John Francis Denton

Services for John Francis Denton, 100, Lawrence, will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lawrence.Mr. Denton died Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007, at his home.He was born Aug. 14, 1906, on the family farm, four miles west of Buckner, Mo., the son of John W. and Ella T. Denton. He attended Combes Elementary School and graduated from Buckner High School. He attended the Chillicothe Business College, Wisconsin School of Mines and Missouri School of Mines at Rolla, Mo., where he graduated. He enjoyed playing golf, football and baseball at each school and won a gold baseball for having played on an undefeated team at the Missouri School of Mines.Mr. Denton worked for the MSJL Railroad in Peoria, Ill., Burlington Railroad in Chicago and Pennsylvania Railroad in Chicago. He later worked for Amoco and had many different positions until 1947, when he took over the distributorship for the Lawrence area. He served area industry, service stations, farm trade and individuals with petroleum products for 22 years and retired in 1969.He was a member of the Corpus Christi Catholic Church and Lawrence Country Club, where he enjoyed playing golf. He was a member of the Kansas University Williams Fund. He was an avid supporter of both KU football and basketball and had season tickets for both since 1947.Mr. Denton won the Kansas State Golf Championship 10 years in a row for his age group. He won a Silver Medal in the National Senior Olympics in golf in San Antonio, Texas, in 1995. He won the gold medal in the National Senior Olympics in Tucson, Ariz., and Orlando, Fla., in 1997 and 1999. He married Marion Albert on Nov. 24, 1934, in Liberty, Mo., and shared 62 years with her. She died May 13, 1996.Survivors include three daughters, Cindy Denton, Lawrence, Joanne Finley, Rising Sun, Md., and Judy Tudor, Steamboat Springs, Colo.; a sister, Rachel Fields, Buckner, Mo.; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and longtime friend and companion, Margaret Vestal.Friends may call from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, where the family will receive them from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Humane Society, sent in care of the funeral home.Online condolences may be sent at www.rumsey-yost.com.