Archive By Section - Obituaries
Leona P. Berry
MINNEAPOLIS, Kan. -Leona P. Berry, 94, of Minneapolis, died Nov. 22 at the Salina Regional Health Center. Leona was born May 9, 1916, near Beaver, to William and Grace (Chenoweth) Berry. She graduated from Hoisington High School, Hoisington, at the age of 16. Leona was too young to teach so she stayed home for one year. Then she taught county grade schools (first through eighth grades) in Russell County, starting at the ...
Beverly Louise Colegrove Boyer
MISSION, Texas - Beverly Louise Colegrove Boyer died at the age of 82 due to natural causes at Mission, Texas, on Nov. 18. Beverly was born Aug. 1, 1926, the daughter of Helen Louise Miller Colegrove and Arthur Colegrove. She was the granddaughter of Herman C. and Mary Colegrove and Lester C. and Christine Miller, all of whom were residents of Great Bend before their deaths. On March 7, 1946, Beverly was ...
Merle D. Wilson
LARNED - Merle D. Wilson, 73, died on Nov. 19 at Promise Regional Medical Center, Hutchinson. He was born Dec. 12, 1936, in La Crosse, to Everett Merle and Ruth Renner Wilson. A lifetime resident of Pawnee County, he was a retired farmer. He belonged to the First United Methodist Church, Larned, the Audubon Society, and National Wildlife Federation. He served in the U.S. Army. On July 25, 1981, ...
Edmund Wayne Rome
Edmund Wayne Rome, 60, of Great Bend, died Nov. 20 at Great Bend Regional Hospital, Great Bend. He was born Feb. 15, 1950, at Great Bend, the son of Ed and Isabella (Frost) Rome. He married Rosalyn Schenkel. They were later divorced. He worked for the City of Great Bend at the water treatment plant. Mr. Rome was a lifetime resident of Great Bend. He served during the Vietnam War in the ...
Merle D. Wilson
Larned - Merle D. Wilson, 73, died Nov. 19 at Promise Regional Medical Center, Hutchinson. Arrangements are pending and will be announced by Morell Funeral Home, Larned.
Dolores M. Reif
Dolores M. Reif, 79, died Nov. 19 at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She was born Sept. 18, 1931, at Schoenchen, the daughter of George and Margaret (Ernst) Tauscher. She married LeRoy W. Reif on Nov. 26, 1951, at Hoisington. She worked various places, such as Dawson Jewelers, Merle Norman, Clay Ward Photography and the Salvation Army. Most recently, she was a loving caregiver for her grandchildren. She had been a Great Bend resident ...
Jess Torrez
TOPEKA - Jess Torrez, 84, of Topeka, formerly of Great Bend, passed away on Nov. 13 after a battle with esophageal cancer and Alzheimer's at Manor Care Health Services in Topeka. Born on Aug. 2, 1926, in Hanston, he was the son of Silbrestre and Isabel (Ruiz) Torrez. Jess graduated from Larned High School and then attended police training at the University of Kansas. He married Josefina Lucia Hernandez on Sept. 28, ...
Rodney Dale Lee
Rodney Dale Lee, 46, died Nov. 16 at his home in Great Bend. Born Sept. 18, 1964, in Hale Center, Texas, He was the son of Robert Byron and Mary Elizabeth (Ashby) Lee. A Great Bend resident for a year, coming from Lyons, he was a trim carpenter. Survivors include his mother, Mary Elizabeth Wigham of Lyons; two sons, Christopher B. Lee and Matthew Lee, both of Austin, Texas; a daughter, ...
Marion Douglas Critser
HAYS – Marion Douglas Critser, 58, passed away Nov.14 at his home in Hays. Doug was born Jan. 1, 1952, the fourth child of Bob and Ruth (Nuss) Critser, in Great Bend. He was baptized in the Lutheran faith Feb.10, 1952, in Great Bend. He was confirmed in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church on May 29, 1966, in WaKeeney. Doug graduated from Trego Community High School on May 25, 1970. Following high ...
Marion Douglas Critser
HAYS - Marion Douglas Critser, 58, passed away at his home in Hays. Service arrangements are pending. All Faiths Funeral Chapel in Smith Center is in charge of arrangements.
Kenneth Eugene Ellis
LARNED - Kenneth Eugene Ellis, 61, died Nov. 15 at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital in Larned. Born Aug. 31, 1949, at Hays, he was the son of Don and Mary Fuller Ellis. A resident of Larned since 1996, moving from Eureka, he was a retired prison guard at Larned Correctional Mental Health facility. In 1978 he married Sheryl Rae Zimmerman at Russell. She survives. Mr. Ellis was a Navy Veteran of ...
Hiram J. Mastin
ST. JOHN - Hiram J. Mastin, 83, died Nov. 14, at Windsor Estates Nursing Home in Salina. Born June 15, 1927, at Cottonwood Falls, he was the son of Bert and Bertha (Steadman) Mastin. A lifelong resident of St. John, he was the owner/operator of Mastin's Auto and 24 Hour Wrecker Service and a volunteer fireman. He attended Pittsburg State University for one year. He married Edith (Belote), who preceded him in ...
Hiram J. Mastin
ST. JOHN - Hiram J. Mastin, 83, died Nov. 14, at Windsor Estates Nursing Home in Salina. Born June 15, 1927, at Cottonwood Falls, he was the son of Bert and Bertha (Steadman) Mastin. A lifelong resident of St. John, he was the owner/operator of Mastin's Auto and 24 Hour Wrecker Service and a volunteer fireman. He attended Pittsburg State University for one year. He married Edith (Belote), who preceded him in ...
Willis Carmen Grizzel
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Willis Carmen Grizzell, LCDR, USN, retired, 95, of Garden Grove, Calif., died on Oct. 31. He was born on Aug. 16, 1915, on the family wheat farm in rural Claflin. Willis was the son of Robert Martin and Maude Johnson Grizzell, the fourth of eight children. Willis attended grade and high school in Claflin, graduating with the Class of 1934. Intrigued by the U.S. Mail Planes flying over ...
Kenneth Eugene Ellis
LARNED - Kenneth Eugene Ellis, 61, died Nov. 15 at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, Larned. Service arrangements are pending and will be announced by Beckwith Mortuary, Inc., Larned.
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, ...
Charles A. "Jack" Wesley 1949 - 2013
Charles A. "Jack" Wesley, 63, died April 30 at Great Bend Regional Hospital.
