Floyd "Sonny" Gene Widner, 68, Sturgis, died Friday, June 30, 2006, at the Ft. Meade VA Medical Center following a battle with cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Visitation will be Sunday, July 2, 2006, at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel from noon until 9 p.m. and on Monday from 8 a.m. until service time. Funeral services will be on Monday, July 3, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis with the Rev. Gordon Higgins officiating. Burial will follow at the Black Hills National Cemetery. The Sturgis Veterans Honor Guard will provide military honors.

Sonny was born August 10, 1937, at Cullman, Alabama, to Eugene Dibbs and Clara Truman (Dutton) Widner. He was the second oldest of nine children and grew up in the country near Decatur, AL. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the USAF and served in IL, AK, Japan and SD, where he was discharged at Ellsworth AFB in 1958. Sonny married Donna Remington in 1957 in Sturgis, SD, where they made their home. To this union three children were born. His lifetime career of truck driving began in 1958. He hauled gravel and worked various construction jobs. During this time he worked as a foreman with the cement crews building the Minuteman Missile sites in western SD. Sonny bought his first over the road truck in 1967, eventually owning his own company for several years. He also drove for other trucking companies including Mercer Transportation. Before he retired in 2002, Sonny logged over four million miles with a perfect safety record. Throughout his life, his love for trucking took him to all of the lower 48 states, where the many friends he met on the road helped fulfill another of his joys: spending time talking and sharing stories.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife of 49 years, Donna; daughter and son-in-law: Peggy and Roger Ness, Rapid City, SD; grandsons: Garrett Ness, Wallace, ID, and Grant Ness, Rapid City, SD; three sisters, Joyce (Lon C.) Dunn, Linda (Roy) Bray, Sharon (James) Riggs, all from Hartselle, AL; three brothers, Grady (Betty) Widner and Harold (Sandra) Widner of Hartselle, AL, and Gary Widner of Summerville, AL; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; an infant daughter, Margaret; an infant son, Scott; sister, Edith Williams; and brother, Phillip Widner. A memorial has been established to the VFW Club in Sturgis. Garrett Ness, Wallace, ID, and Grant Ness, Rapid City, SD; three sisters, Joyce (Lon C.) Dunn, Linda (Roy) Bray, Sharon (James) Riggs, all from Hartselle, AL; three brothers, Grady (Betty) Widner and Harold (Sandra) Widner of Hartselle, AL, and Gary Widner of Summerville, AL; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; an infant daughter, Margaret; an infant son, Scott; sister, Edith Williams; and brother, Phillip Widner.

A memorial has been established to the VFW Club in Sturgis.