Pattonsburg, MO: Ronetta Sue Vogel Burton (“Roni”), 70, passed away peacefully at home in the early morning of September 19th after a 7 month battle with stage 4 lung Cancer.
Ronetta was born July 15, 1953, in Jamesport Missouri to Ronald and Luetta (Gantz) Vogel. She attended Coffey School from grades 1-12. After high school graduation, she gave riding lessons and broke horses to pay her way through college. For college, she went to NCM college in Trenton. Ronetta was an avid lover of animals, including horses and mules. She was a member of Coffey Saddle Club her entire life and was on the drill team, performing during the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1966. She enjoyed working on the family farm which included Hereford cattle, chickens, and rabbits. She also raised St. Bernard dogs, having as many as 30 in her care at one time. Her home was also a magnet to many stray dogs and cats, that she either kept or found them loving homes. Due to her love of animals, she almost became a veterinarian. In fact, the local vet told Ronetta that he’d pay her way through vet school if she’d overcome her hesitation to give shots to animals. Unfortunately, she didn’t get over that until almost 40 years later!
Ronetta had many hobbies, including riding horses, going camping, and spending time with family, friends, and her pets. She also loved helping her brother with his woodworking and apple business, going to auctions, and collecting western and native American décor.
Ronetta was also a woman of many trades. She got her CDL license when she was 16 years old and from then on, she was known by her CB handle “Ponytail”. At first, she helped her parents run their trucking business and later, she began driving commercially all over the country, hauling everything from grain and cattle to cars and piggy-backing trucks. She even managed her own Cummins Tool mobile sales truck and crew travelling all over the country. She was very excited to trade the Semi cab for a desk chair close to home when she began working for Gumdrop Books. She worked there for 4 years until she began working as Deputy Clerk in the Daviess County Clerk Office in 2013. In 2018, she was appointed Interim County Clerk, and then after a successful campaign, (you may remember her campaign mascot, the goat Mr. Pibb!), she was elected County Clerk until she retired at the end of 2022. Until her illness, Ronetta also served on several boards including Coffey Saddle Club, Hickory Creek Cemetery, Daviess County 911, and Coffey fire department. Besides being a volunteer fire fighter for the Coffey Fire Department, she was also the only Emergency Medical Responder for them. Not only was Ronetta a devoted public servant and volunteer, but she was also a talented seamstress. In the 1980s, Ronetta, her mother Luetta, and a good friend Debbie opened Ludero Designs in Coffey where they made beautiful one-of-a-kind appliqued pieces of art out of fabric and thread. Later, she used her talents to handmake most of all her daughter’s pageant clothes.
Ronetta was a very devoted mother to Brandy and “Gamma” to Clarissa. In fact, spending time with and spoiling her beloved “Rissa” was her greatest joy. She also went out of her way to make sure that Brandy always could do what she loved, which meant taking her to pageants and rabbit shows all over the country.
She was preceded in death by her father, Ronald, her mother, Luetta and her cousin, Ronald Gene.
Ronetta will be sorely missed by all who loved her. She is survived by her daughter, Brandy (Cody Hobbs); granddaughter, Clarissa; brothers, Ricky Vogel and Dave Mabe (Joyce); cousins, Randy (Robin) and Roger (Yilma) Vogel and many dear lifelong friends including Jim Noble and Gayle Creighton. Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 23 at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO. Burial will follow in Hickory Creek Cemetery, Jameson, MO. The family will receive friends from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Hickory Creek Cemetery in care of Roberson Funeral Home, P.O. Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424. Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com