Author: RumseyYost

Jeanette Lynn ‘Jeanie’ Ochs

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Funeral services for Jeanette Lynn ‘Jeanie’ Ochs, 64, Lawrence, will be at 10:30 am Tuesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, with the Rev. Dr. Tom Brady officiating. Burial will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery. Jeanie died Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, following a long and courageous battle with cancer.

She was born June 10, 1953, in Great Bend, Kan., the daughter of Lorenz E. and Norma C. Ackerman Ochs. She graduated from Great Bend High School, where she was active in journalism and yearbook. She was a Girl Scout, a member of the She Sharks swimming group, and a member of First United Methodist Church. She later earned a Bachelors of Science degree from Kansas State University. Jeanie worked as office manager in the Department of Mathematics at Kansas State University. She moved to Lawrence in 1982, and held the same position at Kansas University. Later she began working for Gill Real Estate as Office Manager, where she earned her real estate license, and then worked as the office manager for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. Most recently she worked as a bookkeeper for Jetz Laundry Services in Topeka. Jeanie enjoyed gardening, cooking, sewing, canning, collecting antiques, and traveling with family.

Survivors include her mother, Norma Ochs, Lawrence; two brothers, Mitchell Ochs (Jeanette), Great Bend, and Stephan Ochs (Judy), Fernandina Beach, Fla.; nieces and nephews Andrew Ochs, Cliffie Ives (Derrick), Rebecca Probst (Shawn), and Philip Ochs; and great nieces and nephews Darrin, Brady, Riley, and Presley Ives.

Friends may call from noon to 8 pm Monday at the funeral home. The family will receive friends Tuesday from 10 am until service time. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the University of Kansas Cancer Center, in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044. Online condolences may be sent at rumsey-yost.com

Carol Ann Hastings Graham

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Carol Ann Hastings Graham was born on April 4, 1928 in Pratt, Kansas to Fred E. and Florence Harkrader Hastings.  She died peacefully at home on February 15, 2018, in Lawrence, Kansas. Visitation will be held Saturday, February 24, 2018, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, Lawrence.  A private burial will be held at Greenlawn Cemetery in Pratt, Kansas. She was married to Barney D. Graham on January 29, 1950 in Pratt, Kansas.  He preceded her in death April 17, 1993.

After graduating from Pratt High School, Carol came to the University of Kansas and was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She graduated in 1950 with a BA in Psychology. Barney and Carol lived in the Kansas City area while Barney was in Dental School.  Carol taught first grade in large classrooms of baby boomers.  After this experience, she had a lifelong interest in education and the nurturing of preschoolers and their parents.

Once Barney graduated they moved for a short time to Gardner before Barney was called to serve in the Navy in the Philippines. Carol followed with their first child, Barney Scott and they lived in Caviti City for two years where their second child, Christopher Hastings was born.  Once back in the States, they moved to Olathe, Kansas where they lived until 1970.  While living in Olathe, daughter Janice Ann was born.  During those years she was on the library board and the Johnson County Mental Health Board.

In 1963, at Barney’s urging, she returned to the University of Kansas and graduated in 1967 with a Master’s degree in Education and Counseling.

In 1970 the family moved to a farm in Paola, Kansas where Carol became adept at managing country living and all the “joys” of farm life.  She taught extended kindergarten in Paola, then went to work at a new GED Adult Education program at the Osawatomie State Hospital. She helped start the mental health center in Miami County.

Carol and Barney moved to Lawrence in 1978. She started a daytime GED Adult Education Program for the Lawrence School District and in 1985 received the Kansas award for achievement in Adult Education.

Carol retired from teaching in 1989 and became a volunteer at the Watkins Historical Museum.  Her favorite project was transcribing the Fitch family letters describing the settlement of Lawrence through Quantrill’s raid. In true Carol Graham fashion, she thought the book needed to be reprinted for the 150th anniversary of the raid, so she made phone calls until someone agreed.  It is now the book “Postmarked: Bleeding Kansas”.

Carol and Barney enjoyed traveling and she continued to travel throughout her life. She liked to play bridge and started quilting in retirement. She especially loved and appreciated living in Lawrence and the culture and diversity of a university community. Over the years she opened her home to several KU students who enriched her life with friendship, music, and an appreciation of diverse cultures.

Carol had many accomplishments and interests in life. Most obvious is her passion for education and she was learning in her last hours. That Wednesday evening she was sitting on the front row in a class about the linguistic history of the English language at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Many people have known her caring and benefitted from her wisdom. She was most proud of being a mother to three children and being very involved in the lives of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She is survived by her children and their families: Barney and Cynthia, Rockville, MD, and their children Eboné Graham, Daniel Graham and wife Isis, and Anne Margaret Graham; Chris and Janet, Overland Park, KS, and their children Michael Graham, Matthew Graham, Colin Wakefield, Jon Wakefield, and Ben Wakefield; Janice and Walter Olker, Lawrence, and their children Andrew Olker and wife Abi, Sam Olker and wife Allie, and Abby Olker.

She is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren, and her brother, Jim Hastings and his family of Chandler, AZ.

In lieu of flowers, Carol requested memorial contributions be made to Habitat for Humanity, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street Lawrence, KS 66044.

Julia Nadine Christie

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A visitation for Julia Nadine Christie, 91, Lawrence, will be from 6-7:30 pm, Thursday, February 15, 2018, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

She died Monday, February 12, 2018, at Pioneer Ridge Nursing Facility.

Julia was born July 18, 1926, in Clinton, KS, the daughter of Thomas Henry and Goldie Vivian Jones Hout.

She attended Clinton Grade school and graduated in 1945 from Liberty Memorial High School in Lawrence, KS.

Julia worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone in Lawrence for 10 years.  She also worked for the University of Kansas food Services at the Hawksnest, Hawklet and Wescoe for 10 years.

She was a member of the Clinton Presbyterian Church.

Julia married Medary L. Christie on October 17, 1946, in Lawrence, he preceded her in death in 2001.

Survivors include two sons Larry and wife Judy Christie, Humansville, MO, Thomas Christie and partner Eric Dowell, Lawrence; two grandchildren, Travis Wade Christie and wife Michelle, Heath Allen Christie and wife Ellen; and four great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband, brother Allen Hout and sister Vivian G. Clough.

In Lieu of flowers the family requests memorial contributions made to the Clinton Presbyterian Church, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street Lawrence, KS 66044.

Betty Joyce Stauffer

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Funeral services for Betty J. Stauffer, 91, Lawrence, will be at 10:00 a.m. Thursday at the Lecompton United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery, Lecompton.

Mrs. Stauffer died Sunday February 11, 2018, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. She was born March 12, 1926, in Lecompton, the daughter of Louis and Margaret Crady.

Mrs. Stauffer worked for fifteen years at Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant as a quality control technician and for several years at Aeroquip Corporation. Her focus in life was to support her family in any way she could. She also enjoyed social times with friends and family gatherings and celebrations. She was the number one cheerleader over the years for her granddaughter and her great-grandsons.

She married Walter Lester ‘Les’ Stauffer on Oct. 22, 1944, in Lawrence. He preceded her in death in 2009. She was also preceded in death by two brothers, Wes and Harold Crady.

Survivors include son Gary and wife Carolyn, Lawrence; granddaughter Mendi Hanna and husband Scott, Lenexa; and great grandsons Cole and Carson Hanna.

Friends may call from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, where the family will receive them from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday.

The family wishes to thank Pioneer Ridge staff for their care while she resided in her assisted living apartment.

The family suggests memorials to Great Lakes Caring Hospice, sent in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, Kansas 66044.

 

Fleetta Mae Higgins

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Graveside services for Fleetta Mae Higgins, 89, Baldwin City, will be 11 am, Thursday, February 15, 2018, at Memorial Park Cemetery.

She died Monday, February 12, 2018, at Baldwin Healthcare and Rehab.

Fleetta was born March 6, 1928, in Lawrence, the daughter of John Sherman and Fleetta Anna Poeverlein Ray.

She loved working in her flowers, mowing the lawn and had many house plants. She took pride in having a green thumb.  Fleetta worked for many years for Baker University in Food Services and worked in the dish room until she was 81 years old.  She was a dog lover and always had a dog or two.

Fleetta married Eugene Earl Higgins on May 18, 1951, in Lawrence, KS.  He preceded her in death on May 18, 1977.

Survivors include four children, Brenda Collins (Jerry), Baldwin, Larry Higgins, Lawrence, Timothy Higgins (Penny) and Anna Votaw (Lynn), both of Baldwin; sister, Betty Vesco, Baldwin; four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband, brother John Ray.

Friends may call from 1-8 pm Wednesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions may be made to Baldwin Healthcare and Rehab or Great Lakes Hospice, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street Lawrence, KS 66044.

She was a sweet loving mom and person, we will miss her very much.

John Jimenez

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John Jimenez, 92, passed away February 9, 2018, in Lawrence, KS. John was born in 1925 in Hamilton County, KS in a small, and no longer on the map, settlement named Medway, KS to Agustin Parra and Josefa Bernal Jimenez. He was the third of eight children and the first to be born in the U.S. His two older brothers died of smallpox at an early age. He began his early education in Medway in 1930 in what may have been the last, or one of the last, sod school buildings in the state.

He met his mate for life, Naida J. Krause from Burlington, KS at K.U. They married in 1949. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, Pamela J. (John) Harrell of Paxton, MA; Elise J. (Timothy) DiLiberti of Oklahoma City, OK; and one son, Mark A. (Lourdes) Jimenez of Shawnee, KS. Two grandchildren, Joanne L. (Sean) Parker of San Antonio, TX, and Jeffrey B. (Melissa) Harrell, of Morrisville, NC, and three great grandchildren, Bryson and Alexis Harrell and Liam Parker also survive him.

John graduated from Syracuse High School, Syracuse, KS in May of 1943 and within a few weeks reported to an induction center as ordered by his draft board for basic training at the Naval Training Center in Farragut, ID. He was honorably discharged in April of 1946.

John trained as a Hospital Corpsman and served in the Central and South pacific, an area encompassing the Melanesian group of islands including the Solomons, from October 1943 to November 1945. He was awarded campaign ribbons for the American, Victory, and Pacific Theater events. He spent some of his duty time on a converted Liberty ship moving injured and sick personnel (3rd Marine Division) to established hospitals at New Hebrides, Guadalcanal, and New Caledonia.

Soon after his separation from the military, he enrolled at KU and completed his degree in Geology in 1954.

John worked for the Kansas Department of Transportation more than 39 years as an Engineering Geologist and also served during the same time as a Hydrologist for the Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources. The last 15 years of his career, leading to his retirement in 1994, he was the Regional Engineering Geologist for 14 counties of the northeast section of the state. His home base was Lawrence. During his retirement, John volunteered for 12 years at the Lawrence Visitor Center.

John enjoyed reading, woodworking, hunting, bird watching, and KU basketball. He served as a project leader for youth in the Four Leaf Clover 4-H Club and attended Rock Springs 4-H camp as a counselor.

John and Naida loved to travel and visited all of the states in the U.S., many countries in Europe, Central America and the Caribbean, and many regions of Mexico and Canada. Special interests were national parks, Civil War sites and museums. He never missed stopping at a rock shop at the side of the highway.

In 2013 John was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and had spent the last several months in assisted living at Bridge Haven Village in Lawrence.

No formal services were held per John’s request. Private graveside services with military honors were held at Memorial Park Cemetery in Lawrence.

The family suggests memorials in his name be sent to KTWU or your favorite PBS station.

Alice Marie Harr

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Alice Marie Harr passed away February 8, 2018.  She was born on November 22, 1922 in Aaron,MO to John and Lulu Elvira (Stayton) Hedges.  When she was 4 years old she went to live with Clarence and Pearl Woods, hence her nickname “Woody.”

In September of 1945, she married Robert Evans Harr a Pearl Harbor veteran in San Francisco, CA.  They made their home in Girard, KS.  They had 4 children Lee, Greg, Julie and Jessica.  In 1971 they moved to Arizona. Her husband passed away in February of 1999.  In 2010 Alice moved to Lawrence KS, where she lived until her death.

Alice had 4 grandchildren…. 6 great grandchildren.

Robert William Lichtwardt

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A Memorial for Robert W. Lichtwardt will be at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 17th, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation Fellowship Hall at 1263 N 1100 Rd, Lawrence. His ashes are interred in the Pioneer Cemetery on the University of Kansas campus.

Dr. Lichtwardt died Friday February 9th at home, surrounded by his family.

He was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1924, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the fourth of six children of Henry H. and Ruth M. Lichtwardt. He held dual U.S. and Brazilian citizenship. He graduated from the American School in Rio de Janeiro in 1941. During World War II, he was 4F due to his eyesight and instead served the Naval Operating Base for the South Atlantic Fleet as a civilian employee through the U.S. Embassy in Brazil.

In 1945 he moved to the U.S. to attend Oberlin College from which he graduated with a BA in 1949. He received his Master of Science in 1951, and his Ph.D. in 1954 in Botany with an emphasis in Mycology from the University of Illinois. After conducting field work through a post-doctoral fellowship, and a post-doctoral position at the University of Iowa, in 1957 he became an assistant professor at the University of Kansas and moved to Lawrence. He became full professor in 1965 and was twice chair of the Department of Botany. He retired from teaching in 1995 but continued his research projects and mentoring graduate students as Professor Emeritus for another 20 years.

He held membership and offices in numerous national and international professional societies, and authored or co-authored over 130 publications. He traveled widely, conducting field research in 15 countries and multiple U.S. states. He had a wide variety of interests including hiking, camping, brewing beer, composing haiku, and playing the harmonica and the recorder. He was a Boy Scout and Boy Scout leader in Brazil, and played with an all-harmonica band on Brazilian national radio. He was a founding member and first chair of the Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence and a member of the Lawrence-Douglas County League of Women Voters.

He met his future wife Elizabeth (Betty) Thomas at Oberlin, and they married in 1951. She survives of the home.

Other survivors include two children, Ruth, Lawrence, Kansas, and Robert, Farmington, New Mexico; a brother, John, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Ouida and Marian, and brothers Harry and Edwin.

The family suggests memorials to the Robert W. Lichtwardt Student Research Award, or the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lawrence, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Collins Shorter Jr.

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Funeral services for Collins Shorter, Jr., 76 of Lawrence, KS will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, February 10, 2018 at Victory Bible Church. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery. Collins passed away Saturday, February 3, 2018 at Bridge Haven in Lawrence.

Collins, Jr. Shorter was born October 6, 1941 in Percy, MS the son of Collins Shorter, Sr. and Mary Lee (McDaniels) Shorter.

Collins attended grade school in Anguilla, MS and high school in Rolling Fork, MS. He Left Mississippi in 1967 and moved to Lawrence, KS. He worked 17 years for the Lawrence Country Club and later retired from The City of Lawrence Sanitation’s Department in 1998.

At and early age, Collins accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He was a devoted member of The Church of God under the leadership by Pastor Franklin D. Galloway. the He was a very caring and honest person. During his free time he loved singing, going to church, dancing, watching old shows, wrestling, cruising around in his pickup truck and shooting baskets with the kids. And even though he hated fishing, Collins still went with Queen because it made her happy. He just loved bringing joy to others.

Collins was united in holy matrimony to Elizabeth Harvey, she preceded him in death. To that union was added children Jessica Shorter-Brockman and Christopher Michael Shorter. Collins was then later united in holy matrimony to Queen (Clark) of Lawrence, KS September 1998.

He leaves to cherish fond memories; daughter, Jessica Shorter-Brockman, Irvin, Texas; his son, Christopher Michael Shorter, Lawrence, KS; grandchildren; Trayton Shorter, Eliza Shorter, Lavontae Shorter, Lorenzo Brockman, Laziayh Brockman, and great grandchild Jaziayh Brockman; brother, Larry Shorter; and sister, Lillie Davis, both of Lawrence; He was preceded in death by two sisters, Maxine Oatis, JoAnna Mims and four brothers, Q.C. Shorter, Melvin Shorter, Robert Shorter and Willie Shorter. His wife Queen survives of the home with her children Howard Clark, Russell Clark, Terrance Kennedy and special friend Mike Smith along with a host of other loving relatives and friends.

The family will greet friends from 5:30 – 7 p.m. Friday, February 9, 2018 at Rumsey-Yost Mortuary in Lawrence.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Collins Shorter, Jr. Memorial Fund, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street Lawrence, KS 66044.