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Appling, Robert C., President
Bean, Otto , Jr.
Chambers, Charles L., President
Leary, John, President
Robert J Hussey
Pursell, Irion "Percy"
Sodini, Leno Joseph
Simpson, LT. COL. Ollie O., III 
 

John LEARY

John Leary 69, John Leary died in the MyeloSuppression Unit at Baptist East at 2 a.m. Sunday morning after a six and one half year battle with Multiple Myeloma. His doctors at the Multiple Myeloma Research Center in Little Rock, Arkansas and at West Clinic in Memphis agreed it was miraculous that he survived this advanced disease for six and one half years. Dr. Pallera said it was his positive attitude and loving family that kept him determined to live. John Leary was born on February 9, 1940 in Gastonia, NC where his father, John Leary, Sr. was a partner in Carolina Cotton Classing. In 1959, John began what would be a 50 year career in the cotton business on Front Street. Beginning as a squidge for Barnwell and Hays, he continued as a cotton merchant and an officer in the company for almost 28 years. Jack Hays, Sr. was his mentor in those early days, and Jack, Jr. and Billy Grehan were his close associates and hunting buddies. He was in charge of domestic sales for Deans and Co. before joining Hurdle Lea and the late Rusty Dyer in Eastern Trading Co. He became vice president, managing the Memphis office of Eastern Trading Co., which was located in Greenville, SC. He enjoyed buying and selling cotton from Texas to the Carolinas with Jordan Lea and Phil Canale. This was a fulfilling business venture for John and he enjoyed these years tremendously. He served as a board member of the Memphis Cotton Exchange and is one of only two men in the history of the Exchange to serve three terms as president. He is a past president of the Southern Cotton Association. He was a board member of the National Cotton Counsel and the American Cotton Shippers Association. The past several years, he has served on the board of the Memphis Cotton Museum and has worked closely with friends Calvin Turley and Danny Lyons in raising funds for this project. In taking the walking tour from the lobby of the Memphis Cotton Exchange, you view Front Street and Cotton Row from the perspective of a cotton trader named John Leary. He was recently honored with a "Celebration of 50 years on Front Street" attended by over a hundred cotton friends and associates. He was hailed as the last true cotton trader on Front Street. A bronze bust of John Leary commemorating his career is planned for the floor of the Cotton Museum. He has a lifetime of wonderful memories made with his family and friends. He enjoyed years of duck hunting especially with his son, Scott, and Scott's two best friends, Jim Klepper and John Walker. They could reminisce for hours about memories of duck hunting trips and Labrador retrievers, and misadventures with four wheelers and canoes. John could light up a room with his grin and rosy cheeks. Friends would ask him to tell the same jokes over and over just to hear him laugh, which was infectious. He was a board member of the Horseshoe Lake Club and enjoyed fishing and skiing there for years. The last few years he especially loved fishing there with his daughter, April, and granddaughter, Sophie. He was an avid tennis player at the Racquet Club of Memphis for years and even when he could no longer play, he loved meeting his tennis group after they had played. He loved his Ole Miss Rebels and tailgating in the Grove. He was thrilled when his son Scott and his family moved to Oxford last fall. Most of all he loved God and his family. He leaves his beloved wife, constant companion, and best friend, Pat Dawkins Leary, his daughter, April, and son, Scott and his wife, Mary. He was known as Papaw to his eight grandchildren, whom he adored. All his grandchildren, Forrest, Mary Haston, Elizabeth, Luke, Sophie, Kolbe and Nate, are competitive swimmers, except for the youngest, two year old Jake. He was also extremely close to his younger brother, David Leary and his wife, Cathy of Greensboro, NC. He also leaves two sisters in Florida, Nan and Effie, and a half sister, Melissa. John was a devout Catholic who lived his life with courage, compassion and humility. He reminded Scott and April that the greatest gift he could ever pass on was his Catholic faith. He was a member of the Church of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, located on Hickory Crest Drive in Memphis. Visitation will be at the Church of Holy Spirit on Tuesday, August 25 from 6:00 until 8:00. Services will be at the Church of the Holy Spirit Wednesday, August 26 at 11:30. Memorial Park Funeral Home (901)767-8930

Lt. Col. Ollie O. Simpson III

LT. COL. OLLIE O. SIMPSON, III, U.S.A.F. Retired, 87, of Memphis, died February 12, 2008 at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, February 14, and funeral services will be 10 a.m. Friday morning, both at Memphis Funeral Home Poplar Chapel. A private burial will be held for the family in Memorial Park Cemetery after the funeral. A retired V.P. of Andersen-Clayton Cotton Company, Mr. Simpson was also a member of Mullins United Methodist Church since 1961. In 1941, he volunteered for the U.S. Air Force and flew 96 combat missions as Squadron Commander of the 404th Fighter Group. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Service Medal. He was also the past president of the Memphis Cotton Exchange and the Cotton Shippers Association. Mr. Simpson is survived by his wife, Betty Davis Simpson; three daughters, Ann Triplett of Piperton, LaMora Hiss of Collierville, and Bes Crowe of Kingsport; two sons, Dr. Dale M. Simpson of Southern Pines, NC and Dr. Gary D. Simpson of Germantown; his sister, Martha Nesbit of Norcross, GA; and 10 grandchildren. Memorials may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of the church or charity of your choice. Memphis Funeral Home 901-725-0100 memphisfuneralhome.net
 

Published in The Commercial Appeal on 2/14/2008.

 Sodini, Leno Joseph

Published in The Commercial Appeal on 9/7/2007.

Otto Bean, Jr.

State Representative Otto Bean, Jr., a long time agricultural leader, farmer, and agri-businessman died Sunday, July 16 at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, TN. Representing the 163rd district, the two term Representative was a key player in both Southeast Missouri politics and the U.S. cotton industry.

Bean, age 68, died peacefully in his sleep following a two year battle with Leukemia. He died at 10:00 PM with his family at his side. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 AM Saturday, July 22 at the First Presbyterian Church in Kennett Mo.

The youngest child of Otto and Alice Bean, Otto Bean, Jr. was born and raised on his family’s farm near Gideon, MO. He attended Gideon Elementary and High School, before pursuing his interest in military service at the Western Military Academy.

During high school, Bean distinguished himself on the basketball court, earning statewide recognition and scholarship offers, but opted to work his way through the University of Missouri, majoring in Ag Business with an emphasis on Farm Management. In 1960, he married his college sweetheart, Janet Stillman.

Bean served on active duty in the Army National Guard during 1962 - 1963 and attended Officer Candidate School in 1964. He was Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served until 1970, when he was transferred to the Army Reserve.

During this same time, he launched his own farming operation and his family.

Over the next four decades, Bean built a reputation as an innovative farmer, a successful agribusinessman, and a leader in the community. He filled leadership roles in a number of statewide and national organizations, including Missouri Farm Bureau, University of Missouri, Cotton Board, Cotton Incorporated, National Cotton Council, Cotton Producers of Missouri, and the Agricultural Council of Arkansas. In 2002, he was named to the USDA Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee as an advisor on international agriculture, commodity, and trade policies.

Otto Bean, Jr. made history in 2002 when he was elected the first Republican to represent the 163rd district in the Missouri House of Representatives in recorded history. He quickly developed a reputation as a coalition builder, and worked closely with colleagues on both sides of the aisle. These efforts also played well at home, and Bean was elected to a second term in 2004.

Although loyal to his party’s core values, Bean often parted ways with party leadership over issues he felt key to his district. He was one of few Republicans to vote against proposed cuts in Medicaid and to co-sponsor legislation to provide funding for family planning. He was one of very few in the legislature to take the side of rice farmers, millers, and buyers during the Ventria rice debacle. Bean also surprised many of his colleagues by championing the arts in Missouri, and he was recognized several times by the Missouri Citizens of the Arts and the Missouri Art Education Association.

Ultimately, though, Bean’s crowning achievements in the Missouri legislature revolved around constituent services and local issues. Both as a member of the Bootheel Caucus (aka the Bootheel Mafia) and as an individual legislator, he pushed hard for local projects like the Kennett Hope Center, local business development, and safety lights for schools.

Bean is survived by his wife, a sister, and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren

The family requests memorial donations be made to:

Wings Cancer Foundation

100 North Humphreys Boulevard
Memphis, Tennessee 38120
Phone: 901.322.2984
Fax: 901.685.2969
http://www.wingscancerfoundation.org/

University of Missouri Delta Research Center

P. O. Box 160
Portageville, MO 63873
Phone: 573-379-5431
Fax: 573-379-5875
http://aes.missouri.edu/delta/index.stm

Published on http://www.ottobean.org/
 

Chambers, Charles L.

















 

Joe Monroe Currie

N/A
 

Irion "Percy" Pursell

N/A

 

Robert C. Appling

N/A

LENO JOSEPH SODINI died September 5, 2007 at Saint Francis Hospital. Sodini, a native of Memphis, was born on August 6, 1922, the son of Italian immigrants, Lena Coda Sodini and Baldo Sodini. Leno attended Sacred Heart Grade School and was the President of the Senior Class at Christian Brothers High School. While in high school, he was selected to be a member of the All Star Memphis Baseball Team. Since 1940 Sodini was active in both the Cotton Industry and retail liquor business. After serving as manager of Anderson-Clayton Cotton Company and Murff & Company, Leno started his own cotton brokerage, Sodini Cotton in 1980. Sodini also owned area liquor stores. Leno served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during World War II (1943-45). He also distinguished himself, during the 1940’s, playing semi-pro baseball as a catcher and was inducted into the Memphis Park Commission Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Noted for his generous support of charitable causes dating back to his high school days, Leno was particularly involved with the Italian American charitable organization, UNICO, serving as President, Vice President, Treasurer, a member of the Board of Directors of the Memphis chapter, as well as Tennessee’s District Governor. Leno was named the Memphis Chapter’s Man of the Year in 1989, and received the national "Joseph P. Cianci Humanitarian Award" in 1997. He was a member of the UNICO National Foundation, and winner of the 2006 "National Vastola Award," UNICO’s highest honor. Christian Brothers University recognized Leno for his years of dedicated services to the institutions operated by the Christian Brothers; he was inducted into the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame in 1991, and served as a member of the CBU President’s Club. He assisted the Catholic parishes of Holy Rosary, Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart in their development and expansion projects. Leno was honored by the Catholic Church Extension Society for helping to build a chapel, the St. Jude Missionary Church, on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Martin. He also, recently, contributed to the efforts of the Dioceses of Memphis Annual Capital Endowment Campaign. Other beneficiaries of his efforts included St. Jude, homeless children’s organizations, the American Heart Fund and Alzheimer’s Foundation. Leno was also a member and Director of the Memphis Bocce Club, and was listed in Who’s Who by Among Us, an Italian American publication. Leno is survived by his wife of 57 years, Dorothy Bursi Sodini; four children, son, Greg and wife, Deborah; daughters, Lisa Sodini, Cheryl Sodini and Christy King; and two grandchildren, Michael and Heather. Visitation will be tonight from 5-8 p.m. with rescitation of the Rosary at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 8 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church with interment to follow in Calvary Cemetery.