Author: RumseyYost

Richard Ernest (Dick) Bessey

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Services for Richard E (Dick) Bessey, 74, will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. Casual attire please.

Dick died Wednesday, January 9, 2019, at his home.

He was born January 9, 1945, in Salina, Ks, the son of Dr. Harold L and Marjorie M Bessey.  He graduated from Salina High School in 1963 and earned a degree from Fort Hays State University in 1967.  He lived in northwest Kansas, first in Norton and then in Phillipsburg, for over 25 years, and loved the wide open spaces of the High Plains.  He moved “east”, to Johnson County Ks in 1995, and to Lawrence in 2005.

Dick taught school, and then worked for the Kansas Dept of Social and Rehabilitation Services for 20 years.

He married Gail Vertin on September 24, 1976.  She survives, of the home.  Dick and Gail shared a passion for bass fishing, and over the years fished Kansas reservoirs Wilson, Milford, Melvern, and Coffey County, and Missouri’s Stockton Reservoir.  Since moving to Lawrence, they often fished smaller area lakes, and had great success using finesse techniques that Dick helped to develop.  Dick also loved hunting (until he moved east), especially for pheasant and quail.  He was an avid Jayhawk basketball fan.

Other survivors include a son, Brent Bessey, Shawnee; a daughter, Kimberly Erickson, Valley Falls; six grandchildren, Tyler, Hunter, Grace and Sophie Bessey and Courtney and Jonathan Henney; and Gail’s siblings Greg, Mike, Dee, Toni, and John.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister Barbara, and Gail’s brother Steve Vertin and sister Cynthia Lee.

Friends may call from noon to 1 pm Thursday prior to the service.

The family suggests memorials to Family Promise of Lawrence, sent in care of the funeral home.

Gerald Walter Parkinson

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Gerald Walter Parkinson, 81, peacefully passed away January 6, 2019, at his home in Lawrence, KS. He was a devoted husband, dad and granddad.

Gerry was born February 10, 1937 in Dewsbury, England, the son of Vernon and Kitty Parkinson. He attended Bradford Grammar School, earned a degree from Imperial College London, and served in the Royal Air Force. In 1966, he was recruited by Sikorsky Aircraft, in Connecticut, as an electrical engineer. He married Sandra Waterhouse on May 19, 1973 in Stratford, CT. He retired from Sikorsky after 31 years, and he and his family moved to Lawrence, KS.

Gerry was an avid bird watcher and also enjoyed playing golf, watching English soccer, listening to jazz, reading, traveling, taking his dog for walks, and meeting friends weekly at a local bar. His love of nature was evident from his participation in annual bird counts, maintenance of blue bird boxes at Clinton State Park, and help in rehabilitating wild animals. His kind spirit, intellect and sense of humor will always be remembered.

Gerry is survived by Sandra, his wife of 45 years; son Andrew (Vivian) Parkinson; daughter Sarah (Matt) Forshee; grandchildren Marlena, Kaitlyn and Parker; and sister-in-law Carole Rasmusson.

A celebration of Gerry’s life will be held at a later date at Smoky Hill Cemetery in Lindsborg, KS.

Memorials may be made to The Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy
Attn: Treasury
4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100
Arlington, VA 22203

Daniel Lazarus Hayes

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Memorial services with military honors for Daniel L. Hayes, 79, Lawrence, will be 2 pm, Saturday at the First Baptist Church, 1330 Kasold Dr, Lawrence, KS.  Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery at a later date.

Mr. Hayes Died Monday, January 7, 2019, at home.

He was born October 28, 1939, in Kansas City, Kansas, the son of Joseph and Helen Hayes who preceded him in death. He graduated from Perry High School.

Daniel served in the Us Navy during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He was a member of the Cherokee Nation, First Baptist Church, Cubmaster for the Boy Scouts of America, Director of Cubscout Day Camp, and the American Legion.

He was employed at FMC, Packer Plastics of Lawrence, and others throughout his lifetime.  He Loved his family and wood working and making wind chimes.

Survivors include his wife, Gayle A. Hayes, of the home; sons, Michael, Brian, David and Daniel, Lawrence; daughters, Debra Hamilton, Pratt, KS, Tamar Unal. Boonton, New Jersey; twenty grand children and nine great grandchildren.

The family suggests memorial to the First Baptist Church, American Cancer Society or Lawrence Humane Society, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Laurel G. Hunsinger

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Graveside service for Laurel G. Hunsinger, will be Thursday, January 10, at 11 a.m. at the Bean Cemetery in Little River, Kansas. Mr. Hunsinger died Sunday, January 6, 2019, in Lawrence. He was born July 9, 1933, in rural Windom, Kansas, the oldest son of George and Alta Marie Hunsinger.

Laurel was a graduate of Littler River High School 1951 and Kansas State University 1959. He lived on a farm, at Marquette and Little River, growing up with six sisters and three brothers. After high school, he joined the Air Force, serving in Korea for over a year with the 90th Bomb Squadron of the 3rd Bomb Wing at Kunsan Airfield Base. On April 1, 1953, he survived a plane crash and was rescued in North Korea where he was a Purple Heart recipient. He married Claris Faye Buchanan, his high school sweetheart, upon returning from Korea on October 17, 1953. His lifetime career was with Texaco, for which he worked in Wichita, Kansas; Quito, Ecuador; Bogota, Colombia; Luanda, Angola; and Miami, Florida; besides traveling worldwide for Texaco. Laurel’s passions were family, friends, history, reading, travel, and airplanes.

Laurel and Claris were married 58 years. He was preceded in death by her and his siblings, Clare Hunsinger, Meredith Voth, JoAnne Peckham, Kay Piper, Karyl Hunsinger, and Dallis Hunsinger. Other survivors include sons, Terry of Olathe, Kansas; Keith and Shane of Lawrence; daughters, Lorri Jo Hoelscher, of Baldwin, Kansas; Cyndi Kempke of Lewisville, Texas; daughter-in-law Elizabeth, sons-in-law, Joe Hoelscher and Larry Kempke, eleven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, sisters, Georgene Glen of Tonganoxie, Kansas; Sharon Glen of Pahrump, Nevada; and Linda Fesler of Hutchinsion, Kansas.

Interment will be at Bean Cemetery at Little River, KS, with military honors by McConnell Air Force Base of Wichita, with a light lunch afterwards at Congregational Church of Little River.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana, Lawrence, KS 66044-8260 made out to Salvation Army or Bethpage Mosaic in Ellsworth, Kansas.

Mary Wallace Huish

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Our loving mother, Mary Wallace O’Keefe Huish, passed away peacefully, surrounded with love and prayer on Sunday January 6th, 2019 at 12:10p.m. Mary was devoted to her children, and a dedicated Nurse for 30 years. She was a strong Irish, New Yorker who loved her time in Florida and made many friends. A completely lovely soul. We are very blessed to have had these past few months with her. Thank you all for your thoughts, love and prayers.

Godspeed, Mother. We love you and we miss you. Go, be with your heavenly family and we will see you again Momma.

Love you, Always,
Margaret, Andrew, John and Catherine

Sherry M. McCoy

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Sherry McCoy, 60, of Lawrence, Kansas passed away Saturday, January 5, 2019 after a hard fought 15-year battle with breast cancer.

Graveside services will be 11 am, Tuesday, January 15, 2019, at Oak Hill Cemetery. A visitation will be from 6-7pm Monday, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Sherry was born March 31, 1958 in Lawrence, Kansas to Coye and Reba Baker. She attended Lawrence High School until she received her GED in 1975. She resided briefly in Kent, Ohio in the 70s and then moved to Houston, Texas where she met and married the love of her life, Henry “Grant” McCoy on November 9, 1983. They moved back to Lawrence in 1984 where she would raise her family and live out the rest of her life.

She worked for the University of Kansas in the comptroller’s office in the late 80s and early 90s, from which she medically retired, after which she became a homemaker, wife and mother.

Her parents, and her brother, Doughlas Baker, preceded her in death.

She will be deeply missed by her husband Grant, her children Brian McCoy (Naomi), Amanda Burghart (Eric), Elizabeth McCoy, and Stephanie McCoy, all of Lawrence, and numerous grandchildren as well as many close family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made in Sherry’s name to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Ann Carlin Ozegovic

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A memorial service will be held for Ann Carlin Ozegovic and Jack Ozegovic on February 2, 2019 at 11:00 am at Salemsborg Lutheran Church, located three miles south of Smolan, KS.  A reception will be held immediately following the service at the C&W Ranch at 4000 South Halstead Road, Smolan, KS.  On Sunday, February 3rd from 1-4 pm, friends and family are also invited to gather to remember Ann and Jack  at the home of Matt  and Judy Veatch,1646 Massachusetts St., Lawrence KS

She died on December 18, 2018, at Pioneer Ridge in Lawrence.

Ann was born August 26, 1942, in Salina, Kansas, the daughter of Jack W. and Hazel L. (Johnson) Carlin. She grew up on the family dairy farm near Smolan, Kansas and was an active 4-H member throughout her youth. She attended Smolan Grade School and graduated from Lindsborg (KS) Rural High School. She earned her BA in Journalism in 1964 at Kansas State University and her MFA in photography in 1978 at Central Michigan University.

Ann lived in Traverse City, Michigan for 25 years. She worked as a journalist at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan and at the Traverse City Record-Eagle as a reporter and Arts Editor. Later she served as the executive director of the Traverse City Arts Council and as a free-lance photographer for Northwestern Michigan College.

In 1989, Ann moved to Lawrence and worked as a special assistant to the Kansas Secretary of Human Resources. In this role, she supervised the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns and the Kansas Advisory Committee on Hispanic Affairs. Ann finished her public service career as an employment specialist at the Lawrence Workforce Center, retiring in 2004.

Ann sang passionately in the Lawrence Civic Choir’s alto section for 27 years. She ushered at the Lied Center from 1999 to 2010. She was a reader at New York Elementary School and regularly volunteered for Kansas Public Radio fund drives. A lifelong Democrat, she supported and campaigned for many candidates, including her brother, former Kansas Governor John Carlin.

In 2001 Ann received the Community Access Award from Independence Inc. She was a Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty board member and served as co-president in 2017 for the Douglas County chapter of the League of Women Voters, working tirelessly to register people to vote. She took up running in 2014 and enjoyed winning 5k medals in her age bracket and running with family and friends.

She married Jack Ozegovic in Traverse City, Michigan on December 20, 1969. He preceded her in death on December 15, 2018, just a few days before their 49th wedding anniversary.

Survivors include her brother, John Carlin and wife Lynn, a niece, a nephew, a grand niece, two grand nephews, and many beloved friends in Lawrence and around the country.

She is preceded in death by her parents and husband Jack.

Memorial contributions may be made to Friends of the Lawrence Public Library, Lawrence Civic Choir, or the Salemsborg Church Memorial Fund, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street Lawrence, KS 66044.

Jack Alan Ozegovic

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A memorial service will be held for Ann Carlin Ozegovic and Jack Ozegovic on February 2, 2019 at 11:00 am at Salemsborg Lutheran Church, located three miles south of Smolan, KS.  A reception will be held immediately following the service at the C&W Ranch at 4000 South Halstead Road, Smolan, KS.  On Sunday, February 3rd from 1-4 pm, friends and family are also invited to gather to remember Ann and Jack  at the home of Matt  and Judy Veatch,1646 Massachusetts St., Lawrence KS.

He died December 15, 2018, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Jack was born April 19, 1932, in Saginaw, Michigan, the son of Michael L. and Rose T. Seibert Ozegovic.

He graduated from high school in 1950 and worked for Ried Paper Company prior to entering the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1954. In 1956, he added part-time study at Tufts University until completing his program in 1958. In 1974, Jack earned his MFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University, and engaged in advanced study at the Tamarind Institute of Lithography that summer.

Jack taught art at Gettysburg College from 1964-1968 and then at Northwestern Michigan College, in Traverse City, Michigan, from 1968 until his retirement in 1989. He is a past member of the College Art Association and the American Association of University Professors.

Jack married Ann Carlin on December 20, 1969, in Traverse City. Following his retirement from teaching, they moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1989. During his thirty years in Lawrence, Jack cultivated friendships, ushered at the Lied Center, and participated in many Lawrence Arts Center activities.

A painter and printmaker of extraordinary creativity, Jack experimented with many styles, techniques, and media. His work expressed a refined sense of color and form; deep appreciation for the natural world; and sharp commentary on contemporary life, culture, and politics. Jack’s art has been exhibited in Lawrence and widely around the Midwest.

Jack was an eloquent and prolific writer. He continued to type letters to friends and family long after the emergence of digital technology. In 2000, the Ice Cube Press of North Liberty, Iowa, published a book of Jack’s pithy and often humorous memories of his Michigan experiences. The original manuscript is in the literary archives of the University of Iowa.

Aside from his art and writing, Jack also enjoyed gardening, railroading, world history, beer and wine making, and fine music.

He is survived by his wife, Ann. Other survivors include his brother-in-law, former Kansas Governor John Carlin and wife Lynn, a niece, a nephew, a grand niece, two grand nephews and many cousins in the United States, Austria, Germany, Croatia and Serbia and many beloved friends in Lawrence and around the country. Thanks for the memories.

He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Joan Ozegovic.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lawrence Humane Society or Bert Nash Community Health Center, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Susan Beth Greenberg

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Services for Susan Beth Greenberg, 47, Lawrence, will be at 2 p.m. Friday, January 11, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Mrs. Greenberg died Friday, January 4, 2019, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital after complications from a short respiratory illness.

She was born December 17, 1971, in Chicago, the daughter of David and Judy Greenberg. She graduated from Lawrence High School in 1990. She attended Columbus College of Art and Design and resided in Columbus, Ohio, for ten years. She then returned to Lawrence and later graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing. She was an artist who worked in multiple media, but most recently had been creating beautiful fine art photography.

She had a great love for art, photography, movies, music, animals, and sports – especially softball, baseball, and KU basketball.

She married Jessica M. Little-Greenberg on November 17, 2014, in Lawrence, Kansas. They had been in a committed relationship since June 11, 2008, and married legally as soon as it was possible. Jessica survives of the home.

Other survivors include her parents, David and Judy Greenberg; two sisters, Julie A. Greenberg, Garnett, and Diane L. Morgan and husband Steve, Topeka; two nieces, Elizabeth A. Ramirez, Lawrence, and Grace M. Morgan, Topeka; and a very large extended family.

The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the funeral home before the memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Lawrence Humane Society are encouraged, sent in care of the funeral home.