Obituaries
Betty J. Wells, 81, of Parsons died at 3:45 a
Betty J. Wells Betty J. Wells, 81, of Parsons died at 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, July 21, 2009, at Good Samaritan Society in Parsons. She had been in failing health. She was born on Feb. 16, 1928, at Cherryvale to John and Ruth Mae (Marlnee) Myers. She grew up in the Cherryvale and Parsons areas. She attended country schools. She married Dale E. Wells on Feb. 26, 1944, at Columbus. He preceded her in death on Oct. 7, 2000. She and her husband fa...
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Betty J. Wells
Betty J. Wells Betty J. Wells, 81, of Parsons died at 3:45 a.m. Tuesday, July 21, 2009, at Good Samaritan Society in Parsons. She had been in failing health. She was born on Feb. 16, 1928, at Cherryvale to John and Ruth Mae (Marlnee) Myers. She grew up in the Cherryvale and Parsons areas. She attended country schools. She married Dale E. Wells on Feb. 26, 1944, at Columbus. He preceded her in death on Oct. 7, 2000. She and her husband farmed n...
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Larry B. Cottengim
Larry B. Cottengim NIXA, Mo. -- Larry B. Cottengim, 68, of Nixa, Mo., passed away suddenly on Thursday, July 16, 2009. He was born May 2, 1941, in Parsons to Clarence and Pauline Cottengim. Mr. Cottengim served 30 years in the U.S. navy and retired in 1989. Since the opening of Magnolia Square in 2001, he has been a loyal and dedicated employee. He will be missed by many co-workers and close friends. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; ...
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Larry Robbins
Larry Robbins, 61, of Parsons died at 8:31 a.m. Monday, July 20, 2009, at Labette Health. Among survivors is his wife, Barbara Robbins, of the home. The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at First Christian Church. The family will receive friends at Carson-Wall Funeral Home from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday.
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Edna Louise Blundell
CHETOPA -- Edna Louise Blundell, 89, of Chetopa died at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, July 18, 2009, at Chetopa Manor, where she had resided the past two months. She was born Aug. 18, 1919, in Oswego to Burl and Mollie (Fields) McGee. She lived in the Welch, Okla., and Chetopa areas all of her life. She worked as a dispatcher for the Chetopa Police Department. She married Jewel McDonough in 1936. He preceded her in death in February 1938. She marrie...
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Jerry Calvin Collins
ERIE -- Jerry Calvin Collins, 84, of Erie died Sunday, July 19, 2009, at Prairie Mission Retirement Village in St. Paul. He was born in Jerico Springs, Mo., on April 1, 1925, to Charles Alonzo and Nellie May (Rice) Collins. He attended schools in Humboldt and Waco, Mo. He worked as a maintainer/operator for Neosho County until his retirement on April 1, 1990. Survivors include three nephews, Wayne Collins and his wife, Theresa, of Plains, Russ...
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Shirley 'Mick' York
Shirley "Mick" York, 87, of Pittsburg died at 2:10 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 2009, at Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center. She was born April 12, 1922, at Cherokee to Everette W. and Nola V. (Blackburn) York. When she was 5 years old, her family moved from Cherokee to McCune. She graduated from McCune High School in 1939 and moved to Pittsburg in 1949. She was the office manager for Prudential Insurance in Pittsburg for 30 years, retiring in 1978...
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Verdenia 'Pauline' Brown
MELROSE -- Verdenia "Pauline" Brown, 87, of Melrose died at 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at her home. She had been in failing health. She was born Aug. 28, 1921, in Bartlesville, Okla., to Charles and Addie (Billington) Leonard. She attended schools in Chetopa. On Jan. 16, 1939, she married Gilbert A. Brown in Joplin. The couple farmed most of their married lives in the Melrose area. He preceded her in death Jan. 6, 1993. Survivors includ...
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Ida Merwarth
ANGOLA -- A memorial service for Ida Colleen (Moore) Merwarth, who died Feb. 2, 2009, at Brady, Texas, will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Angola Community Building. The service will follow the Kastler reunion, scheduled for earlier that day. Merwarth is survived by her husband, Howard Merwarth of Brady, Texas; and her sister, Dorothy Holt of Edna. Family and friends are welcome. Dean Knewtson of Edna is making arrangements.
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Georgie E. Paul
Georgie E. Paul, 84, died at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin, following an illness. Mrs. Paul was born Sept. 25, 1924, in Chetopa to Vernie and Maude (Wagner) Pearson. She attended Gore School in Labette County as a child and graduated from Oswego High School in 1942. She worked for 20 years as the secretary to the principal at Oswego Junior High School. Survivors include a sister, Retha Merritt of ...
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A.R. 'Dick' Finnerty
A.R. "Dick" Finnerty, 93, of Parsons died at 6:45 p.m. Monday, July 13, 2009, at Elmhaven West nursing home in Parsons. He was born Feb. 4, 1916, at Hartford to Frank E. and Elizabeth (Holden) Finnerty. He grew up there and graduated from Hartford High School in 1933. From November 1942 until January 1946, he served on active duty with the U.S. Army in Italy and in North Africa and was awarded the Purple Heart. He continued in the U.S. Army ...
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Verdenia 'Pauline' Brown
MELROSE -- Verdenia "Pauline" Brown, 87, of Melrose died at 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at her home. She had been in failing health. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gilbert A. Brown, on Jan. 6, 1993. The service will be at 9 a.m. Friday at Bath-Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Chetopa. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery, rural Chetopa. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials are...
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John Owen Hannon
LANOKE, Ark. -- John Owen Hannon, 73, of Lonoke died on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at Baptist Springhill. He was born on Jan. 16, 1936, to John and Pauline (Smith) Hannon in Parsons. He served in the U.S. Air Force. He operated John's Auto Repair in Lanoke. Survivors include his wife, Sue; a son, Vince Hannon of Sherwood, Ark.; a daughter, Vicki James of Fort Smith, Ark.; three stepsons, Jeff Desbrow, Tim Desbrow and Greg Culvey; four grandchildr...
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Helen Garcia
CHERRYVALE — Helen Garcia, 85, of Cherryvale died at 1:05 a.m. Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at Cherryvale Care Center. She was born March 29, 1924, at Lamar, Mo., to Charlie and Jessie Byrd (Davis) Frazier. She was raised in Lamar and attended school there. She married John Harvey Ambler in 1938 at Lamar. They later divorced, and he preceded her in death on April 12, 1969. Throughout her life, she worked as a waitress. Survivors include a daughter...
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A.R. 'Dick' Finnerty
A.R. "Dick" Finnerty, 93, of Parsons died at 6:45 p.m. Monday, July 13, 2009, at Elmhaven West nursing home in Parsons. Among survivors is his wife, Ethel, who resides at the nursing home. The funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery. A Knights of Columbus and parish rosary will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Carson-Wall Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following...
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Louis P. Gartner
ALTAMONT — Louis P. “Louie” Gartner, 94, a longtime barber of Altamont, died at 11:13 a.m. Friday, July 10, 2009, at the Parsons Good Samaritan Society, where he had resided the past two weeks. He was born June 15, 1915, in Franklin to Jacob and Louise (Semmernig) Gartner. He grew up and attended elementary school in Franklin. During World War II, he served 20 months in the U.S. Navy. Following his discharge from the Navy, he worked three ye...
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Vera M. Little
Vera M. Little, 71, of Parsons, died at 6:35 p.m. Thursday, July 9, 2009, at her home. She had been in failing health. She was born on Feb. 21, 1938, at Dodge City to Waldo W. and Mary V. (Hutchens) Hitch. She grew up and attended schools at Wichita, graduating from Wichita North High School in 1955. She married Ron Little on Aug. 17, 1956, at Wichita. He survives of the home. She lived at Meade and Hutchinson before moving to Parsons in 1965...
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Mary Catherine Daley
OLATHE — Mary Catherine “Kitty” Daley, 89, of Olathe, formerly of Parsons, died at 5:25 a.m. Tuesday, July 8, 2009, at Villa St. Francis Care Facility in Olathe, where she had resided since June 2006. She was born Dec. 19, 1919, to Henry and Esther (Stapleton) Altepeter in Parsons. Through the years, she worked at several banks, and during World War II, Kitty even ventured to work for Bank of America in San Diego for a brief time. She reti...
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Orlyn E. Bennett
LAKEVILLE, Ind. -- Orlyn E. Bennett, 82, of Lakeville, Ind., died at 7 a.m. Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at Hubbard Hill Estates in Elkhart, Ind. He was born Aug. 28, 1926, in Altamont to Clayton and Mabel (Houck) Bennett. Mr. Bennett graduated from Labette County Community High School in Altamont. He was a self-employed farmer and carpenter and drove a school bus for Altamont USD 506 for 24 years. He moved to Lakeville in September 2007. On Dec....
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Robert E. "Bob" Niebaum
Robert E. "Bob" Niebaum, 67, of Parsons died Tuesday morning at his home in Parsons. His death was unexpected. He was born on Sept. 5, 1941, at Caldwell to Ben and Thelma (Sanders) Niebaum. He grew up on the family farm near Caldwell and at McCune. He attended school at McCune, graduating from McCune High School. He worked briefly at the McCune Coop and at the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center as psychiatric aide and later as a se...
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