Obituaries in Kansas Newspapers (arranged by city)
Edwin Brown
EMPORIA -- Edwin George Brown, 75, Emporia, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at an Emporia hospital.
Mr. Brown was the property manager for University Apartments in Emporia for more than 15 years.
He was born Nov. 2, 1925, in Olpe, the son of John S. and Mathilda M. Wendling Brown.
Mr. Brown was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Olpe, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Emporia and the Olpe Lions Club.
He married Mildred V. Morey Steffes on Sept. 12, 1964, at Emporia. She survives.
Other survivors include a stepson, Alan Steffes, Tucson, Ariz.; two daughters, Christina Sala, Osage City, and Pamela Brown, Wichita; a stepdaughter, Alana Whisler, Kansas City, Kan.; three sisters, Leona Whittredge, Allen, Helen Phillips, Oklahoma City, Okla., and Mary Ann Lane, Emporia; three stepgranddaughters; and two grandsons.
Mr. Brown was preceded in death by a son, Joseph Lyle Brown.
Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Olpe. Burial will be at the church cemetery. A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. today at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph School and sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home in Emporia.
Dorothy Bryan
CENTRALIA -- Dorothy Elizabeth Bryan, 81, Centralia, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at an Onaga hospital.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Centralia. Burial will be at Centralia Cemetery. Mrs. Bryan will lie in state today and until service time Friday at Hayes-Popkess Funeral Home in Centralia, where visitation will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. today.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Congregational United Church of Christ or to the American Lung Association and sent in care of the funeral home.
Scott Cone
COUNCIL GROVE -- Scott Alan Cone, 34, Council Grove, died Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001, at a Council Grove hospital.
He was born Sept. 17, 1966, in Topeka, the son of William A. Cone and Karen Urton Buckbee. He graduated from Emporia High School. He helped deliver The Topeka Capital-Journal in Council Grove, and he did odd jobs at Wecker's Meat Market and shoveled snow off sidewalks and driveways.
Mr. Cone attended the Christian Church, and he participated in Special Olympics. He attended storm spotter classes, and he had been a volunteer fire fighter in Allen.
Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Karen and Harold Buckbee, Council Grove; two sisters, Brenda Urton, Emporia, and Debbie Schlesener, Alta Vista; two brothers, Bill Cone, Hutchinson, and Chad Thomas Buckbee, Emporia; stepgrandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William Buckbee, Allen; and a grandmother, Opal Cone, Conroe, Texas.
Mr. Cone was cremated. Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Kendall Funeral Chapel in Council Grove.
Memorial contributions may be made to Emporia Friends of the Zoo and sent in care of the funeral chapel.
Donna Ferris
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Donna Marie Ferris, 74, Kansas City, Kan., died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at her home.
She was born May 16, 1926, the daughter of Reuben and Fern Sherman. She was raised in Harveyville and had lived in Kansas City since 1946.
Mrs. Ferris was a paraprofessional and worked with disabled children. She was a former member of Central Avenue United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women and the Rachel Circle. She also taught Sunday school and was active in 4-H. She was a member of Grinter Chapel United Methodist Church at the time if her death.
Survivors include her husband, Jay Ferris; two sons, Steve Ferris, Manhattan, and Ron Ferris, Shawnee; two daughters, Janet Banker and Connie Nelson, both of Overland Park; a brother, Marvin Sherman; and six grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Porter Funeral Home in Kansas City, Kan. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Eskridge Cemetery in Eskridge. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Grinter Chapel United Methodist Church, or to Daybreak Adult Service, 6306 Roe, Prairie Village, 66208.
Harvey Grimm
SABETHA -- Harvey E. Grimm, 77, Sabetha, died Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001, at a Sabetha hospital.
Mr. Grimm farmed in the Sabetha area his entire life.
He was born Aug. 7, 1923, in Lester, Iowa, the son of Samuel H. and Emma Nester Grimm. He moved to the Princeville, Ill., area at the age of 11 and then to the Sabetha area.
Mr. Grimm was a member and former minister of Bern Apostolic Christian Church.
He married Marie B. Hartter on Nov. 19, 1944, in Sabetha. She survives.
Other survivors include two sons, Gordon Grimm and Gregory Grimm, both of Sabetha; two brothers, Samuel Grimm Jr., Morton, Ill., and Earl Grimm, Dunlap, Ill.; three sisters, Elvina Streitmatter, Princeville, Ill., Emma Dale Baer, Morton, Ill., and Mabel Hoerr, Peoria, Ill.; and four grandchildren.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Bern Apostolic Christian Church. Burial will be at the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Popkess Mortuary in Sabetha.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sabetha EMTs, Bern Apostolic Christian Church or Apostolic Christian Home for the Handicapped in Morton, Ill., and sent in care of the funeral home.
Helen Herbster
HIAWATHA -- Helen L. Herbster, 85, Hiawatha, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at her home.
Mrs. Herbster had worked in a restaurant in Highland many years ago and she later worked for the ice cream store in Hiawatha for a few years. She was an Avon representative for 30 years.
She was born Sept. 13, 1915, in Highland, the daughter of Harry and Nellie Frances Bacon Winters. She was raised in Highland and graduated from Highland High School. She also attended Highland Junior College. She moved to Hiawatha from Falls City, Neb., in 1998.
Mrs. Herbster was a member of the Methodist faith, Extension Homemakers Unit of Highland, Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks Lodge No. 1741 in Hiawatha, and the ladies auxiliary to the VFW Post in Falls City.
She married Ellsworth Whitbeck, who died in 1979. She later married Frank Herbster, who died in 1990.
Survivors include a brother, Harold Winters, Falls City.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Highland Cemetery. Mrs. Herbster will lie in state after 10 a.m. today at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Hiawatha, where relatives and friends will meet from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Friday, then go in procession to the cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Brown County Chapter of the American Cancer Society, sent in care of the funeral home.
Urban Kaiser
MANHATTAN -- Urban W. Kaiser, 77, Manhattan, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at a Manhattan hospital.
Mr. Kaiser and his brother operated Kaiser Implement Co. in Illinois. He also had worked in the Singer Factory and he farmed in the Evansville, Ill., area. He later worked 12 years for the Kansas Farm Bureau.
He was born June 25, 1923, in Evansville, the son of Jacob and Pauline Hesse Kaiser. He moved to Manhattan in 1985.
Mr. Kaiser was a member of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Evansville. He was an honorary Life member of Knights of Columbus Council No. 1952, and a third- and fourth-degree Knight. He also was a member of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Manhattan, Riley County Farm Bureau, National Big Horn Sheep Association in Dubois, Wyo., and Riley County Fish and Game Association.
He married Rose Mary Schoenberger on Sept. 30, 1950, in Evansville. She survives.
Other survivors include three daughters, Gail Kaiser-Hartness, Topeka, Cathy Williams, St. Charles, Mo., and Margie Bleeker, Olympia, Wash.; a son, Jerry Kaiser, Troy, Mo.; a brother, Raymond Kaiser, Evansville; a sister, Helen Winkleman, Red bud, Ill.; five grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren; and three stepgreat-grandchildren.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Evansville. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Saturday at Welge-Pachacek Funeral Home in Evansville, where a rosary service will be at 11 a.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Evansville or to St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Manhattan, and sent in care of Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home in Manhattan.
Ione McFann
LYNDON -- Ione McFann, 84, Lyndon, died Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001, at an Osage City nursing home.
She was born Dec. 1, 1916, in Hereford, Texas, the daughter of Loren and Lowie Rogers Stead. She lived in Olivet and Reading before she moved to Lyndon in 1961.
Mrs. McFann was a member of First United Methodist Church in Lyndon and the Olivet Community Card Club.
She married Howard McFann on April 27, 1937, in Emporia. He survives.
Other survivors include two sons, Paul McFann, Topeka, and Ralph McFann, Orange, Calif.; a daughter, Loranah Swank, Lyndon; a brother, Dale Stead, Emporia; three sisters, Dorothy Kaasch and Norma Jean Jennings, both of Omaha, Neb., and Nola Schneider, in Colorado; eight grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Feltner Funeral Chapel in Lyndon. Burial will be at Reading Cemetery. Mrs. McFann will lie in state from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral chapel where visitation will be from 7 to 8 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders or to Gideon's International and sent in care of the funeral chapel.
Patsy Mundy
SCRANTON -- Patsy I. Mundy, 58, Scranton, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at a Topeka hospital.
She was born Aug. 12, 1942, in Ottawa, the daughter of Clarence E. and Ruth Martin. She graduated from Ottawa High School in 1960. She was a lifelong Franklin County resident before she moved to Scranton in 1993.
She married Burnham L. "Butch" Mundy on Oct. 31, 1967, in Ottawa. He survives.
Other survivors include two daughters, Cynthia Michaels, Carbondale, and Rochelle East, Scranton; a son, Russell Mundy, Ottawa; and four grandchildren.
Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Highland Cemetery in Scranton. Mrs. Mundy will lie in state after 1 p.m. today at Dengel and Son Mortuary in Ottawa. The casket will remain closed.
Rev. Conrad Pillar
ATCHISON -- The Rev. Conrad Pillar, 79, of the Order of St. Benedict in Atchison, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at a Kansas City, Mo., hospital. He had suffered a massive stroke on Jan. 1.
Rev. Pillar was a monk of St. Benedict's Abbey, and he had been a chemistry teacher in St. Benedict's College and later at Benedictine College for 35 years before he retired in 1985. He was chairman of the chemistry department at St. Benedict's College for about 20 years and completed his chairmanship duties in Benedictine College in May 1985.
He became a pastor of two parishes in northeast Kansas in October 1988, Sacred Heart Church in Sabetha and St. Augustine Church at Fidelity. He retired from the churches in January 1997.
He was born April 2, 1921, in Cleveland. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Benedict's College in 1943 and a master's degree in organic chemistry at the University of Notre Dame in 1950. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1955.
Rev. Pillar spoke solemn monastic vows and became a monk on July 11, 1946. He was ordained a priest on May 31, 1947, after completion of theological studies at the abbey.
Survivors include three brothers, Michael Pillar, Seven Hills, Ohio, Edward Pillar, Deming, N.M., and Donald Pillar, Parma, Ohio; three sisters, Ann Louise Wagner, Bedford Heights, Ohio, Cathy Ashby, Solon, Ohio, and Jean Sullivan, Las Vegas.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Abbey Church in Atchison. Burial will be in the Abbey Cemetery. Vespers for the Dead will be sung at 7 p.m. Friday at the Abbey Church.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, sent in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home in Atchison.
Fayetta Pinney
OTTAWA -- Services are pending at Dengel and Son Mortuary in Ottawa for Fayetta R. Pinney, 98, Dayton, Ohio. She died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at a Miamisburg, Ohio, hospital.
Martha Toburen
WATERVILLE -- Martha L. Toburen, 87, Waterville, died Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001, at a Blue Rapids nursing home.
Mrs. Toburen and her husband farmed east of Waterville from 1937 to 1972.
She was born June 18, 1913, on a farm near Bala, the daughter of Vaughn Llewelyn and Anna Boetscher. She had lived in Waterville since 1972.
Mrs. Toburen was a former member of Bala Presbyterian Church and a member of the Waterville United Methodist Church and United Methodist Women at the church.
She married Carl H. Toburen on Oct. 5, 1937, near Bala. He died Feb. 9, 1980.
Survivors include a daughter, Charlotte Peterson, Waterville; a brother, Wes Llewelyn, Riley; a granddaughter; and two great-granddaughters.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Waterville United Methodist Church. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery in Waterville. Mrs. Toburen will lie in state from noon to 8 p.m. today at Terry Chapel and Funeral Home in Waterville.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Waterville United Methodist Church, sent in care of the funeral home.
Lloyd Shank
Lloyd W. Shank, 94, formerly of Topeka, died Monday, Jan. 8, 2001, at an Evergreen, Colo., nursing home.
Mr. Shank worked many years for the Kansas State Utilities Commission in Topeka before he retired in 1965. He earlier had a personal consulting business and had a contract with the Los Alamos Nuclear Facility. He was an Army veteran.
He was born Jan. 23, 1906, in Dodge City, the son of Craven Lincoln and Florilla Estella Smith Shank. He attended school in Meriden and studied electrical engineering at The University of Kansas. He moved to Evergreen, Colo., from Topeka in 1997.
Mr. Shank served as president of the National Conference of Regulatory Utility Commission Engineers in 1967 and 1968.
He married Jane Isaacs of Peabody, who died in the 1930s. He married Erma Rumsey on June 4, 1937, in Ottawa. She died in April 1980.
No immediate family members survive.
Graveside inurnment services will be at Vinland Cemetery at a future date.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor's choice and sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence.
