Obituaries

Terry Dean Janzen

Dec 18, 2020

Terry Dean Janzen of Wichita passed away on December 18, 2020, surrounded by family, after a battle with cancer. He was born September 14, 1952, in Newton to Arthur H. and Louise (Hiebert) Janzen.

Terry graduated from Newton High School with the class of 1970, and was a dedicated employee of Kansas Gas Service for more than 30 years.

On...

Gwen Phillips

Dec 16, 2020

Gwen Phillips 93, died Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at Asbury Park in Newton.  She was born November 10, 1927 in Jacksonville, Florida to Evan and Viola Richards. On May 22, 1949 she married John W. Phillips at Newton and he preceded her in death on September 2, 2014.

Gwen was a member of the Salem United Methodist Church in Newton...

Margaret “Colleen” Rivera

Dec 16, 2020

Margaret “Colleen” Rivera, 83, of Newton passed away on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at Newton

Presbyterian Manor. She was born December 8, 1937, in Des Moines, Iowa, the youngest child of Emmett Scott and Jane (Dickson) Willis.

 

Colleen grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from East High School. She married Antonio “Tony” Rivera, Sr., on September 8,...

Travis M “Stix” Smith

Dec 15, 2020

 

THIS SERVICE HAS BEEN POSTPONED WE WILL ANNOUNCE TIME AT A LATER DATE 

Travis Michael ‘Stix’ Smith 41, passed away Tuesday December 15, 2020 from a car accident.

 

He was born November 15, 1979 to Richard Smith and Wilma Jean (Schultz) Decker in Newton, KS. Travis graduated Newton High School Class of 1998. He loved...

Richard “Dick” Verschelden

Dec 14, 2020

Richard “Dick” Verschelden, 70, died on December 14, 2020 at his home surrounded by family.

He was born July 17, 1950, in Manhattan, Kansas, the son of Ernest and Josephine (Newton) Verschelden. He was raised in Peabody and attended Peabody-Burns High School, graduating with the class of 1968. He then attended Emporia State University.

Prior to retirement, Richard worked as...

Samuel D. Fritts

Dec 10, 2020

Samuel Dean Fritts, 59, of Newton, Kansas died on December 10, 2020 at his home in Asbury Park, Newton, Kansas.

He was born February 13, 1961, in Ottawa, Kansas, the son of Tommie “J” & Iris Nadine (Smith) Fritts (Waltman).

Sam at age of 4 had an illness that required other people to take care of him. He lived at...

Sierra Rose Issel

Dec 9, 2020

Sierra Rose Issel was born to Jason and Tamara Issel on September 24, 2007.

She left this earth to meet the Savior on December 9, 2020.

Sierra was a delight to all who knew her.

 

Early on we discovered she was a special girl that would need extra attention and help. This

did not take away from the delight...

Frederick T “Fred” Kuestersteffen

Dec 8, 2020

Frederick T. “Fred” Kuestersteffen 84, died of Covid-19 Tuesday December 8, 2020 at Newton Medical Center.  He was born November 28, 1936 in Piqua, Kansas to Gerhard and Margaret (Kreimer) Kuestersteffen.

He was married to his first wife Teresa (Estle) Harrington on April 15, 1961 in Iola, Kansas at St. John’s Catholic Church.  She preceded him in death on January...

Ermina Shepherd

Dec 8, 2020

Ermina Belle (Koby) Shepherd passed peacefully surround by family on Tuesday, Dec 8, 2020 at Kidron Bethel Healthcare in North Newton, KS after a brief non-covid illness and lung cancer.

 

Ermina was the seventh child of eight born to Lyle D and Lelah N (Crawford) Koby in Sedgwick, KS.  She graduated from Sedgwick High School in 1952 and was...

Doris Van Rossun

Dec 7, 2020

Doris M. Van Rossun, 91, of Newton, Kansas, died on December 7, 2020 at St. Francis hospital in Wichita, Kansas.

 

She was born January 28, 1929, in Newton, Kansas, the daughter of Preston and Katherine (Wilkerson) Bean.

 

Doris cared deeply for others, and was called to work as a health professional as a Certified Nurses Aid.

 

On...

Bernadine Dorothy Manning

Dec 6, 2020

Bernadine Dorothy Manning, 94, died on December 6, 2020 at her home.

She was born in Philadelphia, PA on May 20, 1926, the daughter of William Penn and Bridgett Brown.

On August 1, 1960, Bernadine married Norman Manning; he preceded her in death in 2010.

When Bernadine was young she was an amateur actress and model.

Bernadine attended Wichita State...

Harold D Bartel

Dec 5, 2020

Harold Dean Bartel, age 96, and a 68-year resident of the North Newton community,

passed away Saturday, December 5, 2020. Harold was born February 14, 1924 at

McPherson County Hospital to parents Edward W. and Ida (Schroeder) Bartel, joining 6-

year-old brother Wesley. The childhood home was a farm 8 miles northwest of

Hillsboro, Kansas and a “stones-throw” from Lehigh...

Margie Lee Crist

Dec 4, 2020

Margie Lee Crist went to be with her Lord and Savior on December 4, 2020.  Born on February 20, 1933 in Wister, OK, she was the youngest of eight children.  Margie attended Fanshawe schools and never missed a single day of classes from kindergarten all the way through high school.  After graduating, she started working for the Santa Fe Railroad,...

Carl D. Thieszen

Dec 2, 2020

Carl David Thieszen was born July 21, 1929 on the family farm in rural Henderson, Nebraska.  He was the second of six children of Daniel and Marie J. (Epp) Thieszen.  He died December 2, 2020 at Presbyterian Manor (Newton, KS) with his loving wife, Louise and daughter, Sharon at his side.

 

Carl’s family farmed and engaged in the land...

Norvell L. Ericson

Nov 27, 2020

Norvell L Ericson 85, died November 27, 2020 at his Newton residence.  He was born November 2, 1935 in Moran, Kansas to Orville L. and Jessie P. Ericson.  On October 2, 1965 he married Jeanie Graves at Wichita, Kansas and she survives of the home.

He served his county in the United States Army Reserves. Norvell worked as a machinist...

Walter “Walt” Long

Nov 24, 2020

Walter Long, retired Clinical Social Worker died November 24, 2020.  He was born August 28, 1932 in Norton, Ks.  His mother, Beulah Samuelson, died in childbirth and he was cared for by his maternal grandmother, Pearl Samuelson and his Aunt, Mary Margaret Samuelson.  When he was one and one half years old, his father, Ralph Long, a Methodist minister, married...

Margaret Mccullum

Nov 24, 2020

Margaret McCullum, 77, died on November 24, 2020, at Kansas Christian Home due to complications of COVID-19 and went home to her Lord and Savior.  She was born August 26, 1943 in Great Bend, Kansas to Richard A. and Mary L. (Wright) McCullum.  She was the third of four children who were just about a year apart. Growing up the...

Ruth Gail Preston

Nov 23, 2020

 

Ruth Gail Preston 81 died November 23, 2020 at Newton Presbyterian Manor. She was born in Rural Elk County and grew up on a farm outside of Howard, Kansas as one of 9 children to Otis L and Hazel (Greenwood) Preston. She graduated from Howard High School in 1957 and worked at AT&T (Southwestern Bell) as a Manager until...

Lynn V. Loucks

Nov 22, 2020

Lynn Vern Loucks, son of Vernon and Pearl (Koehn) Loucks, was born in Bethesda Hospital in Goessel, KS on July 5, 1945.  Lynn’s family lived near Canton, Kansas and attended Spring Valley Mennonite Church until 1952 when they moved to Protection, Kansas.  Lynn attended first grade at Sunny Hill Grade School south of Canton and grades 2 through 8 in...

Betty Wright

Nov 21, 2020

Betty Louise (Bidwell) Wright was born on September 26, 1937 in El Dorado, Kansas to Earl Loyal & Thelma Louise (Frost) Bidwell and passed away in Hesston, KS on November 21, 2020.

Betty married Dean Dale Wright on May 10, 1958 in Whitewater, KS and they were married for 55 years at the time of his passing in September of...