Adda M. Emery

Adda M. Emery, age 92, passed away on the morning of June 29, 2005, at the Oak Grove Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility in Oak Grove, Mo., after a prolonged bout with Alzheimer's Disease.

She was born the third of six children to Nathan David Smith Brown and Mary Elizabeth Susan Simmons on Saturday, Sept. 28, 1912, in Fair Play, Mo. She was married to Claude Thomas Emery on June 26, 1936, in Butler. They had one daughter, Karen Sue Emery, and were married for almost 28 years before his untimely passing on Feb. 22, 1964.

Mrs. Emery was a graduate of El Dorado Springs High School. Adda spent most of her years in Nevada, and lived a life of giving to her family and community. She worked as a teacher and retired as a social worker from Vernon County Division of Family Services in 1977. She was a charter member of the Calvary Baptist Church of Nevada. She was active in numerous charitable, political, and civic activities well into her retirement years.

Adda is preceded in death by her husband, mother and father; three brothers, Clyde Simmons Brown, Claude Smith Brown, and Max Oral Brown; and one sister, Anna Belle Hawkins. She is survived by her daughter, Karen S. Payne and her husband, Joe H. Payne, of Independence, Mo.; her grandson, Dr. Kevin J. Payne and his wife, Victoria Crowder; and her great-grandson, Nathan; her great-granddaughter, Trinity, of Columbia, Mo.; and one brother, William Ernest Brown, of Lake of the Ozarks; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation begins at 9 a.m., on Saturday, July 2, with a service at Evergreen Memorial Chapel at 10 a.m. Dr. Barry Pennington of the Susquehanna Baptist Church of Independence, Mo., will officiate. Graveside services will follow at Newton Burial Park.