George Henry Stokes, age 90 of Brighton, passed away November 6, 2012 at Parkview Health Care in Bolivar. He was born November 19, 1921 to the late Orville and Relod Stokes.
George Henry was a farmer at heart. His father bought one of the first self propelled hay machines in Southwest Missouri when he was a boy, and they traveled around putting up hay together. He graduated from Pleasant Hope High School in 1940. Soon after high school, George Henry took a job as a Machinist with Frisco Railroad, and met Bettie Lee Marlin at a skating rink in Springfield. On June 17, 1946, he eloped with Bettie in Columbus, Kansas, and was her devoted husband for 66 years. George and Bettie soon purchased a dairy farm in Brighton and moved in on Christmas day, 1950. George Henry retired from Frisco in 1981, but never quit working as a farmer. He loved Allis Chalmers tractors, Ford trucks, and Holstein cows.
He was preceded in death by his mother Relod Cecil, father Orville Richard, and daughter Janet.
Survivors include his wife, Bettie; sisters, Wanda Dillard and Arvilla Fieth; brother, Grant Stokes; son, Dwight and his wife Cheryl; son, Mike and his wife Angie; grandsons, Joey, Dusty, Micah and Shane; great-granddaughter, Gracie; nephews, Wesley and Jason Phillips, as well as numerous other nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, November 9, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., in Greenlawn Funeral Home North with burial to follow in Brighton Cemetery. Visitation will be held Thursday, November 8, 2012 from 6-8 p.m. in the funeral home.