CLARA BELL (CARTER) KETTLES

Clara Bell (Carter) Kettles, 92, of Republic passed away on Sept. 9, 2024. She was born on June 25, 1932; the daughter of Oscar Carter and Lily Bell Taylor Johnson Carter.
She married at 16 years of age to Barney Batson on Oct. 11, 1947. She worked as a waitress where she met WL” Bud” Kettles. She was saved and baptized and became a member of Bible Baptist Church. She and Bud were members of First Baptist Church, where she served 14 years in the nursery.
She is survived by two daughters, Suzie Ann (Tim) Nelson of Oxford, Fla. and Karen Marie Kettles of Republic; two grandkids; three great-grandkids; many nieces and nephews; and many extended family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Zola Mae Carter and Betty Jane (Carter) Bowling; three brothers: Bill Carter, Ernest Dutch Carter and Clarence Carter; and two husbands, Barney Batson and WL “Bud” Kettles.
Memorial services were held at Republic First Baptist Church on Sunday, Sept. 15. She will be laid to rest beside her second husband, Bud, at Missouri Veterans Cemetery at a later date.