Archive By Section - Obituaries
Joseph L. Lapka Sr. - 1928 - 2011
Joseph L. Lapka Sr., 82, died Jan. 30, 2011, at Cherry Village Nursing Home, Great Bend. He was born March 14, 1928, at Timken, the son of Frank J. and Catherine (Bouchal) Lapka. Lapka married Dolores Gutierrez June 28, 1951, at Great Bend. They were later divorced.
Charles “Terry” Eatherly - 1954 – 2011
Charles "Terry" Eatherly, 56, died Jan. 31, 2011, at Great Bend Regional Hospital. Born July 7, 1954, at Great Bend, he was the son of Charles T. and Dorothy (Davis) Eatherly. A lifetime resident of Great Bend, he was a roughneck for Bigheart Drilling and an avid golfer.
Barbara M. Schmidt - 1948 - 2011
MANITOWOC, Wis. – Barbara M. Schmidt, 62, died Jan. 29, 2011, at Holy Family Memorial Medical Center, Manitowoc, Wis. She was born March 15, 1948, at Dighton, the daughter of August and Bertha Lee (Schanfeldt) Stremel. On May 17, 1974, she married Doug Schmidt at Larned. He survives.
Elvira M. Kerr - 1922 - 2011
NESS CITY - Elvira M. Kerr, 88, died on Monday, Jan. 31, at Ness County Hospital in Ness City. Born on May 10, 1922, on a farm Southwest of Bazine, she was the daughter of John Gotleib and Bertha Krug Schneider. She attended a country school, graduated from Bazine High School, and then attended Venus Beauty School where she earned her beautician license. She was a lifetime resident of Ness County. On March 24, ...
Elvira M. Kerr 1922 - 2011
NESS CITY - Elvira M. Kerr, 88, died on Monday, Jan. 31, at Ness County Hospital in Ness City. Born on May 10, 1922, on a farm Southwest of Bazine, she was the daughter of John Gotleib and Bertha Krug Schneider. She attended a country school, graduated from Bazine High School, and then attended Venus Beauty School where she earned her beautician license. She was a lifetime resident of Ness County. On March 24, ...
Gayle M. Hopkins Slack 1919-2011
Gayle M. Hopkins Slack, 91, died Jan. 19, 2011, at Sterling House of Great Bend. She was born May 20, 1919, at Happy, Texas, the daughter of Henry and Alice (Edwards) Murdock. She married Arthur Hopkins in 1944. They later divorced. She then married Ethmer Neil Slack in 1992 at Great Bend. He died Feb. 18, 2002.
Walter “Wally” Straub 1931 - 2011
Walter "Wally" Straub, 79, died Jan. 19, 2011, at Kaye Pogue Hospice Center, Salina. Born Aug. 4, 1931, at Claflin, he was the son of Tony and Mary (Kimpler) Straub. He married Barbara Jane Schartz Dec. 27, 1952, at Wichita. She died May 13, 1973. He then married Elizabeth L. R. Hickey May 31, 1974, at Hoisington.
Virginia R. Musser 1924 - 2011
Virginia R. Musser, 86, of Great Bend, died Jan. 31 at Great Bend Health and Rehabilitation Center. She was born Feb. 3, 1924, at rural Lahoma, Okla., the daughter of Albert and Anna (Brackage) Decker. She married Charles J. Musser on Dec. 24, 1943, at Hondo, Texas. He died Aug. 27, 2006. A Great Bend resident since 1983, coming from Enid, Okla., she was a bookkeeper for Everitt Lumber. Mrs. Musser ...
Joseph L. Lapka Sr.
Joseph L. Lapka Sr., 82, of Great Bend, died Jan. 30 at Cherry Village Nursing Home. Services are pending with Bryant Funeral Home in Great Bend.
Alfred L. Richardson 1936 - 2011
HOISINGTON - Alfred L. Richardson, 74, died Jan. 29 at Clara Barton Hospital in Hoisington. Born June 1, 1936, at Long Island, Kan., he was the son of Herbert and Mae (Lockwood) Richardson. On March 24, 1958, he married Georgia Seigler at Hoisington. A lifetime resident of Hoisington, he worked as a roughneck in the oilfield, and after retiring was an animal control officer in Hoisington and did various other jobs. <p ...
Theo M. Bear 1921 - 2011
Theo M. Bear, 89, died Jan. 30 at Cherry Village Nursing Home in Great Bend. Born Sept. 4, 1921, in Lucas, she was the daughter of Walter O. and Blanche B. (Barr) Nichols. On Sept. 19, 1942 she married Myrl Bear in Junction City. He died Dec. 7, 1996. A resident of Great Bend since 1970, coming from Wichita, she was a bookkeeper at Great Bend Manor and an elementary school teacher ...
Tanner Joseph Hlavaty 2003 - 2011
OLMITZ - Tanner Joseph Hlavaty, 7, died Jan. 29 at his home in Olmitz. Born May 8, 2003, in Great Bend, he was the son of Kevin L. and Cambria A. (Bahr) Hlavaty. A lifetime resident of Olmitz, he was a second-grade student at Otis-Bison Elementary School. Tanner was a member of St. Ann Catholic Church in Olmitz. Survivors include his parents, Kevin and Camie Hlavaty of Olmitz; a sister, ...
Dorothy M. (Wilson) Hannah 1917 - 2011
WICHITA - Dorothy M. (Wilson) Hannah, died Wednesday, Jan. 26, at Reflection Living Center in Wichita, at the age of 94. Dorothy was born Oct. 26, 1917 in Jetmore, the daughter of Roscoe H. and Dollie (Raser) Wilson. She was Valedictorian of her high school class and received her bachelor's degree from Southwestern College in 1941. She married John T. Hannah on Oct. 30, 1953. Dorothy was a paralegal for many years and was ...
Dorothy Hamilton 1936 - 2011
NEVEDA, Mo. - Dorothy Hamilton, 75, Nevada, Mo., passed away on Jan. 27 at St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin, Mo., after a short battle with cancer. She was born Jan. 14, 1936, in Claflin, to Anthony and Mary Kimpler Straub. She married Harry Hamilton on Sept. 20, 1954, in Decatur, Ind.
Josephine M. Kimball 1928 - 2011
MEDICINE LODGE - Josephine M. Kimball, 83, died Jan. 28 at her home in Medicine Lodge. She was born Jan. 15, 1928, in St. Leo, Kingman County, the daughter of Phillip and Elizabeth (Bayer) Becker. On April 8, 1947, she married Everett Kimball in St. Leo. He survives.
Articles by Section - Obituaries
Dan Allen Noblitt 1934 - 2013
Dan Allen Noblitt, 78, died May 4 at his home in Great Bend. Born Oct. 16, 1934 in Great Bend, he was the son of George O. and Edith (Marsh) Noblitt. On April 18, 1958 he married Thelma Beebe in Norwalk, Calif. A long time resident of Great Bend, he was most recently employed as a regional manager for Super 8 Motels.
Helen R. Berscheidt 1918 - 2013
BELPRE - Helen R. Berscheidt, 94, died April 19, at the Halstead Health and Rehabilitation Center. Born Nov. 22, 1918, she was the daughter of Matt and Martha Heinke Maes. On Feb. 4, 1941 she married John N. Berscheidt in Claflin. He passed away in 1974. A lifetime area resident she was a farmwife and an occupational therapist for the Larned State Hospital for 25 years.
Joyce Fae Nye
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Joyce Fae Nye, 86, joined her family in heaven on March 5, 2013, in Oklahoma City. Born in Oakley, she was the eldest of seven children born to Charles Verner Fechner and Thelma Irene Walker Fechner. Joyce loved to read and as a child spent many hours rocking a cradle with her foot while losing herself in the pages of her favorite books. She met her future husband, Harold R. Nye, ...
