M. Frances Adams, 92, of Marshall, Mo., died Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Blue Hills Rest Home in Independence, Mo.

Ruby Pauline Case, 94, Independence, Mo., passed away Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

Ravenna “Rae” Fedo, 77, Independence, Mo., passed away Monday, May 14, 2012.

Brenda Lee Gerth, 44, Bates City, Mo., passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at home.

Keith L. Graybill Sr., Independence, Mo., passed away peacefully Tuesday, May 8, 2012, at his home.

Beverly Ricketts Green, 81, of Independence, Mo., passed away Wednesday, May 9, 2012.

Jeffrey Alan Houston of Oak Grove, Mo., passed away April 13, 2012.

Occasionally, I have to flag-wave to remind others that millions of American men and women from Concord to the mountains of Afghanistan have died for our priceless gift of freedom and our undeniable right to vote. The honor of voting is not a privilege, like owning a driver’s license, but a right, a Constitutional right, and enforced by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 15th Amendment that reads:

Sadie Sandra Anderson, 61, of Independence Mo., formerly of Chillicothe, Mo., passed away Friday, May 11, 2012, at Centerpoint Medical Center, Independence, Mo.

Martha G. Bixler, 90, of Blue Springs, Mo., passed away Friday, May 11, 2012, at Carondelet Manor.