-------------------------
Obit in Chillicothe Constitution Tribune Jan 24, 2000

Okie E. McCollum, 95, of Dawn, died Saturday, Jan 22, 2000, at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe. She was born Oct. 30, 1904, in Livingston County, the daughter of Lewis Charles and Mary Darr Smith. She married Roy Byrd. He died in 1948. In 1977, She married Earl N. McCollum. He died in 1988. Mrs. McCollum attended Woodland Rural School in rural Chillicothe and the Jackson Business College in Chillicothe. She was a homemaker and a member of the Dawn Federated Church. Mrs. McCollum had lived most of her lifetime in Dawn, except from 1977 until 1988, when she lived in Brookfield. Survivors include three sons, Louis Byrd of Kansas City, Mark Byrd of Centralia and Julian Byrd of Lead Hill, Ark.; four daughters, Virginia Headrick of Chillicothe, Dorthy Hughes of Dawn and Kay Christian and Chlovena Metzger, both of Vancouver, Wash.; 24 grandchildren; 43 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; and two foster daughters Sylvia McDaniels of St. Joseph and Susan Wheeler of Chillicothe. She was also preceded in death by four brothers, Densil, Sylvan, Slmer and Tommy; a sister, Mabel Smith; and two grandsons. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Jan 25, 2000, at the Norman-Wagy-Gordon Funeral Home in Chillicothe. Burial will be at the Welsh Cemetery, Dawn. Friends may call from noon until 8 p.m. today (Monday Jan 24) at the funeral home. A family visitation will be held from 7 until 8 p.m. tonight at the funeral home. The family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to the Welsh Cemetery, which may be left at the funeral home. Arrangements are under the direction of the Norman-Wagy-Gordon Funeral Home in Chillicothe.