Mr. Elmer Wilburn Masingill, age 97, passed away Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. He was born in Coushatta, La., Jan. 19, 1922, to Elmer Wolfson Masingill and Leona Sibley Masingill. In 1940, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp which became the U.S. Air Force, retiring after 28 years of service. During WWII, he was a flight engineer serving in Okinawa; during the Korean Conflict he served as a B-29 flight engineer; and he retired as a senior master sergeant, in 1968, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., during the Vietnam War. In 1943, he was married in Columbus, Miss., to a lovely lady whom he had met on a blind date. Freddie Mae Stephens was by his side for 66 years.
He was a founding member of the First Christian Church of Bossier City, La., and together with Freddie, they taught Sunday school, participated in the choir, and hosted the youth group. They spent many years as snowbirds in Florida, with summers spent on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. After Freddie died, Mr. Masingill moved to Florida permanently and began squiring a young lady of 85, Betty Striggow. They married, moved to Michigan and had a wonderful nine years together. He told her he loved her every day, and when he married her, he inherited a whole other family who embraced him as their own. He became known as Grandpa Elmer, and he loved and was loved by them all.
Mr. Masingill is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Linda (Louis Alan) Barlow; stepchildren, Penny (Tom) Schettling and Debra (Daniel) Mikolowski; three grandchildren, Nina Lynn Carty, Danielle Mosher, and Shannon Rhae Barlow; five step-grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his wife, Freddie Mae; son, James Wilburn Masingill; granddaughter, Jennifer Lynn Boutiette; brothers, Frank and Bentley; and sister, Eloise.
Memorial services will be held at 5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at the Dryer Funeral Home, Holly, Michigan with Pastor Craig England officiating and military honors by the U.S. Air Force. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m. Friday. Memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army. To share a memory, visit www.dryerfuneralhomeholly.com
