Obituary of Cullen F. Skipper

Former Dale County Sheriff, Cullen F. Skipper, age 90, of Ozark, died Friday, September 7, 2007 at his home following a long illness. Funeral services will be 11:00 A. M. Monday, September 10, 2007, from Asbury United Methodist Church with Reverend Ray Kelley and Chaplain Charles Goldsmith officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery, Holman Funeral Home of Ozark directing. His body will be placed in the church one hour prior to service time on Monday morning. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 3:00 P. M. until 5:00 P. M. Sunday afternoon. Mr. Skipper was born February 13, 1917, in the Asbury Community to the late Laura Ethel Snell Skipper and James Ralph Skipper. After his graduation from Dale County High School in 1939, he worked for a short time with Hunt Brothers Wholesale Groceries in Okeechobee, Florida. After returning to Alabama, he worked briefly for Holman Mortuary in Headland. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II, serving in the 8th Army Air Corps, the 487th Bomb Group, the 838 Bomb Squadron, Crew number 68 in the European Theater as a radio operator on B-17 Flying Fortress. He was honorably discharged as a Technical Sergeant in 1945. While stationed at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas, he met and married Mary Louvena Luck. Following his military service, Mr. Skipper ran a rolling store and operated a small store in the Asbury Community. He then served for 22 years with the Dale County Sheriff's Office. His first service was a deputy and chief deputy under Sheriff William Walker from 1961 until 1974. He was elected sheriff in 1974 and served for two terms before retiring in 1983. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Mary Louvena Luck Skipper, his grandson, Bryan Neal Johnson, and his sister, Louise Skipper Childs. He was a member of Asbury United Methodist Church. Mr. Skipper is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Laurie and Rodney Dasinger of Panama City, Florida, Louvena and M. E. (Bo) Johnson of the Asbury Community, one granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Elizabeth and Johnny Brock of Graceville, Florida, one great grandson, John Bryan Brock of Graceville, Florida, one brother-in-law, Al Childs of Ozark, two sisters-in-law, Hazel Mayer of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Reba Barber of Greely, Colorado. Several nieces, nephews, and cousins also survive. Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made in his memory to Asbury United Methodist Church Building Fund, 2536 County Road 33, Ozark, Alabama 36360, or to Wiregrass Hospice, P. O. Drawer 2127, Dothan, Alabama 36302. Serving as pallbearers will be Elgin Parrish, Nelson McLeod, Sam Pickett, Keith Cauthen, Zenn Glenn, and Sgt. Mike Heath. Honorary pallbearers will be Sheriff Wally Olson, Former Sheriff Bryant Mixon, Police Chief Tony Spivey, Zorro Morris, and J. D. Strickland. Service Information