Category: Obituaries

Frederic Neiman Joseph

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The passing of Frederic Neiman Joseph on October 31, 2024 will be illuminated by the life he lived and the love of his surviving family.

Fredric Neiman Joseph was born on May 9, 1949, to Jean Bishop Joseph and Charles Branine Joseph in Wichita, Kansas.

Fred grew up with his two brothers, Alan Joseph and Robert Joseph in Potwin, Kansas. Together with his friends and family, he enjoyed being outdoors on their family farm and the surrounding community. His friends remember him for his kindness and good humor. As a teenager, he attended Cheley Colorado Camps where he was first introduced to his lifelong love of mountaineering and outdoor adventure. During these early years, he introduced his younger brother to the hard won joys of extended backpacking trips and bagging alpine summits. 

He graduated from Remington High School in 1967 and attended the University of Kansas along with his friends and brothers. In 1972, Fred married Nancy Knudsen and together they had 4 children. Continuing the Joseph family farm and ranch, Fred worked the pastures and fields strengthening his love for the land and a life spent outdoors. Two of his favorite books were Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac” and “Arctic Dreams” by Barry Lopez. Drawn to nature Fred found innate kinship that grew into a strong environmental ethic that guided his life’s work farming and ranching.

 His children will cherish the memories he left: the patience gained from tying flies and waiting for the perfect catch, traveling to a rural spot to watch the eclipse or a distant storm cloud, watching the stars on dark nights, hiking in the mountains, attending University of Kansas football games, and fishing with grandchildren.

Fredric Joseph is survived by his children Jack (Mindy) Joseph, Lesli (Doug) Laanui, Sally (Jeremy) Podany, Drew (Katie) Joseph and by his 10 grandchildren including Caroline, Claire and William Joseph, Joseph and Noelani Laanui, James, Jillian and Elizabeth Podany, Luke and Evan Joseph and his two brothers Alan (Diane) Joseph and Robert (Terry) Joseph. 

Fredric’s service will be held on Monday, December 9th near his childhood home in Butler County. Additional details to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Rocky Mountain Conservancy to continue the protection and enjoyment of the natural world.

Ecclesiastes 12:7  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 

Judy Ann George

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Judy Ann (Anderson) Gordon George passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on Saturday, November 2nd, 2024, with her biggest fans – her children, grandchildren and sister – by her side.

To know Judy was to love Judy. She was a kind, caring, compassionate, and giving soul who never knew a stranger. If you were lucky enough to know Judy, you couldn’t help but fall in love with her and want to be in her presence. Her smile lit up her eyes and the room. Her sweetness started at the beginning of the day with her Pepsi (turned Cream Soda) and cookies for breakfast. She used to say, “Life is short, eat dessert first.” She didn’t waste a single day of her 80 years here on this earth!

Judy was born March 15th, 1944, to Vernon and Dorothy (Broers) Anderson in Wichita, KS. She grew up in Ottawa, KS, where she graduated from Ottawa High School in 1962. She was an ornery and stubborn kid who followed in the footsteps of her big brothers.

She married her first husband, Don Gordon, and raised her children, Michael and Shelly, the pride and joy of her life, in Lawrence, KS. She later married Harley George who preceded her in death in 2003. We know they must be two-stepping together in heaven now.

Judy spent most of her career as an Office and Logistics Manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition. She influenced countless lives with her leadership, guidance, & unwavering dedication until she retired in 2011. Prior to Hill’s, she did similar work at TNT Popcorn and ChaDa Sales.

To her friends and family, she was known for her chicken and noodles, lasagna, sticky buns, banana cake, hugs and welcoming nature. She loved dancing, country music, shopping trips, and lunches and dinners with her friends and loved ones.

Judy was preceded in death by her parents; brothers Larry Anderson and Rick Porter; and grandparents, Harry and Pearl Broers.

She leaves behind her adoring son, Michael Gordon and his wife Stephanie; loving caregiver and daughter, Shelly Walker and her husband Kyle; four grandchildren, Amanda Kiene (Doug), Lauren Wildman (Jacob), Tanner Walker & Kaden Walker; and two great-grandchildren, Addie & Evi Kiene. She also leaves behind her sister, Penni Reeves; brothers James Anderson and Rex Porter, many nieces, nephews, extended family and her dearest friend of over 50 years, Clyde Hoover.

Judy influenced more lives than she will ever know! She was respected for her strength, loving heart, giving soul, gentle yet feisty spirit, playfulness, laughter, honesty, “I don’t care if I’m 4’10”, I’m small but mighty” attitude! She will be missed an immeasurable amount.

Judy’s wishes were to be cremated and have a Celebration of Life with her loved ones when her family is ready.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes for donations to the National Kidney Foundation, 9218 Metcalf Ave #424, Overland Park, KS 66212, in her honor.

Georgine LaVerne McHenry

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Memorial for Georgine LaVerne McHenry, 2724 Ponderosa Drive, Lawrence, will be in the spring of 2025 at the Calvary Cemetery, a notice will be sent out in the next few months.

Mrs. Georgine LaVerne McHenry died Sunday, November 3rd, 2024 at 1:20pm, at home surrounded by her family. Succeeding her Sister Diane Van Middlesworth Nastali & Brother Clarence Van Middlesworth.

Georgine was born January 19, 1950, in Chicago, the daughter of Clarence and Miriam Anttila Van Middlesworth. She graduated from Good Council High School in 1958.

Notable Work history: Walgreens in Chicago, Illinois, M&M Office Supply and Schmidt Lumber Company in Lawrence, Kansas

She married Chris-Wayne McHenry on May 19, 2000, in Lawrence, Kansas at St. John’s Church in Lawrence, Kansas.

Other survivors include 3 Children: son, Christopher McHenry of Spring Hill, Ks., Daughter, Angela Downey, of Wamego, Ks., and son Lewis Ashworth of Lawrence, Ks., 6 Grand Children: Christine Ashworth, Hope Carter, Adam Ashworth, Macee Purtee, Noah Ashworth, Christopher McHenry II. 6 Great Grand Children. Nephew David Nastali & family living in Chicago.

Hobbies include: Sewing, Knitting, collecting collectables and Casinos.

Notable Friends: Mickey (65yrs), Diane Lewindosky (65yrs), & many other friends.

The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Humane Society, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home: P.O. Box 1260, Lawrence, KS. 66044.

Peter “Pete” Walter-Conrad Zacharias

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Peter “Pete” Walter-Conrad Zacharias, 74, of Lawrence, died Nov. 2, 2024, at his home.

Peter was born in Hamburg, Germany, on September 30, 1950, and in 1952 immigrated with his family to McPherson, Kansas, sponsored by the Lutheran Aid Society. The family moved to Park City, Kansas in 1954 and to Dodge City, Kansas in 1959, where he graduated high school.

Peter attended the University of Kansas, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1972. Following an apprenticeship in Germany and business ventures in Salt Lake City and San Francisco, he returned to Lawrence an accomplished craftsman ready to build his jewelry studio, Goldmakers Jewelry. Fascinated by Lawrence’s history, Peter became a dedicated investor in the city’s downtown and a familiar figure on the political scene. A medical event in 2016 forced him to withdraw from public life to focus on his rehabilitation.

He met Mary “Carita” Bullard in 1997, and they were married 19 years later. They were in the process of restoring their Old West Lawrence home when he died of a heart attack.

Peter’s parents, Carl and Anja Zacharias, died previously. He is survived by Carita and his children from a previous marriage to Kathleen Zacharias: Bernadette Zacharias (Phil Chiles), Nickolas Zacharias, and Jacob Zacharias, all of Lawrence; stepson Caleb Martin; and grandchildren Opal and Daniel Chiles. Other survivors include siblings Micheline Burger (Phil), Colorado Springs, CO; Klaudia Thompson (Ray), Salisbury, MD; and Johann “Hannes” Zacharias (Marcia), Lenexa, KS; as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews in the US and Germany.

Services will be held on Thursday, November 14, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS 66044. Visitation and open-casket viewing will be held from 3 to 4 p.m., followed by a reception with remarks at 4:30 p.m.

We encourage anyone who would like to celebrate Pete’s legacy to join us this Thursday. Please dress festively (Hawaiian shirts are greatly encouraged), and if you have any of Pete’s jewelry, please wear it. As his family, we will find great comfort in commiserating and reminiscing with the community he loved so much.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial contributions may be made to Doug Hitt.

Brian Michael Fadden

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A Memorial Service for Brian Michael Fadden, 48, of Lawrence, will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, November 23, 2024, at St. John the Evangelist Church, Lawrence, Kansas. Gathering after service TBD. A private burial will take place at a later date. 

Brian died Sunday, October 27, 2024, at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, KS, surrounded by his loved ones.

He was born December 15, 1975, in Dixon, IL, the son of Michael and Cynthia Fadden. He grew up in Wichita, Kansas and graduated from Kapaun Mount Carmel High School in 1994 and then moved to Lawrence, Kansas. Brian earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kansas in 2001.

Brian had three goals immediately following graduation: own a business, own a home, own a boat. In short order, he achieved them all. In 2003, he began Fadden Enterprises, LLC (dba Parkway Wine & Spirits), in partnership with his father. He purchased a home in Lawrence near his business and bought a Four Winns ski boat. After selling the business in 2019, Brian most recently worked as a training coordinator for Amarr Garage Doors in Lawrence.

Brian’s talents included fine arts, ceramics and music (drums and percussion). He enjoyed sports, both participating and spectating. He shared the joy of life with his family and friends, usually donning an impish grin. His charisma sparked lighthearted fun and enlivened many moments for those around him.

Brian is survived by his son, Owen, Topeka, Kansas; girlfriend Courtney Commons, Lawrence, Kansas; father and step-mother, Michael and Sharon Fadden, Sunrise Beach, Missouri; step-father, Jeffrey Berman, Castle Rock, Colorado; brother Kevin Fadden, Kansas City, Missouri; sister Kate Roos (Jeff), Kansas City, Missouri; nieces Alex Landon, Wichita, Kansas, and Keeley Roos, Kansas City Missouri; nephews Devin Fadden, Elizabeth, Colorado; Bailey, Kieran, Aiden, and Quinmby Roos, all of Kansas City, Missouri.

Brian is preceded in death by his brother, David Fadden (2012) and his mother, Cynthia Powers (2021).

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Van Go, Inc. of Lawrence, Kansas (www.van-go.org)

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

Marjorie Eleanor Walton

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Marjorie Eleanor Walton died Saturday, October 26, 2024, at Pioneer Ridge Assisted Living in Lawrence, KS. A Memorial Service will be held Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 2pm at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home in Lawrence, KS.

She was born November 28, 1932, in Liberal, KS, in the heart of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. One of four children, she had two older brothers, James and Robert, and a younger sister, Norma.

Her mother, Eleanor Kendall, was a librarian and a lover of books and reading, and her father, Carl Kendall, was a lover of baseball. She inherited and carried on both of these passions to her family and friends. She was an avid Jane Austen fan and faithfully re-read “Pride and Prejudice” every year. She reveled in taking her children and grandchildren to libraries and bookstores. She also loved the Kansas City Royals and was thrilled to see them in the 2014 World Series (she attended the first game) and then win the 2015 World Series. She added her own love of Kansas Jayhawks basketball and of professional tennis. Two of her happiest memories in recent years were being in San Antonio in 2008 to see the Jayhawks win the NCAA title, and then seeing Roger Federer on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 2013 with her children and grandchildren.

Marjorie’s family moved from Liberal to Topeka in the 1940s to be near other relatives. Marjorie graduated from high school there and started part-time at Washburn and then at McPherson College, while supporting herself working at libraries and bookstores. She soon decided that she wanted to experience teaching in a one-room schoolhouse before they were eliminated, and she took a job at London School in Peck, KS. There, she met a wonderful community, including her future husband Gene Walton.

They married in May 1957 and farmed together in Peck. They had a daughter Linda in August 1961. Gene died in a farm accident in November 1963. Their daughter Rita was born in June 1964.

Marjorie and her daughters moved to Lawrence and then to Topeka, and Marjorie finished her college degree at KU and Washburn. She graduated from Washburn in 1970, majoring in history, another lifelong passion. They then returned to south-central Kansas, moving to Belle Plaine. She remarried there and acquired five new children. In February 1973, her daughter Karen was born. The marriage ended in divorce in 1977.

While she lived in Belle Plaine, she served on the Library Board and the School Board, volunteered as a 4-H leader, and later began working as a reporter for the Belle Plaine News. Eventually, she became the editor of the Oxford Register and the Clearwater Times.

She moved back to Lawrence in the 1990s and worked in apartment management until her retirement in 2004. In her years after retirement, she remained active in volunteer activities, especially as a leader in the local FCE branch.

She also supported and contributed widely to social justice nonprofits, especially those focusing on women’s rights and racial justice.

She fiercely loved her grandchildren and her nieces and nephews, and stayed very involved with them. She also loved contributing stories for the family genealogy.

She was preceded in death by her husband Gene Walton; by her siblings, James Kendall, Robert Kendall, and Norma Hunt; and by her beloved stepson Brian Holinde.

She is survived by her daughters Linda Walton, Rita Walton, and Karen Hogan; her grandchildren Copper Crane, Clio Walton, James Hogan, and Ace Hogan; and her stepchildren Renee Ockwood, Gerard Holinde, Michelle Hamilton, and Mary Hunt, as well as by their children; by Brian’s sons, Kyle, Kolten, Karter, and Kole Holinde; and by many nieces and nephews.

To honor Marjorie’s love of books and libraries, the family suggests memorial donations to Lawrence Public Library Friends & Foundation, 707 Vermont St., Lawrence, KS 66044; LPLFF.org.

Larry L. Wynes

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Services for Larry L. Wynes, 83, of Lawrence, will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, November 2, 2024, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. Interment ceremonies will take place at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in El Dorado Springs, Missouri later in the Spring.

Larry passed away Sunday, October 20, 2024, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, surrounded by his family.

He was born January 4, 1941, in Dedrick, Missouri, the son of J.C. (Jim) and Ethel Hargrove Wynes. He graduated from Nevada High School in 1959 and attended one year of college at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Larry was a kind and caring man whose warmth, compassion and easy-going manner made him a favorite among both family and friends. He was well loved because he was so easy to love. You could count on Larry. He listened without judgement and loved unconditionally. He possessed an amazing sense of humor. He always had a joke or funny comment to share and assigned family members the most colorful nicknames. He was a car enthusiast and sports fan who especially enjoyed cheering on the KC Chiefs. He enjoyed country music and was a talented musician who learned to play guitar when he was a young boy. The Wynes family played and sang on KNEM radio in Nevada, Missouri from 1949 through the early 50’s and later performed under the names Wynes Country Rhythm Band and The Family Tree at area events and private clubs during the 70’s and early 80’s.

Larry settled in Lawrence in 1988 where we worked at Farmland Industries until he retired. He married Shirley Valentine on April 12, 1996, who survives of the home.

Other survivors include 3 daughters, Debbra Peres, Lawrence, Kansas; Sharri Hacker, Independence, Missouri; Kassy Wynes, El Dorado Springs, Missouri; bonus daughters, Cathy Brittain, Christina Brittain, both of Lawrence, Kansas and Amanda Brittain, Overland Park, Kansas; sister Lois Mead and brother Linn Wynes, also of Lawrence, Kansas; 12 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, 2 nieces and 3 nephews. Online condolences may be sent to www.rumsey-yost.com

Lois Buxton

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Mrs. Lois Buxton of Salina, Kansas was born April 30th, 1926 in Wilson, Kansas to John and Elizabeth (Peirano) Heard. She passed away October 17, 2024, at home in Lawrence, Kansas. She is survived by her son, Dr. Rodney Buxton of Denver, Colorado, and daughter, Shelly Buxton Hornbaker (Tom Hornbaker) of Lawrence, Kansas, three grandchildren, Jaime Dupy (Matt Dupy), Jennifer Hornbaker (Justin Krajci), and Alan Hornbaker, and two great-grandchildren, Hailey and Adam Dupy. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Buxton, parents, sister, Jackie Graf, and
two brothers, Aaron and Richard Heard.
Lois graduated from Wilson High School in 1944 and the Asbury Protestant Hospital School of Nursing in 1947 as a U.S. Army Cadet Nurse. She retired in 1978 as a floor supervisor of a medical and surgical care floor at Salina Regional Health Hospital. Lois was a devoted member of the Mentor United Methodist Church in Mentor, Kansas, where she taught Sunday School and Bible School and served on many committees. Two committees were especially close to her heart – the Study Committee and Building Committee, which raised funds for construction modifications to the Fellowship Hall, making the Hall accessible to all who visit the Church. In addition to her service to her church, Lois volunteered with the Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank, Hospice of Salina, and Salina RSVP. In 2005, Lois was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award recognizing volunteers who dedicated over 4,000 hours to their local agencies.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mentor United Methodist Church, 616 E Mentor Road, Mentor, KS 67416, or the Salina Emergency Aid Food Bank, P O Box 1482, Salina, KS 67401. Friends are invited to a celebration of Lois’s life at the Mentor United Methodist Church, 616 E Mentor Road, Mentor, KS, on Saturday, November 16, at 11:00 am.