Harlan G. "Pistol Pete" Tallman, of Durbin, passed away on Thursday, march 8, of heart failure following a protracted illness.

Surviving him in his immediate family are Inez Catherine (Mullenax) Tallman, his wife of 63 years; a daughter, Bonnie Plyler, Bartow; two sons and their wives, H. Roger Tallman and Donna Jean McCutcheon) Tallman, Troy OH, and Ed Tallman and Sue Ann Heatherly, Franklin and Arbovale; three brothers , George Galford, Catonsville, MD, Andy Galford, Hamlin and Ray Galford, Chesapeake, VA; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Surviving family members in Pendleton County include Lois Alt of Upper Tract and Earl, Daisy, Denise and Cathy Arbogast of Cherry Grove and Elkins.

Tallman's father and mother-in-law were Soloman K. and Daisy (Mick) Mullenax of the Circleville and Cherry Grove areas.

He was born on August 5, 1916, the son of Flora Tallman Galford, and was reared on Back Mountain, near Durbin, by his grandparents, Enos and Marietta Tallman.

A humble man with a dry wit and wry sense of humor, Pete Tallman was a merchant, farmer, school-bus driver, two-term county commissioner, as well as president of that body, member and at one time chairman of the Pocahontas County Democratic Party Executive Committee and member of the Durbin Town Council.

Above all, Tallman was a devout Christian and lifelong active member of the Bethel United Methodist Church on Back Mountain.

In World War II, he was captured in October 1944 and marched from Nancy, France, to a German prisoner of war camp.

During the forced march, a wounded GI fell and faced death by abandonment or execution. Private Tallman, although beginning to suffer the effects of severe frostbite in his feet and legs, carried the endangered soldier to their destination in East Prussia.

The incident was unknown until that rescued soldier recounted the event to members of the Tallman family some 20 years later.

Liberated in April 1945, he was awarded the Purple Heart.

Tallman was a longtime officeholder in the local chapters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion.

In 1970, after selling the general store in Durbin, he had owned and operated with his wife since 1938, he went to work as a guard for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) at Green Bank. He retired in 1981 but stayed active with his wife as the managers of the grounds at the 4-H/National Youth Science Camp near Thornwood.

An uplifting funeral service evoking the true spirit of "Pistol Peter: Tallman was held the following afternoon at the Bethel Church. It was officated by the Revs. Donald Curry, David Rittenhouse and Gary Gordon.

In addition to relatives from this county, Pendletonians who paid their respects at the viewing or at the funeral service were Doug and Lillian Brown, John and Terry McCoy and Ed and Helen Keller.

As sunset approached and shadows lengthened, he was interred following a military honor guard service at the Arbovale Cemetery, where his body faces the NRAO, which he dearly loved.

Memorial contributions may be made either to the Bethel Methodist Church or the Bartow-Frank_Drubin (BFD) Rescue Squad.

Kitty Bell Sponaugle Waybright, 89, of Sebring, FL, died March 12, 2001, at a hospital in Sebring, FL.

Mrs. Waybright was a seamstress for Webber Dental Manufacturing Company. She attended Circleville High School, Circleville, and was a member of the Sunridge Baptist Church.

Her husbnad, Morris Waybright, preceded her in death on Oct. 29, 1998.

Surviving are two sisters, Levene Butcher of Riverton and Idelta Lambert of Circleville; one brother, Roscoe Sponaugle of Greenwood, VA; and several nieces and nephews.

She also was preceded in death by three brothers, McClure Sponaugle, Ray Sponaugle and marvin Sponaugle, Sr., and six sisters, Beulah Simmons, Alpha Bennett, Kerlin Landis, Myrtle Phares, Elsie White and Ruth Harper.

Funeral Services will be held today at 2 p.m. at the chapel of the Basagic Funeral Home in Franklin with the Rev. Earl Bible officiating. Burial will be in the Cedar Hill Cemetery at Franklin.

The family received friends at the Basagic Funeral Home from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Lonnie R. Byers, 65, of Arbovale, passed away Thursday, March 8, 2001, at his home in Arbovale.

Mr Byers was born Feb. 15, 1936, in Sun and was the son of the late Joseph M. and Willie Bell Angle Byers.

He was a member of the Franklin Seventh Day Adventist Church and was a retired supervisor with Giant Foods. He was also a navy veteran.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley M. Bilyard Byers; a step-daughter, Rebecca M> Ola of Bristow, VA; a son, David W. Byers of West Virginia; two step-sons, Henry D. Iddings, III, and Donald E. Brown, both of Manassas; two sisters, Charlotte Schwid of Milwaukee, WI, and Ruth Toni of Ferrellsburg; three brothers, Cecil Byers of Craigsville, Vernon Byers of Bladensburg, MD, and Donnie Byers of Fishersville, Va; and nine granchildren.

He was also preceded in death by three brothers and one sister.

The funeral was conducted Monday at 1:00 p.m. at the Wallace and Wallace Funeral Home in Arbovale with Pastors Lauri Aho and Samuel E. Turner officiating. Interment was in the Arbovale Cemetery Annex.

Adith Elladean (Ella) Huber, 84, Parkersburg, died March 9, 2001, at St. Joseph Hospital.

Born in Calhoun County, she was a daughter of the late Guy and Dora Gainer Freed.

She was a member of the Seventh Street United Methodist Church and retired at the age of 79 as head of the Children's Nursery at First United Methodist Church, Parkersburg. She had previously worked at American Viscose and Freed's Grocery that her father owned and operated.

Surviving are three daughters and sons-in-law Nancy Carol and Edward Null of Upper Tract, Dora Lee and Dale Place of Leander, TX, Regina P. and Joseph Matthewson of Belpre, OH; three grandsons, John David Place of Leander, TX, Steven Christopher Place of Memphis, TN, and Edgar Ernest Null of Franklin; one great-grandson, Justin Place of Leander, TX; and one brother, Dearman Freed of Parkersburg.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Gordon Ernest Huber in 1968, one brother, Guy Edward Freed, and three sisters, Avis Durham, Ellie Eberhardt and Aveldean Kaltenecker.

Funeral services were held Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Leavitt Funeral Home, Parkersburg, with the Revs. Bill Angel and Frank Plybon officiating. Burial was in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

David Rembert Marshall, 20, of East Lake, OH, died Tuesday, February 27, 2001.

He was born February 12, 1981, and was the son of Ron and Charolett Marshall.

He graduated from North High School in 1999, and obtained his universal technician license. He was an anvid bowler and golfer.

Surviving in addition to his parents are his sister, Sandra Marshall of East Lake, OH, and his grandparents, Rembert and Martha Pitsenbarger of East Lake, OH, who were both born in Pendleton County.

A memorial service was held on March 1. Burial followed at Sunset Memorial Garden.

Arrangements were under the direction of the Memorial Brickman Funeral Home.

Used with permission of the Pendleton Times.