Darrell Keith Bumgarner's Obituary
Darrell Keith Bumgarner Sr., 76, of Guyandotte, W.Va., died on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, at St. Mary's Medical Center. He was preceded in death by his wife, Linda Rose Bumgarner, and his sons Darrell Keith Bumgarner Jr. and James "Jimmy" Bumgarner. He is survived by grandson Josh Bumgarner, daughter-in-law Cindy Bumgarner, fiancee Melissa Pruitt and close companion Tammy Napier. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he served in England and played football competitively while there. He worked at the Ohio River Co. in Huntington for 35 years, where he was an active union member and held various leadership positions in the union. He was a proud member of American Legion Post 16 and VFW Post 1064. He was an avid pool player, participating in billiards leagues in Huntington and elsewhere, and he was known throughout the tri-state area as a maker and fixer of high-quality pool cues. He enjoyed many trips to Las Vegas for billiards tournaments. Bumgarner was a natural leader and friend to many people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Although he had too many friends to mention, some extra-close friends who he thought of as sons are Sam Hobbs, Tony Lovejoy, Charlie Damron and Dennis Caldwell. He enjoyed traveling by motorcycle, both two- and three-wheeled, with his wife, Linda, on trips throughout the United States, especially to Daytona Beach, Fla., and Sturgis, S.D. Together, they rode more than 400,000 miles, to every state in the union except Alaska and Hawaii. His daily companions and joy of his life were the neighborhood cats he adopted. He regularly had feral cats spayed and neutered to avoid pet overpopulation. Three times a day, he could be heard calling "kitty, kitty, kitty" to summon his furry friends Prissy, Gray Mouse, Bear, Lightning, Patches, Blue Eyes, Pudge, J.J., Scraggly, Mama Cat, Golden Boy, Prissy Lookalike and Newbie. In later years, he and Melissa enjoyed riding his Harley-Davidson trike to The Swamps in Oak Hill, Ohio, and visiting the many American Legions and VFWs in the region. Always cheerfully independent, he was known for often saying, "I'm doing what I want, when I want and where I want." A memorial service will be Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the American Legion Post 16, 1421 6th Avenue in Huntington. Hall Funeral Home and Crematory in Proctorville, Ohio is assisting in the arrangements. Condolences may be expressed at ehallfuneralhome.com.
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