Lana Viney

(From Peterson Funeral Chapel)

Lana Joan Viney was born November 13, 1932 on a farm 7½ miles southeast of Aurora, Missouri in Barry County to Claude Douglas Clanton and Alice Isabel (Griffin) Clanton. When Joan was just a baby the family lived in McAllen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley for a year while her parents worked the tomato canning industry there and Joan was cared for during the day by a young Mexican lady who was employed by Cleva Akin, sister of Joan's mother, Alice. When her father, Claude, began having heart issues in the low altitude of the Rio Grande Valley, Joan moved with her parents back to Missouri and settled in the Marionville area.

After about three years the family moved back to the farm where Joan had been born. Joan remained in the household throughout eight years of elementary school (attending the rural school at Osa) and throughout high school (attending Aurora High School).

Joan had developed the desire to become a teacher and worked toward that goal earning the distinction of Valedictorian of her class of 96 students in 1950. As Valedictorian, she had her choice of the available scholarships and she chose the college in Springfield, Missouri then known as Southwest Missouri State College (now Missouri State University).

After attending college two years, Joan applied for and was hired to teach a rural school in Lawrence County, Missouri located north of Aurora. She moved back to Aurora and lived in an apartment. It was then that she met and started dating Lawrence Viney (who had also attended Aurora High School and lived in the community where Joan was teaching). Lawrence was immediately called into service in the United States Army and he and Joan corresponded. Joan continued teaching in rural schools.

On July 18, 1958 in Aurora, Missouri Lawrence and Joan were united in marriage and they rented a two-room cabin on West College Street in Aurora. With nothing to do during the day, Joan elected to attend the August term at Southwest Missouri State College working toward her Bachelor of Science degree in Education.

Joan had been re-hired to teach the lower grades at New Vista Reorganized rural school south of Monett, Missouri in Barry County. The following year she was hired to teach second grade in Pierce City that year and the following year, she taught Junior High Math in the Pierce City school system. After teaching in Pierce City, Joan was hired to teach fourth grade in the Aurora Public Schools. She continued to attend summer terms at college and received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education in the summer of 1960. It was then that she and Lawrence, who had been hired as a city letter carrier with the Aurora Post Office, decided to investigate buying an RV for the purpose of traveling during the summer months. Traveling in their Airstream has made it possible for them to visit all 49 states on the mainland of North America as well as various portions of Canada.

In the summer of 1973, Joan resigned her position with the Aurora School system to stay home and care for a nephew, whose parents had separated and the mother had to go to work. This arrangement continued for five years. When the nephew and his mother moved to their own home, Joan then went to work for the Aurora Police Department as a police dispatcher. She continued here for 7½ years, followed by a stint as dispatcher for the Stone County Sheriff's Department. After quitting this job and staying home for awhile, she was contacted by then Sheriff of Barry County, Jim Hopkins, requesting she come to work at Cassville. After six or eight months in this position, Joan fully retired from work to devote her time to researching her ancestry and photographing gravestones of deceased relatives.

In the fall of 1958, Lawrence and Joan had purchased a ten acre plot located north of Aurora on Lovers Lane where they lived for some time. Later, they sold this home and purchased a fifty acre farm south of Aurora where they have lived the remainder of their married life.

Having no children of their own, their lives have revolved around the nephew, Jay Brashers, who had lived in their home for five years as a preschooler and for a short time just before his marriage.

Joan learned to play the piano as a child and has used that talent in many church services. She is now the pianist at the Fundamental Methodist Church on South Jefferson Avenue in Aurora. She has also served as the president of the church's Ladies Auxiliary for several years.

In addition to church duties, Joan has served as an officer of Missouri Greater Ozark Unit of their Airstream club since joining in 1971. For the past 35 years she has compiled, printed and mailed the club's newsletter at least six times a year, having produced the first few issues on a typewriter before progressing to a computer. For about ten years, she also compiled and mailed a genealogy newsletter to individuals related to the Clanton family.

In years past, she also taught a Sunday School class at both the Osa block church and later at Aurora Fundamental Methodist Church.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 2:00 PM in the Aurora Fundamental Methodist Church with Ronnie Fieker officiating. Burial will follow at Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora.




Visitation will be held Saturday from 1:00 PM until Service time in the Church.




Arrangements are under the care of Peterson Funeral Chapel.