Obituary

Funeral services for Kenneth Montgomery, 86, of Plainview will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church Chapel with Dr. Tim Marrow, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in Parklawn Memorial Gardens under the direction of Lemons Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Mr. Montgomery died Monday, Feb. 6, 2012. He was born June 22, 1925, in Sayre, Okla., to James Clarence and Viola Bonham Montgomery. He grew up in Sayre before the family moved to Littlefield when he was 13. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Construction Battalion (aka Fighting Seabees) in the South Pacific during World War II. He briefly worked as a roughneck in the oil fields and a cowboy before becoming a farmer in Happy Union. He married Velma Justine Bryant in Happy Union on Sept. 15, 1969. He served as a deacon and treasurer at Happy Union Baptist Church and at the time of his death was a member of First Baptist Church. Survivors include his wife; children, Diane Mogg of Plainview, Danny Montgomery and his wife, Charlotte, of Ramona, Okla., Charles Montgomery and his wife, Shelley, of Hartsdale, N.Y., and Teresa Brasher of Lubbock; two brothers, Robert Montgomery of Arkansas and David Montgomery of Texas; three sisters, Betty Fern West and Nancy Montgomery, both of Oklahoma, and Janis Biddy of Texas; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A daughter, Kathy Pirkey; two sisters, Wanda Ott and Kathy Burnett; and one infant brother, Paul Montgomery, are deceased. The family suggests memorials to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; or to First Baptist Church of Plainview, 205 W. Eighth St., Plainview, TX 79072. Online condolences may be made at www.lemonsfunerals.com.