AVA, Wayne T. Claussen, 83, of Ava, passed away at 4:00 P.M. Monday, September 13, 2010, at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale in Carbondale, IL. He was born April 04, 1927 in McCamey, Texas the son of Ellis Claussen and Bertha (Holcomb) Claussen. Wayne married Betty R. Morgan on August 29, 1947 in Murphysboro, Illinois. He is survived by his wife Betty R. Claussen of Ava, IL.; two daughters: Patricia Kay Brown of Leesburg, FL., Cathy Lynn Cremer of Lincoln, IL.; two grandsons: Robert and Joseph Peters; two great granddaughters: Haley Marie Peters and Oshen Marley Young; one sister: Mary Ellen and Jerald Meyer of Anna, IL; one sister-in-law: Wilma Claussen of Campbell, MO.; several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, five brothers, and four sisters. Mr. Claussen served in the U.S. Army, during the Korean Conflict and then in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Wayne was a Laborer for the Railway Express and a member of the Ava United Pentecostal Church in Ava, IL. Funeral services will be held Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 1:00 P.M. at Wilson's Funeral Home in Ava. Rev. Thomas Bevis will be officiating. Burial will be at Glenn Cemetery. Visitation will be held at Wilson's Funeral Home, Ava on Wednesday from 5-8 pm and then on Thursday from 7:30 am until the hour of service. Memorials may be made to Tupelo Children's Mansion or Ava United Pentecostal Church.