LaHARPE — Ray Aikins, 87, of LaHarpe died on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, at his residence.

He was born on Sept. 30, 1925, at South Mound to Oliver and Anna (Beecher) Aikins. When Ray was young, he and his family moved to a farm near Shaw, and he attended South Valley School.

He married Zana Neagle on June 29, 1945, in Girard. To this union, his children were born. They later divorced.

On Feb. 5, 1982, he married Helen Christy in Miami, Okla. She preceded him in death on May 14, 2001.

Ray and his twin brother, Roy, joined the Navy. During World War II, he served in the South Pacific and was at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was awarded the WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with two stars and the Philippine Victory Bar.

After the war, he worked at the Army ammunition plant in Parsons. In 1955, he started working for the Chanute Fire Department, and later he worked for the Chanute Police Department as a patrolman. After his retirement in 1976, he drove a bus for USD 413 for several years.

Survivors include six children, Steve Aikins and his wife, Glenda, of Altamont, Linda Heer and her husband, Leon, of Pittsburg, Rita Berntsen and her husband, Rick, of Iola, Richard Aikins and his wife, Lisa, of Mound City, Scott Aikins and his wife, Ellen, of Humboldt and Nancy Axtell and her husband, David, of Wichita; 17 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; several stepgrandchildren; and a brother, Dean Aikins of Chanute.

He was preceded in death by his parents; five brothers, Clarence Aikins, Carl Aikins, Forrest Aikins, Harry Aikins and his twin, Roy Aikins; a sister, Babe Thompson; a grandson, Steve Aikins Jr.; and his first wife, Zana Aikins.

The service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Iola Baptist Temple, 426 N. Second, Iola. Burial will follow in Mount Moriah Cemetery in rural Stark. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Penwell-Gabel Johnson Chapel, Chanute.

Memorials are suggested to the Ray Aikins Mission Fund to be used for Christian mission work and may be left with the funeral home.

Online condolences can be left at www.PenwellGabelChanute.com.