NESS CITY — Minnie Michaelis Rufenacht, age 98, died on Oct. 25, 2018, at the Ness County Hospital, Ness City. She was born on March 7, 1920, on the farm in Trego County the daughter of Joseph and Regina Reitmeyer Flax. 

She was a homemaker and farm wife and a lifetime resident of Trego and Ness counties. She was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and the Leisure Years Center, both of Ness City.

On Nov. 25, 1936, she married Arthur L Michaelis. He preceded her in death on Feb. 12, 1985. She later married Ray Rufenacht on Feb. 12, 1992. He preceded her in death on July 14, 1996.

She is survived by her daughter, Shirley Schweitzer (Darrel); three sons, DeWayne Michaelis (Sandy), Wade Michaelis (Gayla), both of Ness City, and James Michaelis (Deanna), of Bazine; nine grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson; three stepchildren, Dale Rufenacht (Cindy), Della Steffan (Gerome), and Howard Rufenacht and their families; and longtime caretaker and family friend, Donna Ellis. She was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; one son, Jerry Michaelis; three brothers, John, Frank, and Carl Flax; five sisters, Rosie Stieben, Betty Eaton-Shipley, Pauline Smith, Francis Ashenbrenner, and Helen Costa; and one granddaughter, Tracy Michaelis.

Funeral service will be on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, 10:30 a.m. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ness City, followed by burial in the Ness City Cemetery. Visitation at the funeral home on Monday, Oct. 29 from 7-9 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to the Ness City Leisure Years, Our Redeemer Lutheran church, and The Kansas Center for Autism.

Memories and words of support maybe be left for the family at www.fitzgeraldfuneral.com.

Funeral arrangements provided by

Fitzgerald Funeral Home

207 N. Pennsylvania Ave.

Ness City, KS 67560

Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Oct. 30, 2018