J. Eldon Henton, 88

Enjoyed spending time with family and friends

J. Eldon Henton, 88, of Manhattan, Kan., died Friday, March 25, 2011, at the Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan. Funeral services are 10 a.m. Thursday, March 31, at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Chapel. Interment will be in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery east of Manhattan.

The family will receive friends during a visitation from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home.

John Eldon Henton was born on June 19, 1922, in Stockdale, Kan., to John Lester and Alma Z. (Sweet) Henton and was a 1941 graduate of St. George High School. On February 20, 1944, he married Evelyn Mae Kinman in Manhattan, Kan. He was a lifetime area resident where he farmed near the Zeandale community. He also had been the Riley County shop foreman for 12 years and for more than 20 years maintained the Zeandale Township roads.

His memberships included the Zeandale Community Church, the Zeandale Senior Citizens, United Commercial Travelers, the Kansas Chapter of the International Harvester Collectors Club and the Kansas Prairie Pickers Association.

In addition to his memberships, Mr. Henton was a gardener and especially enjoyed growing corn and giving it away to friends and family. Following his retirement he enjoyed woodworking. He was also a skilled mechanic and invented numerous items that were helpful on the farm and around the home. Most of all he enjoyed being around his family and many friends, participating in numerous coffee groups, and the companionship of his dogs.

He is survived by seven children: John and Donna Henton and James and Linda Henton, all of Blair, Gladys and Jack Conrow of Manhattan, Alice and Don Anderson of Topeka, Kan., Mary Jo and Ralph McHugh, Janet and Neil Lee, and Kathern and Dan Fronce, all of Manhattan; 18 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; a sister, Kathern Kleiner of Wamego, Kan.; sister-in-law, Dorothea Kiene of Shawnee, Kan.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Evelyn, in 2009; and by his lifelong best friend and cousin, Jim Robison, Jr.

Memorials are suggested to the Zeandale Community Church or the National Kidney Foundation.

#2 Funeral leaflet

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In Memory of Eldon Henton, 1922-2011

Funeral Service 10:00 a.m.Thursday, March 31, 2011 Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Chapel, Manhattan, Kansas. Officiating: Ron Brown. Music: “In The Garden” The Family Trio (Jean and Daryl Campbell, Carol Cowen)

Casket Bearers: Grandchildren

Honorary Casket Bearers: Tom Finney and Charles Given

Interment: Pleasant Valley Cemetery, Riley County, Kansas. “It is Well with My Soul” Sharon Brown, soloist; “Amazing Grace” Dr. Michael McIrvin, bagpiper

Memorial Funds: Zeandale Community Church and National Kidney Foundation

Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502 ~~~Obituary and funeral leaflet courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings and leaflets on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska. ~~~

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