Obituaries in Kansas Newspapers (arranged by city)
Billie Griesemer
GALENA, Kan. - Mass for Billie B. Griesemer, 25, Bellevue, Neb., a former Galena resident, who died Saturday, [Dec. 21, 1996] will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Galena.
The Rev. Charles Middleton will officiate.
Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery, Galena.
Pallbearers will be Adam Griesemer, Travis James, Jeremy James, David Russell, Matthew Russell and Travis Hall.
Friends may call from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Derfelt Funeral Home, Galena.
Joanna Garrison
GALENA, Kan. - Joanna F. Garrison, 63, Galena route 2, was found dead at 8:34 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996, at her home of natural causes.
Mrs. Garrison was born May 5, 1933, at Eureka Springs, Ark.
She was a graduate of Eureka Springs High School.
She moved to Galena in 1955 from Eureka Springs.
She and her husband owned and operated the Galena Precision Company from 1968 to 1986.
She was a bookkeeper for Roper Pontiac GMC Honda and Subaru Inc., Joplin, Mo., for the past eight years.
She married Bobby Joe Garrison in November 1950 at Eureka Springs.
He died Dec. 31, 1979.
Survivors include two sons, B.J. Garrison Jr., address unavailable, and Tim Garrison, Tehachapi, Calif.; a daughter, Debbie Cannon, Columbus; two brothers, Don Bingaman, Little Rock, Ark., and John Bingaman, Oregon City, Ore.; a sister, Patty Hill, El Paso, Texas; and five grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Derfelt Funeral Home, Galena.
The Rev. Wayne Williams will officiate.
Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery, Galena.
Pallbearers will be Hal Roper, Randy Roper, John Elliott, Kelly Peterson, Jim Adams and Tom Hardaway.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Lester Garber
LOWELL, Kan. - Services for Lester L. Garber Jr., 73, Lowell route 1, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Riverton High School gymnasium.
Officiating will be the Rev. B.J. Garber and ministers Wayne Williams, Wes Davis, Curtis Martin and Barth Whittaker.
Burial will be in Lowell Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Charles Brinkley, Leo Van Aucker, Dean Jones, Fred Shallenburger, Clyde Bond and Waldon McCoy.
Friends may call after 3 p.m. today at Abbott Funeral Home, Baxter Springs.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Riverton gymnasium.
Contributions may be made to the Riverton Friends Church building fund, in care of the funeral home.
Nina Prideaux
PITTSBURG, Kan. - Nina Fern Mishler Prideaux, 99, 506 Thomas, died at 2:05 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996, at Mount Carmel Medical Center, Pittsburg, after an illness.
Mrs. Prideaux was born Feb. 7, 1897, in the Quaker Valley area near Galena, Kan.
She attended schools in Galena and Columbus and was graduated from Columbus High School in 1917.
She attended the former Pittsburg State Teachers College and obtained her teaching certificate.
She taught in a one-room school house in Cherokee.
She was a 50-year member of First Christian Church, Pittsburg, where she taught Sunday school.
She was a past president of Lakeside Parents and Teachers Association, Baker Extension Unit, and of the Girl Scout Association, where she was a scout leader for 10 years.
She was a member of the Women's Study Club, Grand Army of the Republic, and the World War I American Legion Auxiliary.
She married Roy Prideaux on June 15, 1919, in Quaker Valley.
He died Nov. 9, 1976.
She was also preceded in death by a son.
Survivors include two daughters, Geneva Schultz, Pittsburg, and Lillian McWilliams, Joplin, Mo.; and four grandchildren.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Brenner Mortuary, Pittsburg. Wayne Black will officiate.
Burial will be in Highland Park Cemetery, Pittsburg.
The casket will be closed.
Lester Garber
LOWELL, Kan. - Lester L. Garber Jr., 73, Lowell route 1, died at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996, at his home after a long illness.
Mr. Garber was born Aug. 12, 1923, at Golden City, Mo.
He moved from Golden City in 1923 to Lowell, where he lived all his life.
He was national accounts sales manager representative for Manley Transfer, where he also had served as terminal manager for 15 years.
He was a member of Riverton (Kan.) Friends Church and a Coast Guard veteran of World War II.
He married Lela Mae Crane on Aug. 12, 1944, in Lowell.
She survives.
Additional survivors include a son, Russell G. Garber, Lowell; a daughter, Lesta Lea Martin, Sapulpa, Okla.; three brothers, the Rev. B.J. Garber, Cullman, Ala., Bill Garber, Warrensburg, Mo., and Thomas Garber, Carthage, Mo.; three sisters, Jane Striefort and Mary Lou Mumpton, both of Rome, N.Y., and Carolyn Sue Alscence, Grove, Okla.; and four grandchildren.
Arrangements are pending with Abbott Funeral Home, Baxter Springs.
John Girotto
PITTSBURG, Kan. - John L. Girotto, 87, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a former resident of Pittsburg, died at 6 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, 1996, at a local nursing home after a long illness.
Mr. Girotto was born March 1, 1909, in Joliet, Ill.
He and his wife moved to Pittsburg after their marriage.
He worked 47 years at Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Co. and lived at Pittsburg for 57 years.
He moved to Cedar Rapids in April 1992 because of ill health.
He was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and United Mine Workers Union, both in Pittsburg.
He married Margaret E. Vietti in June 1935, in Carthage, Mo.
She died Jan. 9, 1990.
Survivors include two sons, John R. Girotto, Cedar Rapids, and Ronald G. Girotto, Houston, Texas; a sister, Mayme Otellio, state of California; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Mass will be at 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
Father Samuel Pinkerton will officiate.
Burial will be in Highland Park Cemetery, Pittsburg.
Contributions may be made to the Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Fund, in care of Bath-Naylor Funeral Home, Pittsburg.
Mildred Spriggs
COLUMBUS, Kan. - Mildred L. Spriggs, 92, formerly of 107 S. Washington St., died at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996, at a Columbus nursing home after a short illness.
Mrs. Spriggs was born Aug. 18, 1904, at West Mineral, where she attended school.
She was a member of United Methodist Church in Columbus and had been a member of the Eastern Star chapter at Scammon for more than 70 years.
She married Howard Franklin Spriggs on Aug. 24, 1921, at West Mineral.
He died Aug. 29, 1980.
Survivors include a son, Keith Spriggs, Cherokee; three daughters, Nondis Burnett and Carole Audley, both of Kansas City, Mo., and Jean Faucett, Joplin, Mo.; a brother, Marvin Harvey, Cherokee; a stepbrother, James Maxwell, Parsons; a stepsister, Jayne Wilkerson, Pittsburg; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Murdock Funeral Home, Columbus.
Larry Reynolds, elder, will officiate.
Burial will be in Sherman City Cemetery, northwest of Columbus.
The casket will be closed at service time.
