Category: Obituaries

D. Ann Squier

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D. Ann Squier, age 56, died peacefully Wednesday August 26th at her home in the company of her life partner, Tim Van Natta and friends after a long battle with brain cancer. She is loved and will be dearly missed. A causual celebration of life will be held at a later date in Lawrence, along with a grave site memorial service in Brownell Kansas interring her ashes.

The daughter of William and Veta Squier was born on March 19th 1959 in Ransom Kansas. She grew up on her family’s wheat and cattle homestead in Brownell until she graduated from the local high school. Leaving the rural life she knew behind, she attended Fort Hays State University and received her BA in Sociology. Continuing in her studies she moved to Lawrence and completed in short order her Masters and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1991 that concentrated on gerontological issues.

D. Ann will be remembered for her spunky dispostion and quick wit. Her love of life was evident in her many friendships, as well as her piano playing but mostly in her natural ability to break into a dance and shake her stuff at night clubs and music festivals.

She would spend many a dark night gazing into the vastness of space and could show you the constellations, stars and planets in any season as they rose and set within the night sky. Ad astra per aspera, my little princess.

She loved to travel and visited many a city and country and learned of their ways. In her later years she relished in shooting pool, gardening, camping and venturing out many a time to major league baseball games in St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City.

An advocate of knowledge and reading, she worked at the Oread Bookshop in the Memorial Union for 19 years and then as a Medicare Representative until her illness befell her.

Survivors include Tim, her bosom buddy of 30 years whom she met while attending KU, her parents, her brothers John and Lee, his wife Colette, her nieces Stefanie and Cecily, her husband Steve Visser along with two grandnephews Nels and Karsten from Austin.

Online condolences may be sent to rumsey-yost.com.

Judith Joan Taggart Russell

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Judith Joan Taggart Russell, age 93, of Lawrence, KS passed away on August 23, 2015.

Joan was born, November 15, 1921, to James and Almeda “Allie” King Taggart of Wellington, KS. She graduated from Wellington High School and The University of Kansas. After marrying C. E. Russell, Jr. in 1943, they returned to Wellington to raise their family. C. E. preceded her in death in 2011.

Joan was a “stay-at-home” mom raising their five children. As her children grew up Joan worked at Riley’s Jewelry in downtown Wellington and later worked as a library aide passing on her love for books to the many children who came through the Kennedy Elementary School library.

In 2003, Joan and C. E. returned to the community in which they met, Lawrence, KS to enjoy a late retirement.

Joan loved to entertain and passed on her love of cooking to all her children and grandchildren. Holiday meals were a family event followed by long conversations and much laughter around the table.

Survivors include two daughters, Sheryl Aydelott (Guy) of Eugene, OR and Cara Connelly (Jim) of Lawrence, KS; three sons, Curt Russell of Wellington, KS, Mark Russell of the home and Chris Russell (Lori) of Boerne, TX; seven grandchildren, Todd Aydelott, Ged Aydelott, Chris Haley, Corey Russell, Victoria Jackson, Lauren Russell and Michael Russell; and eight great-grandchildren.

A private family service for both Joan and C. E. will be held at a later date. We would like to thank Kea, Ashley, Tonya and Mickey of Visiting Nurses/Hospice for helping Joan and the family through this process. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in her name to the Douglas County Visiting Nurses/Hospice or the Wellington Public Library and may be sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Online condolences may be sent at: www.rumsey-yost.com or sign the guestbook at: obituaries.LJWorld.com

Vernon H. Wells

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Memorial services with Masonic honors for Vernon H. Wells, 80, Lawrence, will be at 2 pm Thursday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home & Crematory. A visitation will be held from 1 pm until service time. Mr. Wells died Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

He was born June 15, 1935, in Stuttgart, Kan., the son of Francis James and Ellen Venelda Smith Wells. He was a plumber/pipefitter with Local 441 for 55 years. He was a member of Masonic Lodge 6, Scottish Rite, Abdullah Temple, Masonic National Traveler, and First Baptist Church. Vernon enjoyed traveling, woodworking, and spending time with family.

He married Cleta A. Statler on July 4, 1958, in Lawrence. She survives of the home. Other survivors include a son, Dennis J. Wells and wife Carolyn, Valley Falls; a daughter, Mary C. Wells-Hopkins and husband Don, North Pole, Alaska; a brother, Vic Wells, Lawrence; two sisters, Arvella Lee, Lawrence, and Lucille Bohl, Phillipsburg; three grandchildren, Nora Hopkins, and Brandon and Desaree Lightsey; and six great grandchildren.

The family suggests memorial contributions to Masonic – Eastern Star Home for Children, in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044. Online condolences may be sent at rumsey-yost.com.

Aileen Phyllis Else

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Funeral services for Aileen Phyllis Else, 91, Lawrence, will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday August 28, 2015, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, the Rev. Dr. Shannah McAleer officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Aileen passed away on Saturday, August 22, 2015, at Medicalodges in Eudora, surrounded by family. Aileen was born July 11, 1924, in Lawrence, KS, the daughter of Oliver Henry and Bessie Maude Wilson Evans. She attended Barker School in Lawrence. During WW2 she worked at the Hercules Powder Company where she met William L. Holliday and they were married in 1955. He preceded her in death in 1967. She later married Roy Coffman, who died in 1969. In 1971, she married Wendell Else, who preceded her in death in 1977. From 1944 to 1999, she was self-employed in several different businesses.

Aileen grew up on a farm during the Great Depression. She had an incredibly clever mind and a wild, adventurous spirit. She began a lucrative, albeit underground bootlegging operation during Kansas prohibition days. After the sale of alcohol was legalized, she turned that bootlegging ring into a successful business with Holliday Liquor Store then later Else’s Liquor store. She successfully ran these businesses for 40 years with only an 8th grade education. She endured the heartache of losing 3 husbands, 2 sisters and 1 brother. She was strong, generous, honest, beautiful and fierce. She loved dogs, bluebirds, and Cowboys, especially John Wayne. She had movie-star beauty and impeccable business sense, but she was also incredibly humble, vulnerable and kind. In the end, there are really no words to do her justice. An indescribable force has left this world and those of us who knew her will miss her forever.

Survivors include two daughters: Phyllis Payne and husband, Ed Payne, Lawrence; Toni Neff and husband, Jamie Neff, Reno, Nevada; five grandchildren: Yara Nielsenshultz, Maya Vance, Zabrina Doerck, Laurel Douglas and Tyler Neff; 3 siblings: brother Philip Evans, sisters Doris Marshall and Virginia Curtis; 6 step-children: Carol Holliday Williams, Michael Holliday, Wendell Robert Else, Jr, Kaye Exler, Delores Ortega and Dennis Else. She was also proud to have lived to see the births of 7 great grandchildren and 16 step-grandchildren. Preceding her in death are sisters Olive Maude Pickett, Mary E Clark, brother, Elmo Forest Evans; and 3 step-children, Duaine Else, Sheryl Parks, Danny Else and 2 step grandchildren and 1 great grandson.

Friends may call from noon to 8 pm Thursday, where the family will receive them from 6:30 to 7:30, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

Family suggests memorial contributions made to the Lawrence Humane Society, Grace Hospice, or American Lung Association, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana St. Lawrence, KS 66044.

Robert Rockey ‘Bob’ Evans

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Robert Rockey Evans (Bob), 94, was born on June 15, 1921 in Oklahoma City and died Saturday, August 22, 2015 at his home in Lawrence, Kansas. He leaves his wife of 71 years, Lydia Spencer Evans: his daughter Patricia Ann Bird; his sons, Robert Rockey Evans Jr., James Warren Evans 2nd, David Spencer Evans, and David Lee Barclay; their spouses and 10 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren; and many close friends.

His parents were James Warren Evans and Nell Rockey Evans. His father, a civil engineer, was killed in a construction accident when Bob was a baby. Nell raised Bob and his two sisters, June and Carol (both deceased), in Norman, Oklahoma. In addition to traveling by Model-A Ford all over the USA with his mother and sisters; in his early years, Bob enjoyed growing up in Norman, Oklahoma, where he became a die-hard Sooner, had many interesting adventures and jobs and many good friends. One of his best high school friends, Lydia Spencer, became his high school and college sweetheart when they both attended University High and the University of Oklahoma.

Bob joined the Navy immediately after Pearl Harbor, and after graduating from OU with a bachelors’ degree in civil engineering in 1943, entered Midshipmen’s School at Columbia University in New York City. Bob and Lydia were married at Riverside Church in New York City on October 20, 1943, the day he graduated from Midshipmen’s School as an Ensign. He served as an officer in the Navy’s Seabees during the final nine months of World War II on the Philippine Islands of Leyte and Samar with Platoon Assembly Detachment 4, providing the naval infrastructure for the retaking of the Philippines.

After being discharged from active duty in the Navy at the end of World War II, Bob and Lydia moved to Dallas, Texas where they started their new family and where he was working in the city engineer’s office. After having their first two children in Dallas, Bob moved the family to Great Bend, Kansas in 1951 where he established a civil engineering consulting firm that grew to become EBH: Evans, Bierly, Hutchison Consulting Engineers.

Bob was a highly regarded civil engineer and businessman across the state and region. Among other honors, he served as the President of the Kansas Engineering Society and Vice Chairman for the National Society of Professional Engineers serving on the Ethics Committee for the Society. Bob volunteered to serve as the acting city engineer for Great Bend and several smaller central Kansas towns during times of emergency. He was also a community leader in Great Bend. Bob served as elder and trustee at the Presbyterian Church in both Great Bend and Lawrence. He was a scoutmaster, and served on the Great Bend School Board for eight years. An avid golfer, he was a longtime member of the Lake Barton Golf Club near Great Bend and then the Lawrence Country Club after moving to Lawrence. He also enjoyed life as a folk artist, entrepreneur, traveler and storyteller.

Of all of Bob’s accolades and accomplishments, he would view “family man” as his highest honor. He and his sweetheart celebrated almost 72 joyous and loving years of marriage. In addition to their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their spouses, they extended their love and caring to many who were not related by blood, and once a person was included in that realm of family, they always remained there, with unconditional love.

A memorial service will be held at 3 PM on Wednesday, August 26 at the First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate that donations be made to Jason’s STEM Launch Dreamers Fund, a nonprofit organization that assists underprivileged children to achieve their dreams of becoming future leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Fund is in memory of Bob’s first grandson, Jason Bird, and can be sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home & Crematory, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044.

Marvin H. Metzger

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Graveside services for Marvin Harold Metzger, 93, Lawrence, will be Thursday, August 27, at 10:00 a.m. at Memorial Park Cemetery, with the Rev. Robert Leiste officiating. Visitation will be 30 minutes prior at the cemetery.

Marvin died Saturday, August 22, at Pioneer Ridge Retirement Community.

He was born January 20, 1922 in (old) Ozawkie, the son of William Franklin Metzger and Opal Mae Cunning.

Marvin served in the U.S. Marines during WWII and was the owner/operator of Motor In until 1980. He was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church.

He married Joan Allen on May 5, 1945 in Lawrence, KS. She survives of the home. Marvin and Joan were married over 70 years.

Other survivors include a son, Lynn (Susan), and their daughters Hilary and Emily, and a son, Mark (Vanessa), and their son, Morgan.

Marvin was preceded in death by 9 siblings – Delbert, Sue Ellen, Evelyn, Hazelle, Patricia, Doris, Lois, Doren and Kenneth.

The family suggests memorials to Redeemer Lutheran Church or Grace Hospice, sent in care of the funeral home.

Darlene L. Paslay

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Funeral services for Darlene L. Steinman Paslay, 95, Lecompton, will be 10 am Tuesday at Lecompton United Methodist Church. Burial will be at 3 pm Tuesday at Resthaven Cemetery, Wichita. Mrs. Paslay died Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015, at her home. She was born April 7, 1920, in Mt. Moriah, Mo., the daughter of Leslie Earl and Rosa Levona Pierce Carter.

Mrs. Paslay was a 1938 graduate of Albany High School, Albany, Mo. She was a member of the Lecompton United Methodist Church, Lecompton Historical Society, Lecompton Constitutional Hall and a Docent, Lecompton Territorial Capital Curator, Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader and President of the PTA in Wichita.

Mrs. Paslay married Arthur W. Steinman. He preceded her in death in 1967. She married David W. Paslay, and he preceded her in death on December 23, 1997. She was also preceded in death by a son, Arthur Max Steinman, and a daughter, Levona G. (Jacque) Morey.

Survivors include sons David Lee Paslay, Atwood, and Richard Allan Paslay, Tecumseh; daughters Linda Kay Eisenhut, Berryton, and Sheila Robles, Lecompton; 17 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and 20 great-great-grandchildren.

She will lie in state from noon to 8 pm Monday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, where the family will receive friends from 7 to 8 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest memorials be made to the Lecompton United Methodist Church or Lecompton Historical Society, in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, P.O. Box 1260, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Condolences may be sent at rumsey-yost.com.

Cassandra Adelle Fox

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Graveside services for Cassandra Adelle Fox, 27, Lawrence, will be at 1 pm Wednesday at Reno Cemetery, on Hwy. 40 between Lawrence and Tonganoxie. A visitation will be held from noon until service time. Cassandra died Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015, at her home.

She was born Feb. 6, 1988, in Pittsburg, Kan., the daughter of Ronald J. Sr. and Shauna R. Frederick Fox. She graduated from high school in Meeker, Okla. Cassandra was employed as a cashier at Prairie Band Pottawatomi Casino for the last year. Previously she had been employed by the Sac & Fox Casino in Shawnee, Okla. Cassandra was schooling to become an accountant. She was a very social person who loved spending time with her children and friends.

Survivors include her mother, Shauna Friel and husband Sean, Meeker, Okla.; her father, Ronald Fox Sr., Basehor; her two daughters, Grace and Ellie Fox, of the home; siblings Ronald Fox Jr., Meeker, Okla., Trevor Fox, Shawnee, Okla., and John Friel, Anthony, Kan.; paternal grandmother , Linda Linnemann, Tonganoxie; and paternal grandfather, Sylvester Fox, Frankfort, Kan. She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Dorothy and Roy Frederick.

Cassandra will lie in state from noon to 8 pm Tuesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Cassandra Fox Memorial Fund, in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044

Frank Gifford Jones

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Jones Pic 3Watches have changed since Frank Jones was born Jan. 15, 1921. Frank Jones didn’t. He always knew how to tell a story. Until his passing on Aug. 17, 2015, the 94-year-old former watchmaker told them well.

Frank could tell you of the old Indian School, a one-room, one-size fits all school house, where the teacher found students having a rock fight one day behind homemade forts. Soon, they were in trouble.

During high school, when he learned the love of auto mechanics, Frank ran onto the be-speckled James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, on the KU campus. He seemed right ordinary, Frank said later. The brief chat cemented his love of KU. That would never change.

His childhood days of playing baseball with the Tigers in 1932 was a favorite story. He recalled them at the Tiger’s Lawrence reunion in 1982. One older disgruntled player, who disagreed with the umpire, stormed off the field, went home, and returned to centerfield where he burned his uniform.

Most childhood days would find Frank hunting rabbit and palling around with his dog Rex. A sad day in his life came when he had to put down his beloved dog after a rabies infection rendered the dog mad. That story was hard for him to tell. He always loved the dogs he had.

He held a number of jobs, as a carpenter, an electrician, and a pipe fitter, working for the powder plant east of the city and in the shipyards in California.

His father, Tom Jones, built a service station on the edge of his 40-acre farm to supplement his farming income. It was located at the present site of Auto Exchange. After the war, Frank was there filling up your tank with gas or tires with air.

One day, Frank went too far. He overfilled one woman’s tire. He ruined it. However, the woman took notice of Frank’s helpful and kind manner. On Nov. 23, 1945, Frank married that woman, Christal Henry. He told that story many times.

Frank and Christal soon had a daughter named Judy, and moved to California in 1946 to be closer to his mother, Ellen Jones, and sister Faye. During his mother’s long illness, he stayed by her side till she passed in 1952. Later, his wife gave birth to a son in 1956, named Tim.

During his 40 years in California, Frank worked at repairing watches and started a storefront jewelry business in Long Beach. Christal sold jewelry. He bought a home in Anaheim in 1961. Life remained good for many years.

Frank returned to Lawrence in 1986 after his retirement and his divorce. He spent most of his time fishing, traveling, learning the piano and harmonica, and going to the senior dances. And of course, telling stories about growing up in Lawrence was a specialty.

His stories will be remembered and appreciated by his son Tim, his granddaughters, Nicole and Natalie, with his great-granddaughters, Sophia, Mia, Ava, and his close friend Audrey England for years to come.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 24 at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home located at 601 Indiana, Lawrence, Kansas. Viewing will be held at the same location from 3 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23,

Online condolences may be sent to www.rumsey-yost.com.