Imogene H. Montgomery (nee Heriford) died peacefully at Northland Rehabilitation and Health Care Center on January 13, 2024.
Born on March 23, 1930, on the family farm south of Princeton, Mo,, to Bonnie and Howard Heriford, Imogene attended Princeton High School and Northwest Missouri State Teachers College in Maryville.
In 1948 she married Richard Montgomery, and each pursued a career in government service. Imogene worked for the Internal Revenue Service, the Weather Bureau, and as a systems analyst in Oklahoma City for the Department of Transportation, responsible for developing the FAA’s payroll accounting system. Richard died in 1995 after a long illness.
Imogene collected antiques and had a large collection of geodes, an interest she shared with Richard. She loved flowers and was an ardent gardener, this passion possibly born when she was given a spot in the family vegetable garden at the age of four.
Imogene is preceded in death by her parents and her brother William “Bill” Heriford. She is survived by her older sister by ten years, Ethlyn McCleave; nieces Judy Heriford, Pam Lynch and Annasue McCleave Wilson; and nephew Richard Heriford, along with many grand- and great-grand nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at Newcomer’s White Chapel Funeral Home and White Chapel Cemetery, 6600 N.E. Antioch Road, Gladstone, Mo., at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6.
