ALONZO TIDBALL

ALONZO TIDBALL

JASPER- Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at Daniel Funeral Home in Lamar for Alonzo L. Tidball, 82, Jasper, who died Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 15, 2017, surrounded by family at Freeman West Hospital in Joplin. Burial will be in Waters Cemetery, southwest of Jasper.

Visitation will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to Waters Cemetery, in care of the funeral home.

Condolences and memories may be shared at www.danielfuneralhome.net.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Jane; their four children, Mark Tidball, Carthage, Teresa Carpenter and husband David, Jasper, Mike Tidball and wife Kimbi, Carthage and Tracy Keutzer and husband Chad, Jasper; 11 grandchildren, Matthew Carpenter, Rebecca Isenmann, Caleb, Jacob, Isaac, Eliza and Jarrod Tidball, Monica Baugh and Jimmy Keutzer, Tyler and Trevor Tidball and six great-grandchildren. He was looking forward to welcoming two more great-grandchildren to the family in coming months.

Mr. Tidball was born Sept. 22, 1934, in Barton County, to Pedro Clifton and Lena Mae (Bright) Tidball. Because his mother died while he was an infant, he and his two-year-old sister Evelyn were reared by their great-aunt, Jessie Lucas, in the home of Grandpa Lucas. Over the years it became home to Con Lucas and Jack Tidball, a well as their father, Pedro Tidball. Mr. Tidball was the last surviving member of this close-knit family group.

Growing up in rural Barton County in the 1930’s and 1940’s, Mr. Tidball learned early on to fish and hunt, often providing a squirrel, rabbit or enough fish to feed the family. The one-room Blue School house where he attended through eighth grade also served as his Blue Sunday school classroom. He was a 1952 graduate of Jasper High School and briefly attended Pittsburg College. In addition to full-time farming, he had worked at Lawn Boy in Lamar. He was an innovative and visionary steward of the land he loved, and was an avid gardener who blessed many people with the bounty of his garden. He was one of the first in the area to implement an irrigation system and was undaunted by the challenges of producing green beans, cucumbers and sunflowers, as well as his main stay of soybeans, corn and wheat.

He married Mary Jane Moore on Aug. 31, 1956, in Lamar and their love for each other, their four children and the farm they called home for nearly 61 years was clearly evident in their daily lives. They enjoyed road trips, whether short or long, a $20 adventure at a casino, following the Kansas City Royals and any opportunity to visit with friends and family. He never met a stranger and his favorite pastime included a cup of coffee, good stories and the fellowship of great friends at Judy’s, Sharon’s and Peggy’s.