Janice E. (Tooker) Denchfield, 73, of 1540 N. Clarence, homemaker, died Friday,
June 15, 1990. Service 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Campbell Funeral Home, Eureka.
Survivors: son, Tom of Wichita; daughter, Judith L. of Brandon, Fla.; mother, Vera Humphreys of Atkinson, Neb.;
brothers, Ralph Tooker of Atkinson, Robert Tooker of O'Neill, Neb., Eugene Tooker, John Tooker, both of Bigfork,
Mont., Earl Tooker of Wayne, Neb.; sisters, Marjorie Bush of Denver, Marie Franks of Burbank, Calif., Betty Mack
of Atkinson.
(Wichita Eagle ~ June 19, 1990)
DENCHFIELD-STONE, REBECCA ANNE
EUREKA - Denchfield-Stone, Rebecca Anne, 24, El Dorado Correctional Facility Security
Officer, died Saturday, June 21, 2003. Service 10 a.m. Friday, Koup Family Funeral Home.
Survivors: husband, Michael of Augusta; parents, David and Sigrid Denchfie ld of Severy; brother, Jeff of Council
Grove; grandparents, Bill and Josiane Christian, Dorothy Denchfield.
Published in the Wichita Eagle on 6/25/2003.
Dougherty, Russell L., 78, retired railroad worker, died Monday, Aug. 15, 1994.
Service 10 a.m. Thursday, Piedmont (Kan.) Cemetery.
Survivors: one son; three daughters; stepbrother, Raymond Kent of Wichita; half brother, Bill Kent of Raleigh,
N.C. Hillside Funeral Home.
(Wichita Eagle ~ August 16, 1994)
Rose Helen (Blecha) Drake, 92, homemaker, died Friday, April 6, 1990. Service
2 p.m. Monday, United Methodist Church.
Survivors: son, Calvin of Manhattan; daughter, Helen L. Wilson of Fairborn, Ohio; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren.
Memorial has been established with United Methodist Church. Forsberg Funeral Home, Severy.
(Wichita Eagle ~ April 7, 1990)
Encell, Marsh A. "Skip," 72, retired ironworker and farmer, died Saturday,
July 1, 2000. Service 2 p.m. Thursday, Grace Lawn Cemetery, Howard.
Survivors: sister, Margaret Shelburn of Pahrump, Nev.; half-brother, Charles Encell of Hillsboro, Ore. Memorial
has been established with New Life Assembly of God Church, Eureka. Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home, Eureka.
(Wichita Eagle ~ July 5, 2000)
Ferry, Ervin E., 78, retired Cardwell tool crib manager, died Friday, Aug. 11,
2000. Service 10 a.m. Tuesday, Carlson Funeral Home.
Survivors: wife, Pauline; son, Ron of Potwin; daughter, Ervetta Ferry of El Dorado; brother, Chester of Moran;
two grandchildren; six great-grandchildren. Memorial has been established with American Lung Association.
(Wichita Eagle ~ August 13, 2000)
Finch, Adrianne Louise, 20, Cumbala Club waitress, died Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002.
Visitation with family 9 to 11 a.m. today, service 11 a.m. today, Baker Funeral Home, 100 S. Cedar, Valley Center.
Burial 2 p.m. Friday, Piedmont (Kan.) Cemetery.
Preceded in death by grandfather, Francis Finch.
Survivors: son, Francis, daughter, Adelina, both of the home; father Tom Finch of Severy; mother, Lisa Finch of
the home; stepfather, Roger Martinez; brothers, Andy, Jerome, sister, Dominica, all of Wichita; grandparents, Madeline
Finch of Severy, Ronald Lynes of Fort Worth, Texas, Judy Proctor of Severy; great-grandparents, Yvonne Duranleau,
Ted and Joy Knight, all of Severy; very special aunt, Lorrie O'Keefe of Wichita; numerous other aunts, uncles and
cousins; significant other, Pedro Mederos. Memorial established with Baby Warehouse c/o Garden Plain Catholic Church
(Mr. and Mrs. Don Leis).
(Wichita Eagle ~ October 31, 2002)
Francis D. Finch, 73, retired elevator construction worker, died Thursday, June
6, 1991. Rosary 7:30 p.m. Sunday, service noon Monday, both at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Eureka.
Survivors: wife, Madeline L.; sons, Phillip of Howard, Thomas of Waynesboro, Va.; daughters, Yvonne Cote of Grand
Junction, Colo., Denise Tobin of Pacific, Calif., Madeline Anne Haverty of Oakland, Calif.; brother, Edward W.
of St. Petersburg, Fla.; sister, Katharine Thren of Waldorf, Md.; 10 grandchildren. Memorial has been established
with Sacred Heart Catholic Church Building Fund. Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home.
(Wichita Eagle ~ June 8, 1991)
Garner, Carl W., 92, retired farmer and rancher, died Saturday, May 8, 1999. Service
11 a.m. Wednesday, Campbell- Kelley Funeral Home, Eureka.
Survivors: son, Harold of Eureka; stepsons, John Seimears of Henderson, Texas, Martin Seimears of Garnett, Frank
Seimears of Ottawa; stepdaughters, Connie Dunnaway of Liberty, Mo., Betty Jo Siemears of Topeka, Nancy Taylor of
Vassar; sister, Alice Collinson of Eureka; four grandchildren; two great- grandchildren; 18 stepgrandchildren;
17 stepgreat-grandchildren. Memorial has been established with Piedmont United Methodist Church.
(Wichita Eagle ~ May 9, 1999)
Gerkin, Dorothy Mae (Hauge), 74, retired Southwestern Bell employee, died Monday,
Sept. 26, 1994. Memorial service 10 a.m. Saturday, Zimmerman Funeral Home, Howard.
Survivors: son, Steven of Howard; two grandchildren. Memorial has been established with the Union Rescue Mission
of Wichita.
(Wichita Eagle ~ September 28, 1994)
Gerkin, Myrtle, 85, retired elementary school teacher, went to be with her Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ, Tuesday, April 8, 2003. Memorial service 10 a.m. Thursday, Downing & Lahey Mortuary
East. She was born Aug. 5, 1917 in Lindsborg, KS to Joseph & Agnes (Johnson) Larson. She graduated from Bethany
College in 1938 and began teaching at Page City, KS in 1939. She taught third and fourth grade at Linwood Elementary
in Wichita for 35 years. She retired in 1988. Survived by son, Charles Randall Gerkin and brother and sister-in-law,
LaVern and Helen Larson, all of Wichita; 5 grandchildren; 3 great-grandchild ren. Memorial has been established
with The First Church of the Nazarene, 1400 E. Kellogg Dr., Wichita, KS, 67211.
Published in the Wichita Eagle from 4/9/2003 - 4/10/2003.
Gerkin, Steve W., 50, former S & J Cafe owner, died Saturday, March 10, 2001.
Service 2 p.m. Wednesday, Zimmerman Funeral Home.
Survivors: wife, Jan; son, Joe both of Howard.
(Wichita Eagle ~ March 12, 2001)
Glasco, Helen M., 97, homemaker, died Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999. Service 11 a.m.
Monday, Piedmont Cemetery.
Survivors: son, John of Wichita; daughter, Helen Sternberg of Cedaredge, Colo.; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren;
two great-great-grandchildren. Hillside Funeral Home East.
(Wichita Eagle ~ January 15, 1999)
Gorman, George Glen, 71, retired Soil and Conservation Service and city of Howard
employee, died Friday, April 17, 1992. Service 11 a.m. Monday, Zimmerman Funeral Home.
Survivors: wife, Sally; son, Greg of Fort Gibson, Okla.; daughter, Teresa Gorman of Howard; two grandchildren.
Memorial has been established with West Elk Teachers Organization Scholarship Fund.
(Wichita Eagle ~ April 18, 1992)
Gould, Dale L., 89, retired gas station and hardware store owner, died Friday,
Nov. 7, 1997. Service 11 a.m. Tuesday, Piedmont Cemetery.
Survivors: wife, Irma; daughter, Mary Lynn of Eureka. Memorial has been established with the Dale L. Gould Scholarship
Fund, c/o Prairie Hills Health Care. Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home.
(Wichita Eagle ~ November 9, 1997)
Gould, L. Hope, 90, retired schoolteacher, died Saturday, Oct. 17, 1992. Service
10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home.
Survivors: grandsons, Phil Allen, Gary Swayze, Terry Swayze. Memorial has been established with Piedmont United
Methodist Church.
(Wichita Eagle ~ October 20, 1992)
Gould, Keith, 88, retired farm-er/rancher, died Sunday, May 31, 1992. Service
2 p.m. Thursday, Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home.
Survivors: wife, Hope; daughter, Willadeane Swayze of Kansas City, Mo.; brother Dale of Eureka; three grandchildren;
six great-grandchildren. Memorial has been established with Piedmont United Methodist Church.
(Wichita Eagle ~ June 2, 1992)
Hamilton, June Alene, 73, retired school teacher, died Saturday, Nov. 25, 2000.
Service 2 p.m. Tuesday, First Baptist Church.
Survivor: husband, Bob. Memorials established with SCCS Home Health and Hospice, Derby and Lake Point Nursing Center.
Dunsford Funeral Home.
(Wichita Eagle ~ November 27, 2000)
Services for Paul C. Haverty, 48, Lawrence, are pending at Rumsey Funeral Home.
Mr. Haverty died today, June 8, 1992, at his home. He was born Jan. 26, 1944, in California. He was a member of
St. John Catholic Church.
Survivors include his wife, Madeline A. Finch, Lawrence.
(Lawrence Journal-World ~ June 8, 1992)
Walter Hon, 85, retired farmer, died Friday, July 5, 1991. Service 10:30 a.m.
Monday, Piedmont Cemetery.
Survivors: brothers, Harold of Neodesha, Leland of Chiloquin, Ore.; sisters, Thelma Brougher of Howard, Lillie
Bell Small of Leesburg, Fla. Memorial has been established with Neodesha Nursing Home. Loran Fawcett Funeral Home.
(Wichita Eagle ~ July 6, 1991)
Honer, Plesent W. "Bud," 64, retired plumber, died Friday, Nov. 6, 1992.
Services 1 p.m. Tuesday, Life Gate Cathedral; 3:30 p.m. Piedmont Cemetery. Memorial has been established with Literacy
Volunteers of America. Downing & Lahey Mortuary.
(Wichita Eagle ~ November 8, 1992)
Frances Lillie Howald, 91, homemaker, died Thursday, Feb. 1, 1990. Service 11
a.m. Sunday, Campbell Funeral Home.
Survivors: daughter, Marilyn Wegner of Eureka; brother, Eddie F. Miller of Fortuna, Mo.; sisters, Fern Aitken and
Flossie Stretter, both of Severy, one grandchild; one great-grandchild. Memorial has been established with Seventh
Day Adventist Church School.
(Wichita Eagle ~ February 3, 1990)
Hutton, Cecil M., 87, retired Red Ball Wrecker Service co-owner and former Ritz
Parking Garage owner, died Thursday, March 11, 1993. Services 1 p.m. Monday, Downing & Lahey Mortuary; 3 p.m.,
Piedmont Cemetery. Memorials have been established with the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children, c/o Midian
Shrine Temple, and College Hill United Methodist Church.
(Wichita Eagle ~ March 14, 1993)
Hutton, Dora O., 97, homemaker, died Thursday, Jan. 7, 1999. Service 1 p.m. Tuesday,
Piedmont Cemetery.
Survivors: daughter, Flo Sutton of DeSoto, Fla.; one grandchild; two great-grandchildren. Memorial has been established
with the Alzheimer's Association. Downing & Lahey Mortuary East.
(Wichita Eagle ~ January 10, 1999)
Hutton, Frederick E., 86, retired Red Ball Wrecker Service manager, died Wednesday,
Feb. 5, 1997. Services 2 p.m. Monday, De Vorss Flanagan-Hunt Mortuary; 4 p.m., Piedmont Cemetery.
Survivors: brother, Fred Bowen of Oklahoma City; sister, Mary Burke of Topeka. Memorial has been established with
Valley Methodist Church, Marion.
(Wichita Eagle ~ February 7, 1997)
HELEN (COURTNEY) HUTTON, 79, of Wichita, homemaker, died Wednesday, April 5, 1989.
Service 2 p.m. Saturday, Piedmont (Kan.) Methodist Church.
Survivors: husband, F.E.; brother, Hobart Courtney of Piedmont; sisters, Harriet Ebberts of Manhattan, Pauline
Spitzer of Florida. Memorial has been established with Piedmont Methodist Church. De Vorss Flanagan-Hunt Mortuary.
(Wichita Eagle ~ April 6, 1989)
Viola B. Jenkins, 82, homemaker, died Friday. Service 2 p.m. today, Campbell Funeral
Home.
Survivors: son, David of Longmont, Colo.; sisters, Doris Van Cleave of Emporia, Mary Taggart of Eureka; three grandchildren;
four great- grandchildren.
(Wichita Eagle ~ March 11 and 12, 1986)
Kent, Inez I., 82, homemaker, died Friday, April 27, 2001. Service 10 a.m. Tuesday,
DeVorss Flanagan-Hunt Mortuary; graveside service 2 p.m. Tuesday, Piedmont (Kan.) Cemetery.
Preceded in death by son, Robert Kent; parents, Oscar and Martha M. (Powers) Smith; brothers, Ralph and Norville
Smith; sister, Freida Duckworth.
Survivors: husband, Raymond; son and daughter-in-law, Raymond E. (Sonny) and Joyce Ann; daughters and son-in-law,
Sharon Hesske, Joyce and Terry Grube all of Wichita; sisters, Opal Mason of Rose Hill, Lavina Hopper of Howard,
Dorothy Dorsett of El Dorado; four grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; seven great-grandchildren. Memorial established
with Hospice Inc.
(Wichita Eagle ~ April 29, 2001)
Kent, Raymond E., 89, retired U.S.D. 259 playground maintenance man, died Saturday,
Oct. 27, 2001. Service 10 a.m. Wednesday, DeVorss Flanagan-Hunt Mortuary; interment 2 p.m. Wednesday, Piedmont
(Kan.) Cemetery.
Survivors: son and daughter-in-law, Raymond E. "Sonny" and Joyce Ann; daughters and son-in-law, Sharon
Hesske, Joyce and Terry Grube all of Wichita; brother, Bill of Raleigh, N.C.; four grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren;
seven great-grandchildren. Memorial established with Hospice Care of Kansas, 630 N. St. Francis, Wichita, 67214.
(Wichita Eagle ~ October 30, 2001)
Knowles, Dena C., 32, homemaker, died Friday, Oct. 24, 1997, as the result of
an automobile accident. Service 2 p.m. Wednesday, Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home.
Survivors: sons, Joey, Jimmy, both of the home; parents, Larry and Wilma Knowles of Piedmont; brother, Larry Knowles
Jr., all of Piedmont; sisters, Vickie Bechtle of Climax, Patsy Bogle of Claremont, Calif. Jefferson Street Baptist
Church, Eureka.
(Wichita Eagle ~ October 26, 1997)
Larcom, Audra M., 63, cook, died Tuesday, Dec. 6, 1994. Service 2 p.m. Friday,
Piedmont (Kan.) Cemetery.
Survivors: sons, James Wiser of Wichita, William Turney of Galena, Mo.; daughters, Deborah Kleffman of Claremore,
Okla., Gloria Short of Belton, Texas, Jewel Corbin of Wichita, Denise Backs of Berryville, Ark.; stepsons, Ted,
Mike, Jim, all of Reece; stepdaughter, Debbie of Fayetteville, Ark.; mother, Vestah Turney of Eureka; 16 grandchildren;
seven stepgrandchildren; three stepgreat-grandchildren. Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home.
(Wichita Eagle ~ December 8, 1994)
George William Lauffer, 71, retired Protection Co-op employee, died Friday, July
28, 1989. Services 10 a.m. Monday, Mennonite Church; 4 p.m., Piedmont (Kan.) Cemetery.
Survivors: son, Lyle Blankenship of Andover; daughters, Linda Laird of Lenexa, Sharon Hughes of Eureka; brothers,
Charles of Protection, Dale of Oklahoma City; sister, Lucille Calhoun of El Segundo, Calif.; six grandchildren.
Memorial has been established with the American Heart Association. Hatfield-Prusa Funeral Home, Coldwater.
(Wichita Eagle ~ July 30, 1989)
INSIGHTFUL HOWARD COLUMNIST, 108, DIES -- ROSE LEO WROTE A REGULAR COLUMN FOR HER SMALL-TOWN NEWSPAPER UNTIL SHE WAS 105.
The woman who at one time was Kansas' - and perhaps the nation's - oldest journalist
has died in Howard, Kan., at age 108.
For nearly 90 years Rose Nix Leo wrote a regular newspaper column. She entered a nursing home in 1999 and died
Thursday.
In her son Frank's Wichita home Sunday, four generations of the Leo family reminisced about the frugal and loving
woman,.
"She always used to say it was important to get three hugs a day. . . . She said the reason she lived so long
is because she got those hugs," said Cora Shahid, one of Rose's great-granddaughters.
The funeral is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Howard United Methodist Church.
Mrs. Leo was interviewed by countless television stations and newspapers as perhaps the nation's oldest journalist,
though most of that happened when she was in her early 90s. Mrs. Leo started writing news stories for the Elk County
newspaper when she was 17.
Mrs. Leo continue to write her column, "Rose's Last Scrap," until she fell about a month before her 105th
birthday. She never walked again.
But before the fall, Mrs. Leo had lived alone since her husband's death in 1967. She continued to host Thanksgiving
dinner in Howard until she was 103, daughter-in-law Barbara Leo said.
"She was a real strong, healthy woman," Barbara Leo said.
While she was in her 90s, Rose Leo helped out her neighbors, 20 years younger than her, by doing things like mowing
the lawn, and in her own yard Rose was an avid gardener.
"She'd always put us to work every time we visited," said Tammy West, another great-granddaughter.
One time when a 12-year-old West and her two sisters visited Leo for a week, she made them go grocery shopping
and cook all the food just so they would know how to, West said.
Leo wrote mostly philosophical columns based on her life's experiences.
She was born April 30, 1894, in a four-room cabin her father built in Indian Territory near what is now Norman,
Okla.
After both her parents died, Leo came to Kansas with her younger brother, Tom, to live with an aunt in 1902.
Leo taught in a one-room county school for six terms before marrying and having three children.
Her eldest son, Chios, died in 1953. Another son, Frank, and a daughter, Anita Powers, both live in Wichita.
Leo did a lot of things in her long life, including picking cotton, working in local stores, hotels and cafes,
and operating a cream, poultry and egg station, but family was always important.
Before going to the nursing home, Leo would send out 600 Christmas cards each year with a four- to 12-page newsletter
chronicling the family's activiti es. West said no one has taken over that responsibility yet.
And if Rose Leo had something to say, she would tell you, great-granddaugh ter Crystal Rose Coffelt said.
"She always spoke her mind no matter what it was," said Coffelt, who gave her own daughter the middle
name Rose in honor of Leo.
Family members also remember Leo as someone who would save all the slivers of soap to make a whole new bar and
who insisted on cutting out the rotten part of fruit and canning the rest instead of wasting the whole thing.
"When you look back at her life, it's inspiring for a lot of people," Barbara Leo said.
When Rose Leo is buried Tuesday, the family plans to include the tattered remnant of Rose's wedding dress in the
coffin with her.
And if Rose Leo's family needs comforting, they might just consult some of Rose's own columns on life:
"When one lives as long as I have - one learns some things and also unlearns other things," she wrote
once. "Through the years, I've seen life and death and glory chasing each other about like shadows - then
they pass, all in mystery. At the end, all things seem to balance and the world seems a bit better. We should profit
by experience."
(Wichita Eagle ~ July 8, 2002)
Clarice H. Lilley, 78, retired school teacher, died Wednesday. Service 2 p.m.
Friday, Campbell Funeral Home.
Survivors: sons, Ralph of El Dorado, Francis of Fort Collins, Colo.; daughters, Helen Butler, Kay Knudsen, both
of Eureka, Aline McKenzie of Piedmont; sisters, Opal Sheel of Moline, Coral Mowry of San Antonio, Texas; 21 grandchildren;
16 great-grandchildren; eight step-grandchildren. Memorial has been established with the Greenwood County Hospital.
(Wichita Eagle ~ May 2, 1985)
Earle W. Lilley, 83, retired farmer and rancher, died Monday, Oct. 9, 1989. Service
2 p.m. today, Campbell Funeral Home, Eureka.
Survivors: wife, Thelma; daughter, Beth of Enid, Okla. Memorial has been established with the American Lung Association.
(Wichita Eagle ~ October 11, 1989)
Lilley, John Morton, 88, rancher and stockman, died Sunday, Oct. 26, 1997. Service
10:30 a.m. Thursday, Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home, Eureka.
Survivors: wife, Margaret; daughters, Sue Felter of Eureka, Kree Ann Angeles of New Orleans; brother, Stanley of
Piedmont; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren. Memorial has been established with Piedmont United Methodist
Church.
(Wichita Eagle ~ October 28, 1997)
Lilley, Thelma Fee, 91, homemaker, died Monday, May 5, 1997. Service 11 a.m. Thursday,
Campbell-Kelley Funeral Home, Eureka.
Survivors: daughter, Mary Beth Lilley of Enid, Okla.; sister, Margaret Lilley of Piedmont. Memorials have been
established with National Stroke Association and Piedmont United Methodist Church.
(Wichita Eagle ~ May 7, 1997)
Lyon, Roger L., 50, Raytheon Aircraft Co. electrical crew chief, died Wednesday,
Aug. 21, 2002. Service 11 a.m. Saturday, Piedmont (Kan.) Cemetery.
Survivors: son, Kevin of Piedmont; daughter, Renee Harrington; mother, Isabell Wade; sister, Carol Drake all of
Eureka; two grandchildren. Memorials established with Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice and VFW Post No. 2712, Eureka.
Koup Family Funeral Home.
(Wichita Eagle ~ August 23, 2002)
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