Lonnie Lee Unsell, age 91, a resident of Chillicothe, Missouri and former resident of Oklahoma, passed away on Monday, August 24, 2026 at Pioneer Rehab and Skilled Nursing Center, Marceline, Missouri.
On October 9, 1934, a baby boy was born at the University Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Virgie Lucille (Martin) Unsell and Howard Thomas Unsell. His mother named him Lonnie Lee. He grew up on a family farm where cows were milked by hand, wood chopped by axe and saw, weeds hoed and farm machinery pulled by horses and mules.
He rode a bus to his first school, Bridge Creek for three years, Blanchard Oklahoma School for four years and Moore High School, Moore, Oklahoma. Lon spent a year working on a ranch in Texas and joined the United States Marine Corp for three years and served in South Korea, during the Korean War. He played football in the service and received a scholarship to Oklahoma State University, from which he graduated in three years. He held multiple management positions with Kroger, Ford Motor Company and Cargill. Lon owned and operated Elk Advisory, Inc., and Pension Systems, Inc. He served on Cherokee Chief Wilma Mankiller’s executive board for Private Industrial Council. Lon also served on the Osage Nation Indian Minerals Assistance Program with Osage Katherine Redcorn. He worked for twelve years on the Special Olympics annual state meet in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as a rep of the Knights of Columbus. Lon was a member of the St. Columban Catholic Church. Lon enjoyed fishing and playing golf, however, he loved his Cuttin’ Horses.
He was united in marriage to Mildred Louise Rounkles on August 17, 1980, in Springfield, Missouri. She survives him of the home.
Lon is also survived by his four children by a previous marriage, daughter, Linda S. Siler and spouse, David, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and their children, Mirissa and Michael; daughter Lori G. Mothersbaugh of Clinton, Missouri, and her children, Cody, Lynzie, and Jordan; son Lawrence Unsell of Kingston, Missouri, and his children, Brandy Barnett and her children Christopher Unsell and Shade Unsell; and daughter, Lisa Unsell of Houston, Texas; one step-son, Rod Craft of Wichita, Kansas; two sisters, Lucille Burkholder and Joyce Plant; as well as several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Thomas Unsell; and one sister, Jackie Unsell.
A Parish Rosary will be held at Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. Inurnment will follow at Resthaven Memorial Gardens, Chillicothe, Missouri. Memorial contributions may be made to Special Olympics and/or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and may be left or mailed to Lindley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 47, Chillicothe, Missouri. Online condolences may be left at www.lindleyfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements are under the direction of Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri.