Sigel Cleon Amyx, 92

Graveside services with full military honors will be held for Sigel Cleon Amyx, 92, of Gainesville, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, at Smith Chapel Cemetery with Wayne Stewart officiating. Clinkingbeard Funeral Home in Gainesivlle will hold him at rest for viewing on Thursday and Friday preceding the official graveside services. 

He died peacefully in his sleep on Oct. 18, after a long, colorful life. 

Cleon was born on Feb. 1, 1932, to Curtis Sigel and Georgia “Wheeler” Amyx in Ozark County.
One of eight siblings, he graduated from Gainesville High School and then was drafted into the Korean War in 1952, where he served as a wheel vehicle mechanic. Stationed at Castle Air Force Base in California, Cleon worked as a mechanic for ground vehicles until his discharge from the Army in 1954. 

He married Sylvia Snelling in 1956 in St. Charles and took up work at Ford Motor Company in St. Louis. They then returned to Gainesville, where the couple had three children: James “Tony” Anthony, Timothy and Tracey. He then took up work for his father-in-law P.W. Snelling at Aromatic Cedar Products. After the untimely death of his wife in 1975, Cleon married Titania Laughlin in 1976, gaining two children, Kathy and Steve. He left the Snelling family business in the capable hands of his brother-in-law Warren and mother-in-law Leona to pursue a career as a carpenter. He continued living and working as an independent business owner for many years. One of his great passions during this time was hunting, and the stories of his hunting trips were some of his favorites to tell to friends and family. 

He is survived by his children: Tracey Amyx (Katrina), Kathy Morrison (Pat), and Stephen Laughlin (Heather); his 11 grandchildren: Sandy Naegle, Jennifer Yeager, Morgan Spoor, Doug Amyx, Megan McLaughlin, Kelsey Morrison, Conrad Laughlin, Sunni Amyx, Emily McCorkindale, Gabe Morrison and Eli Amyx; 15 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and many nieces and nephews.

Cleon was preceded in death by his parents Sigel and Georgia; his siblings: Ella, James “Jim,” Anne, George Ray “Bob,” Lyla, Glendol and Maxine; his first wife, Sylvia; his second wife, Titania “Tanya;” and his eldest and middle sons: James Anthony “Tony” and Timothy “Bird.”

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Clinkingbeard Funeral Home, Gainesville. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Smith Chapel Cemetery.