William Verne Mcnatt

Wm. Verne McNatt, 96, of Laurie, Missouri, formerly of Shawnee, Kansas, passed away Friday, May 8 at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, Missouri.

Verne was born March 23, 1913 in the Rosedale area of Kansas City, Kansas. He moved from Rosedale to Shawnee in 1917 at the age of 4. He was united in marriage to Dorothy Renner on August 24, 1935 in Olathe, Kansas. Verne and Dorothy celebrated 73 years of marriage. Mr. McNatt was an Auto Worker with the General Motors Corporation for 38 years and has been a member of U.A.W. Local #93 since joining in January, 1936. Mr. McNatt held numerous important positions in the health care field. He was appointed to be a representative of the pension and insurance hourly personnel in 1952 and held that position until his retirement in 1973. He spent approximately 18 years on the board of directors of Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Kansas City. He also served on the board of Group Health Planning that became the first HMO in the Kansas City area known as Prime Health and served on that board for several years.

Mr. McNatt was a volunteer member of the Shawnee Fire Department. Verne started with the Shawnee Township Department in 1948, then continued his service with the Shawnee Fire Department. He was honored with many positions and in 1976 as Chief of Fire Prevention. Verne held that position until his retirement in 2002.

He leaves his wife Dorothy and their two daughters Barbara Schweiger and Nancy Jewell; two grandsons Kent Schweiger and Derrick Jewell; two granddaughters, Karry Hamilton and Stacey Parsley; 11 great grandchildren 2 step great grandchildren; 2 great-great grandchildren and many, many friends.

Visitation and Funeral Service

Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at the Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee. Funeral Service will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at the chapel. Burial in Shawnee Cemetery.