Gary and Frances Smith of Gillespie announce the engagement of their daughter, Karyn Gail Smith, to Norman Ray Mears both of Decatur.  

The prospective groom is the son of Vic and Deborah Myles and the late Dale Mears of Decatur.

The bride-to-be is attending Millikin University, where she will receive her Bachelor’s of Science in Sociology.  

The prospective groom is a graduate of Millikin University, where he received his Bachelors in Science in Organizational Leadership.  They both are employed at Crossing Healthcare in Decatur.

They plan to marry in June at Calvary Baptist Church in Taylorville.

Wayne and Doris Blevins will celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary on Sunday, July 14.  Friends are invited to an open house from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Brittany Shooting Park, 11374 Prairie Dell Road, Bunker Hill.

The couple were married July 14, 1959 in Augusta, Georgia at Trinity On The Hill Methodist Church near Ft. Gordon by Rev. Wallace Ziegler.  Doris Blevins is the former Doris Nitz.

Wayne retired in 1998 from Laclede Steel Company in Alton, where he worked over 35 years as a pipefitter.  After his retirement from Laclede Steel, he worked in the Purchasing Department at Carlinville Area Hospital until 2011.

Doris worked 12 years for Heyen Implement Company in Dorchester.  She is a homemaker and for many years was a volunteer at Gillespie Community School District Unit #7.

Wayne and Doris are active in their community and are members of the Dorchester United Methodist Church.  They have three children, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

The guests of honor request no gifts.

Evert (Bud) and Sherry De Sart

Surrounded by family, Evert (Bud) and Sherry DeSart celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on October 12th at Favazza’s Restaurant in St. Louis. Bud grew up on a farm in Dorchester and Sherry was from Livingston.  They met at the Coliseum Ballroom in Benld on Sherry’s 21st birthday.

They were married on October 12, 1968, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Livingston. They settled in Gillespie before moving to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. They have three children and five grandchildren.  They currently reside in Eureka, MO.