betty worked as a waitress at her family's restaurant. It was there that she met Mitchell. She asked a girl working with her "do you know him." She told Betty that she went to school with him. Betty replied, "I sure would like a date with him, and the rest is history." They loved to travel and were avid Atlanta Braves fans, Mitchell...

Jon A. Overmyer, 81, of Westport, passed away at 4:48 a.m. on Friday, November 29, 2024, at the Willows of Greensburg. He was born on July 30, 1943, in Seymour, the son of Paul & Mabel E. (Agnew) Overmyer. He graduated from Milan High School in 1961. Jon has lived just north of Alert since 1964 and had worked for Cummins Engine Co. for 16 years. In 1979, he started his own company, the Jon Overmyer Electric & Plumbing Service. He was a member of the Sardinia Baptist Church and had attended the Alert Methodist Church. He enjoyed reading western books, fishing, woodworking and horses. He married Elaine Elizabeth Growe on February 15, 1964, in Clifford, Indiana. Jon is survived by his...

Deborah Jean Lazenby, 75, of Westport passed away at 3:04 a.m. on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at Crown Pointe Senior Living Center in Greensburg. She was born on April 17, 1949, in Jackson County, Indiana, the daughter of Flotilla Williams. She was raised in Jackson County and moved to Westport in 1978 and had worked at Wheaton Tubing. She enjoyed spending time with family, taking photos and spending time at the beach. She married Patrick Cecil Lazenby on June 21, 1986, in Columbus. He preceded her in death on June 5, 2018. Surviving are her daughters, Melissa Bailey (Gary Roman) of Westport, Mendy Dawson of Westport and Christena Sweet (Gary Davis) of Greensburg; her sons, Brian Lazenby of...

Leslie Andrew Walker, 62, of Greensburg, passed away at 6:02 p.m. on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at Ascension St. Vincent Jennings Hospital. He was born on January 21, 1962, in Springfield, Missouri, the son of Bailey and Nancy Jane (Bass) Walker. He was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, moved to Cincinnati in 1969, then to Crothersville in 1975 and then to Greensburg in 2019. Leslie graduated from Crothersville High School in 1980 and went on to receive and associate's degree. He worked for AAM Powertrain in North Vernon for 30 years. Leslie enjoyed fishing, hunting, woodworking, cooking, canning, gardening, wine making and spending time with his grandchildren. He was a veteran...

Larry D. Mozingo, 68, of North Vernon, passed away on Friday October 18, 2024 at Ascension St. Vincent Jennings County. Larry was born on February 21, 1956 at Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, Indiana. The son of Carl E. & Birdie L. (Surface) Mozingo. He was a lifelong Jennings County resident and graduated from Jennings County High School in 1974. He retired as a Plumber for the Local Union 440 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He enjoyed flying kites, camping, playing with his dogs & grand puppies, fishing, and serving Christmas Dinner at the Ronald McDonald House. He married Denise Ann Willis on August 29, 1986 in Vernon, Indiana. He is survived by his wife, Denise Mozingo...

Dorothy Jean Gasper, 88, of Westport, passed away at 5:06 a.m. on Friday, September 27, 2024, at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis with her family by her side. She was born on September 21, 1936, in Carthage, Indiana the daughter of Charles Bernard and Helen Louise (Maddix) Caldwell. She was born and raised in Carthage, graduated from Carthage High School in 1954 and moved to Ogden in 1955. She has been a Westport resident since 1997. She had worked for Mayhill Publishing in Knightstown for 24 years before moving to Westport and worked at Bass and Gasper Funeral Home for 20 years. She was a member of the former Ogden United Methodist Church. Dorothy enjoyed quilting, antiquing,...

Kyle Scott Neukam, 16, of North Vernon, passed away at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2024, due to an auto accident on State Road 7. He was born September 30, 2007, in Indianapolis, the son of Robert Neukam and Jessica (Fletcher) Woodson. Kyle was a lifelong resident of Jennings and Decatur County. He was a student at Jennings County High School where he played football and was an AB Honor roll student. He was working for Crimson Oak Restaurant & Pub. Kyle loved playing and building PCs, helping his grandfather work on vehicles and going to the gym. He is survived by his parents, Robert & Kristina Neukam of North Vernon; his mother, Jessica C. Woodson of Hayden; his brothers, Matthew,...

Harrel Delaine Frodge, 86, of Westport, passed away at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at Aspen Place Health Campus in Greensburg. He was born on March 28, 1937 in Edmonton, Kentucky the son of John W. and Zona P. (Harris) Frodge. He was born in Kentucky and was raised in the Westport area and graduated from Sandcreek High School in 1955. Delaine was a lifelong farmer. He worked for Cummins Engine Co. for 30 years as a production scheduler and was a school bus driver for 13 years for the Decatur County Community School Corporation. He was an original board member on the Westport Area Community Building and was an advisory board member for Sandcreek Township for 12 years. He attended...

Betty L. Smith, 93, of Westport, passed away at 11:26 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, 2024 at Aspen Place Health Campus in Greensburg. She was born on May 10, 1930 in Huntsville, Tennessee the daughter of William & Maude Eva (Robbins) Walker. She moved to Indiana in 1937 and had been a Westport resident since 1948. She was a member of the North Vernon Order of Eastern Star #183. She enjoyed flowers, gardening, pets, quilting, sewing and cooking. Betty married Robert B. Smith on June 4, 1948 in Uniontown, Indiana. He preceded her in death on February 11, 2006. She is survived by her sons, Steven L. (Jane) Smith and Danny L. (Joni) Smith both of Greensburg and Randy R. (Sherry) Smith of...

Robert E. Kirby, who was known as both Bud and Bob to family and friends, died March 6, 2024, at Our Hospice of South Central Indiana in Columbus, Indiana. He was 88. Robert was born September 6, 1935, in Anderson, Indiana, to Lawrence Ulysses "Jack" and Linnie Belle (Girt) Kirby. He spent much of his youth in Jennings County and graduated from Anderson High School, then proudly joined the U.S. Air Force, serving in Korea, Turkey, and other sites abroad. Returning to the U.S., he was stationed in Texas, where he attended Corpus Christi University for 3 years. On June 22, 1961, in North Vernon, Bob was married to Dorothy Helen Pyles, who preceded him in death on February 13, 2023. After...