Lane B. Mathena

Lane B. Mathena Lane B. Mathena, age 75 of Nixa, passed away July 19, 2011. He was born March 1, 1936 in Gorin, Missouri, the son of Leo and Zella (Howard) Mathena. Lane served his country in the U.S. Air Force from May 1955 to February 1959. On August 20, 1955 he was united in marriage to Monica Lohman. Lane began his 30 year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Snye River Drainage District in Hull, Illinois. He then transferred to the construction division and moved to Dubuque, Iowa to work on the building of the flood wall along the Mississippi River. He was chief of construction on flood control projects at Marshalltown and Clinton, Iowa, as well as Canton, Missouri. He served on a temporary duty assignment for the Department of Energy in Carlsbad, New Mexico, for the Department of Defense in Savannah, Georgia as well as several emergency operations for the Corps. After his retirement in 1991, they moved to Nixa. Lane loved deer hunting, fishing, boating, gardening and woodworking. After retirement he and his wife enjoyed their annual visits to the Brownsville and Harlingen area of South Texas. Survivors include: his wife, Monica Mathena, Nixa; children, Kim Heckman and husband Chris, Springfield, Kathy Pyeatt, Ozark, Karen Malisani and husband Perry, Ft. Collins, Colorado, and Wanda Kay Thompson and husband Kerry, Ft. Collins; four grandsons; four granddaughters; one great grandson; two step grandchildren; a sister, Sherry Oppenheimer and husband Tom, Ft. Madison, Iowa; and a brother, Jack Mathena and wife Karen, Cape Girardeau. Special thanks to the team from Seasons Hospice who took such tender, respectful care of Lane. A funeral mass will be held at 8:30 AM on Friday, July 22, 2011 in St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Ozark, under direction of Adams Funeral Home, with Father Saviour Nundwe officiating. Burial will follow in Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Springfield. Visitation will be from 6-8 PM Thursday in Adams Funeral Home, Ozark. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Attn: donations, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180 or the St. Joseph the Worker Building Fund, 1796 State Hwy. NN, Ozark, MO 65721. Online condolences may be made at www.adamsfuneralhome.net