Obituaries in Kansas Newspapers (arranged by city)
Gladys Marie Cotton
MONTEZUMA - Gladys Marie Cotton, 97, died Feb. 6, 2000, at Bethel Home Inc., Montezuma.
She was born Dec. 1, 1902, at Stafford, the daughter of William and Maggie Cline Johnson. A resident of Montezuma since 1977, moving from St. John, she was a homemaker.
She belonged to United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women, both of Stafford, and the Home Culture Club, Montezuma and Stafford.
In May 1922, she married
Earl H. McCune at Stafford. He died Dec. 7, 1949. She then married
Harry Cotton in Aug. 1955 at St. John. He died in January 1971.
Survivors include: two sons, Manuael, Montezuma, and Lloyd, Wichita; two daughters, Margaret Good, Montezuma, and Gloria Sayre, Springfield, Mo.; 20 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Ozelle Baker; three brothers; and two sisters.
Funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at United Methodist Church, Montezuma, with the Rev. Gene Eshleman presiding. Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday in StaffordCemeterywith the Rev. Lynn Hanson presiding. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at Montezuma Funeral Home.
Delta Oleta Craig
GREAT BEND - Delta Oleta Craig, 98, died Feb. 6, 2000, at Integrated Health Services, Great Bend.
She was born Aug. 11, 1901, at Great Bend, the daughter of Elbert W. And Leoni Compton Seward. A longtime Great Bend resident, formerly of St. Louis, she was co-owner and operator of Craig's Cinderella Shoppe with her husband, retiring in 1973.
She belonged to First United Methodist Church and Women's Fellowship of the church. She belonged to the Barton County Historical Society, the Golden Sheaf chapter of Order of Eastern Star and AARP.
On June 9, 1946, she married
Benjamin R. Craig at Great Bend. He died Jan. 4, 1979.
Survivors include: two nieces, Dorothy Donnelly, Great Bend, and Jule Lee Norton, St. John.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Don and Dwight Seward; a sister, Blanche Markiewicz; and a niece.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Bryant-Christians Funeral Home Chapel, Great Bend, with the Rev. Dick Near presiding. Friends may call from noon to 9 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to service time Wednesday, both at the funeral home. Burial will be in Great Bend Cemetery.
Memorials may be sent to Golden Belt Home Health and Hospice or the Barton County Historical Society, both in care of the funeral home.
Randall `Randy' Wayne Forester
ULYSSES - Randall "Randy" Wayne Forester, 40, died Feb. 5, 2000, at his home.
He was born March 25, 1959, at Pampa, Texas, the son of Roy Lee Sr. and Joyce Ernestine Smith Forester. A resident of Ulysses for all of his life, spending the past five months in rural Hugoton, he was a truck driver for Cattle Empire LLC Feedyard in Satanta and Sublette.
He attended First Christian Church, Hugoton.
On March 25, 1998, he married
Geri Lynne Stoops at Ulysses. She survives.
Other survivors include: his mother, South Bend, Ind.; a brother, Roy, Sublette; and three sisters, Dana Jones-Robbins, South Bend, Jacque Morris, Wichita, and Michelle Vassar, Perry, Okla.
He was preceded in death by his father.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at First Assembly of God Church, Ulysses. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Wednesday at Grant County Funeral Home, Ulysses. Burial will be in Ulysses Cemetery.
Craig Roy Gearhart
WICHITA - Craig Roy Gearhart, 48, died Feb. 6, 2000.
He was born Sept. 25, 1951, at McPherson, and was deployment manager for Brite Voice Systems.
Survivors include: fiancee, Jerri Ballard, of the home; a son, Zachary Roy, of the home; parents, Roy I. and Colleen McCue Gearhart, Rogers, Ark.; a brother, Roy M., Lee's Summit, Mo.; and a sister, Rochelle Nikkel, Goddard.
Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Downing & Lahey Mortuary West Chapel, Wichita.
Memorials may be sent to the Goddard Intermediate Learning Center School Library, 335 North Walnut, Goddard, KS 67052.
Kenny L. Swiggart
MEDICINE LODGE - Kenny L. Swiggart, 73, died Feb. 5, 2000, at Via Christi Regional Medical Center, St. Francis Campus, Wichita.
He was born Oct. 18, 1926, at Wichita, the son of Lawrence B. and Minnie B. Bailey Swiggart. A Medicine Lodge resident for 45 years, moving from Wichita, he was an auto mechanic.
He was a former Lions Club member at Medicine Lodge and served as Medicine Lodge mayor from 1977 to 1983 and 1987 to 1995.
On May 29, 1944, he married
Ellen Marie Haggard at Wichita. She survives.
Other survivors include: three sons, Kenneth M., Concord, Calif., Larry L., Sandy, Ore., and Brad L., Portland, Ore.; two brothers, Jimmy, Kansas City, Mo., and Keith, Wichita; eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by an infant sister, Ellen Helen Swiggart.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Larrison-Forsyth Funeral Home, Medicine Lodge, with John Hamm officiating. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 10 a.m. until service time Wednesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Medicine Lodge.
Memorials may be sent to the American Cancer Society, in care of the funeral home.
Cleo Ann Hiestand
LARNED - Cleo Ann Hiestand, 57, died Feb. 6, 2000, at her home.
She was born July 24, 1942, at Girard, the daughter of Ben Earnest and Bessie L. Carver Ellis. A Larned resident since 1963, moving from Nevada, Mo., she was a licensed mental-health technician II for 28 years.
She belonged to the Baptist Church.
On May 5, 1962, she married
Gary D. Hiestand at Milo, Mo. He survives.
Other survivors include: four daughters, Janice A. Suppes, Great Bend, Brenda L. Barker and Joyce L. Haberman, both of Larned, and Dee Ann Hiestand, of the home; a brother, Ben Ellis, Wichita; a stepbrother, Daryl Carver, Bartelsville, Okla.; a sister, Judy C. Smith, Fort Scott; and six grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Beckwith Mortuary Chapel, Larned, with Father James Graner presiding. Friends may call from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to service time Wednesday at the mortuary. Burial will be in Larned Cemetery.
Memorials may be sent to the Dee Ann Hiestand Education Fund, in care of the mortuary.
Connie Lucile Brown
HOISINGTON - Connie Lucile Brown, 62, died Feb. 6, 2000, at Central Kansas Medical Center, St. Rose Campus, Great Bend.
She was born Sept. 26, 1937, at Hoisington, the daughter of Harrison Houston and Frances Amelia "Mollie" Proksch Clift. A longtime Hoisington resident, returning there from White Bear Lake, Minn., in 1976, she was a medication aide at IHS Woodhaven, Ellinwood.
She belonged to First Christian Church, Hoisington.
On June 8, 1957, she married
Thomas Homer Brown at Wichita. He survives.
Other survivors include: a son, Gregory, Great Bend; a daughter, Julie Knoblich, Hoisington; two sisters, Mary LaVonne Buchanan and Wilma Fritz, both of Hoisington; and six grandchildren.
Funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Bryant-Christians Funeral Home Chapel, Great Bend, with the Rev. Wayne Flanders presiding. Friends may call from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Inurnment will be at a later date in Hoisington Cemetery.
Memorials may be sent to the Barton County Community College Foundation, in care of the funeral home.
Barbara J. Flanigan
HEMET, Calif. - Barbara J. Flanigan, 76, died Jan. 12, 2000, at Hemet Valley Medical Center.
She was born July 1, 1923, at Hutchinson, the daughter of Leo and Verna Wikoff. She was a 1941 graduate of Hutchinson High School.
Survivors include: husband, John; and a son, Rick Thompson, Owensboro, Ky.
Memorial services were held Jan. 16, 2000, in Hemet. Inurnment was private.
McWane Funeral Home, Hemet, was in charge of arrangements.
