LENEXA — Ellen Berniece (Treiber) LaForge, 100, former Parsons resident, passed away at 4:55 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, surrounded by her family in prayer in Lenexa, Kansas where she had been living for the last six years.
Berniece was born March 16, 1925, to Harry and Rose (Sampica) Treiber on a farm near St. Paul, Kansas. She attended St. Francis school and church in St. Paul, won the state spelling bee in eighth grade, and was the valedictorian of her graduating class in 1942.
In July 1942, Berniece moved to Parsons with her sister, Gert, and worked as a bookkeeper for Johnston Motor Company until December 1946 and volunteered as a Red Cross nurse-aide during World War II.
Berniece married Paul LaForge in St. Paul at the St. Francis Catholic Church on Dec. 30, 1946. They lived in Iowa and Illinois until they returned to Kansas in the late 1950’s. There, Berniece was a lifetime homemaker, raising her ten children that were the light of her life.
Her greatest joys were the family gatherings on Sundays after church, Easter egg hunts, Thanksgiving dinners, and Christmas parties, when she was surrounded by her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Berniece’s faith was very important to her, as she devoutly prayed every day. Her motto was always to take one day at a time and for her that added up to 100 years of love and patience for her spirited family. Paul and Berniece were longtime members of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Parsons. Her prayers led her to many religious travels around the world.
Her hobbies were gardening, sewing, and playing bridge with her dear friends. Into her nineties, Berniece could be found riding her John Deere lawnmower and tending her garden. She was especially fond of her strawberry garden that she learned to care for from her mother.
Berniece lived a life of service. As one of the first organizers of the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Parsons, she volunteered at the store for several years. Much of her time was dedicated to St. Patrick’s Altar Society and was a member and president of the Alpha Reading Club, and the Garden Study Club. She also served as a Girl Scout troop leader and nursing home coordinator for Church Women United.
Berniece is preceded in death by her husband, Paul, in 2014; her parents, Harry and Rose Treiber; four sisters, Grace Carroll, Cecelia Burnett, Gerturde Campbell and Sister Rose Catherine; two brothers, Ray Treiber and Albert Treiber; and one son, Steve LaForge.
She is survived by her nine children, including five sons and four daughters; Paul Jr. and his wife, Dawn, of Shawnee; Nick of Pittsburg; Kenny and his wife, Debbie, of Lenexa; Mary Shaw and her husband, Gary, of Laramie, Wyoming; Jane Maskus and her husband, Bryan, of Shawnee; Emily Borovetz and her husband, Bob, of Shawnee; Pat and his wife, Lori, of Parsons; Greg and his wife, Karla, of Erie; and Karen LaForge and her fiancé, Dan Paule, of Lenexa. She is also survived by 25 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1 p.m., Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Parsons. The rosary will be prayed at 12:30 p.m. prior to the Mass. Burial will follow in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the Carson-Wall Funeral Home 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Memorials are suggested to St. Patrick Catholic Church or Parsons Area Community Foundation and may be left at or mailed to the Carson-Wall Funeral Home, P.O. Box 942, Parsons, KS 67357.
