Category: Obituaries

Anna Marie White Grayson

Posted on by RumseyYost

12/16/1932 – 11/27/2012

Funeral services for Anna Marie White Grayson, 79, Stockton, CA, will be 11:00am Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at the Ninth Street Baptist Church, 901 Tennessee Street, Lawrence.

Mrs. Grayson passed away on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, CA.

She was born December 16, 1932 in Lawrence, KS, to Carl Hansen and Josephine Marie Hopkins White. She was their only child.

She leaves her husband, Albert Sr.; daughters Bettina, Melinda, and Andrea; sons, Albert Jr. and William; 15 grandchildren; 33 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.

Anna was preceded in death by her parents.

Anna Marie will be missed by those who loved her. We are comforted in the knowledge that she is home with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Flowers can be sent to Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Irma B. Blackburn

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No services are planned for Irma B. Blackburn, 92, Lawrence. Mrs. Blackburn died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

She was born Oct. 2, 1920, in Waldron, Arkansas, the daughter of Joseph and Della Eppler Blackburn. She graduated from Waldron High School.

Mrs. Blackburn worked in the packaging department at Hallmark Cards from 1970-86. She enjoyed gardening, and always had a wonderful vegetable garden. She enjoyed spending time with family and her cat, Minnie. She attended First Church of the Nazarene.

Survivors include a daughter, Sharon Wright and husband Mike, Lawrence, and a grandson, Rusty Wright and fiance Lizzie Linderer, Lawrence. She was preceded in death by her parents, and a brother, Burl Blackburn.

Memorial contributions in Irma’s name may be made to First Church of the Nazarene, or the Lawrence Humane Society, in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home & Crematory, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044.

Alta Jane Duncan

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Memorial Services for Alta Jane Duncan will be Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 6 PM, at the Cornerstone Southern Baptist Church. Alta died December 2, at her home in Lawrence, KS. She was born September 4, 1938 in Lawrence.

Ms. Duncan worked for Hallmark Cards for 39 ½ years and retired in 1999. She did charity work and she was also an avid KU fan.

She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and a very active member at Cornerstone Southern Baptist Church.

She is survived by 2 brothers, Donald Duncan & wife Kathy of Perry; and Carl Duncan and wife Pat of Wichita Falls, TX; 8 nieces, Donna Hale & husband Dee, of Scranton, KS; Katy Carm and husband Roxie, Tulsa, OK; Karen Brown, Centropolis, KS; Susan Barnes and husband Kevin of Ozawkie, KS; Dina Myers of Ft. Worth, TX; Janice Trent and husband Wil of Wichita Falls, TX; Trisha Duncan and Kim of Wichita Falls, TX and Tonya Blackwell and husband Michael of Spangdehlim, Germany; 18 great-nieces, 10 great nephews, 4 great-great nieces and 6 great-great nephews.

There will be no graveside services.

Flowers are to be sent to the Cornerstone Southern Baptist Church, 802 West 22nd Terrace, Lawrence.

Ruth Jacques Reese

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Funeral services for Ruth Jacques Reese, Eudora, will be 2 PM Sunday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 1:30 PM until service time. Burial will be 2 PM Monday, December 3, 2012 at the Eudora City Cemetery. Mrs. Reese died Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
The casket will remain closed.

Our Mom, Ruth Jacques Reese, was born January 2, 1924 in Enid, OK; the daughter of Lovell H. & Gladys (Glines) Hall.

She is survived by:
Brother – John Auther Hall – Lee’s Summit MO
Niece – Sharon Bray – Raytown, MO
Nephew – Larry Hall – Lee’s Summit, MO
Nephew – John Hall – Lee’s Summit, MO
Daughter – Jane Eisele & Dennis Eisele son-in-law – Victoria TX
Step Grandson – Dietrich Eisele and Wife Shelly and Dehn Eisele both of Nebraska
Daughter – Pam Pineda & Humberto Pineda son-in-law – Lawrence, KS
Step Grandson – Josue Pineda and wife Melissa – Topeka KS

Mrs. Reese is preceded in death by:
Sister – Mary Jane Delligatti
Step-sister -Tootie Wheeler
Husband – John S. Reese

She attended school in Camdenton, MO and graduated high school in Vinland KS. Ruth also lived in Colorado Springs, CO where she met her husband John Reese. She worked for Kansas University for over 24 years and retired in 1987.

Our Mother Ruth Reese cherished her family. Family has always been the center of her life. She opened her home to her Mother and Father and also her sister and bother-in-law. We know she was always so devoted and proud of her daughters. Our Mother always had a sense for style, not only in her home that she loved, but in her own flare for dressing.

Working for the University of Kansas was a special part of her life. She always loved the campus in the spring with all the blooming trees and bulbs. She enjoyed meeting students from all over the world and several were invited to her home for a meal.

She became an excellent seamstress. She loved to make flower arrangements for her home, it gave her much pleasure.

One of her many loves was fishing. She had several stories of times with her father fishing in Missouri.

The cornerstone of her life was honesty, moral right, and the spiritual desire for daily prayer. She was a strong woman before it was stylish and would not waiver from her beliefs.

The family requests memorials to the Lawrence Humane Society or Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Association for the Breast Cancer Center, which may be sent in care of the funeral home.

Dee Anne Waters

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Dee Anne Waters, 70, passed quietly away in her sleep on Wednesday morning, November 28th, 2012. A lovely, loving and much loved gentle woman who will be greatly missed by her family and many friends.

Dee Anne is survived by her husband, Earl Waters, Lawrence, Kansas, and by her son Abe Waters, Lawrence, Kansas. She is also survived by her brother, Norman York and his wife, Dorothy, of Inverness, Florida.

Dee Anne was predeceased by her father, Norman York, Sr., her mother, Vida (Moberly) York, and her sons Josh Waters and Jacob Waters.

A country girl, Dee grew up in Buffalo, Oklahoma. on a ranch 8 or 10 miles from town, where her dad herded over 200 head of cattle and harvested about 400 acres of wheat. The ranch covered about 3,000 acres. She attended Buffalo High School and graduated in 1960. She then enrolled in East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, where she planned to major in Education. She wanted to be an English teacher. However, she met her future husband, another English major and dropped out of school her first semester to get married. After her husband dropped out also, they moved to Houston, Texas, where he worked for a mortgage company. After a year they moved back to Ada for her husband to finish his last year of college.

His teaching career took them first to Ft. Morgan, Colorado, then to Dodge City, Kansas, and finally to Lawrence, Kansas. They had three sons; Joshua, Abraham, and Jacob. In the early years, Dee stayed home and raised her sons. When the kids reached junior high level, Dee took a job with the Menninger Foundation, working in a grant-funded program called Projects with Industry as a job placement specialist. Her job was to find employment for a number of clients with handicaps.
Dee was good at her job, and it wasn’t long until the International Association of Machinists’ Union (IAMCARES) offered her a job as Program Director of a similar program working with individuals with handicaps. Dee worked for the Machinists’ Program for 20 years, retiring in 2004.

During her retirement, Dee Anne, had time to do the things she enjoyed most. She loved to read, watch good movies, work in her flower beds, and socialize with her Bridge Club and all her neighborhood friends.

Dee’s bridge club was entitled “The Fun Group Bridge Club”, and she immensely enjoyed being in that group, which contained many of her closest friends. They mostly played bridge when they met, but often they would meet for a luncheon or noon meal. The ladies of the bridge club were all close friends and they often helped one another through tough times. They had a strong bond.

I know that Dee Anne will be greatly missed, not only by her family, but also by her close friends. She was a sweet, kindly lady, and for as long as I have known her, she always wanted to do what was the right thing to do.

Funeral services for Dee Anne, will be 2:00 pm Saturday, December 1, 2012 at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, with Pastor Tom Brady officiating.

Friends may call from noon to 8pm Friday at the Funeral Home, where the family will greet them from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm Friday.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Humane Society, The Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity, sent in care of the funeral home, PO Box 1260, Lawrence, KS 66044.

Tommy Aurednick

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Tommy Aurednick, a World War II combat veteran, longtime resident of Florida and four-year resident of Lawrence (and big “front row” fan of KU women’s basketball), died Sunday under Hospice care. He was 90.

Tommy, the youngest of five children, was born and raised in Sun, W. Va., the son of Wenzel and Louise Aurednick, who had emigrated, separately, from Munich, Germany. All of his three brothers worked in the coal mines, as did his sister’s husband. To avoid that fate, Tommy’s brothers pushed him toward the Navy after graduation from high school, where he had lettered in track and football.

He served the entire war aboard the USS Lavalette, a destroyer. The Lavalette endured frequent kamikaze attacks, and it nearly sank on two occasions: after being torpedoed off Guadalcanal and, later, after striking a mine in the Philippines, enduring high casualties both times. The Lavalette managed to make its way to safety for repairs each time and returned to battle. At an exhibit on the U.S.S. Hornet in Alameda, Calif., the Lavalette, the only destroyer in the exhibit, is heralded as the sixth most battled-tested ship in the history of the U.S. Navy.

After retiring from the Navy in 1962, Tommy worked as a boiler technician in Providence, R.I., before moving to Dunedin, Florida, where he worked as a timekeeper for Cone Brothers Construction until his retirement.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Marjorie, and two step-sons, Kenneth Gibson and his wife, Diana, of Clearwater, Fla., and Malcolm Gibson and his wife, Joyce, of Lawrence. Tommy had numerous grandchildren and great-granchildren, including Malcolm and Joyce’s two children: Jennifer Gaudet (to whom he would serve breakfast in bed when she was a toddler) and Ian Gibson (who, as a toddler, at the sound of a train whistle, would be whisked by Grandpa Tom into his truck for a quick trip to the railway crossing to watch the passing train). Malcolm says Tommy, his step-dad, was a special father because he picked “us” and “we” picked him.

A memorial gathering will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, at Meadowlark Estates.

Jeffrey D. Miller

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A Celebration of Life for Jeffrey D. ‘Pooh’ Miller, 59, Lawrence, will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church, with the Rev. Matt Sturtevant officiating. Inurnment with military honors will follow at Clinton Cemetery.

Jeff died Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, following a long and courageous battle with cancer.

He was born Jan. 7, 1953, in Ashland, Kentucky, the son of Eldon P. and Ruth A. Murphy Miller. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1971, and from Kansas University in 1975. While attending KU, he worked for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.

Jeff worked for ICL in North Lawrence for more than 35 years. He enjoyed all sports, but had a fond passion for playing golf, the St. Louis Cardinals, and KU Basketball. He often played Taps for Memorial Day services and at funeral services for veterans.

He married Janice K. Wingert on July 12, 1975, in Lawrence, She survives of the home. Other survivors include a son, Kyle Miller and fiancé Shelbie Harrell, Lawrence; a daughter, Emily Pritchard and husband Josh, Eudora; his father, Eldon Miller, Lawrence; his mother and stepfather, Wes and Ruth Buller, Lawrence; a sister, Jennifer Harris and husband Terry, Topeka; and one grandson, Caden Pritchard.

The family will receive friends from 6:00-8:30 Wednesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Jeff’s name to LMH Oncology, in care of the funeral home, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044.

Paul LeRoy Johnston

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Funeral services for Paul LeRoy Johnston, 78, Rural Lawrence, will be 2 p.m. Wed., Nov. 28, at Plymouth Congregational Church. Burial will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Douglas County, KS. Rev. Dr. Peter Luckey will officiate. He was born June 8, 1934 at home in rural Bartlett, KS. He died November 22, 2012 at home in rural Lawrence, KS. Between these dates he lived a full and productive life.

Paul attended grade school in Bartlett, KS. While growing up, he was a member of the Country Pals 4-H Club in Labette County. He was active in the livestock, leadership, and citizenship projects and was president of a state 4-H organization. Paul graduated from Labette County Community High School in Altamont, KS in 1952. After graduation he attended Coffeyville Community College and transferred to the University of Kansas to study engineering. While at KU, Paul joined several engineering organizations and was chairman of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers his senior year. He married Evelyn Griffith, of rural Lawrence, on August 7, 1955 at the First United Methodist Church in Lawrence. She survives of the home.

Paul graduated from KU in January 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. Upon graduation, the couple moved to Wichita, KS where he was employed as an engineer for Boeing Aircraft Company. They returned to Lawrence in 1958 when Paul was hired to teach in the Engineering Manufacturing Department at KU, a position he held until 1962. He later co-authored a chapter in the book “A History of the School of Engineering at the University of Kansas 1868-1988,” edited by James O. Maloney. Although no longer working at the University, Paul remained an avid Jayhawk fan his entire life. After leaving the University, he was employed by Farmland Industries as an engineer at Cooperative Farm Chemical Association in east Lawrence from 1962 until he retired in 1996.

Paul was a member of Plymouth Congregational Church for 51 years. During that time he served as Church School Superintendent for 5 years and was a member of the Board of Deacons and Board of Christian Education.

Paul enjoyed working with youth. For 15 years his summers were spent as a coach for various Little League Baseball teams. He traveled as a sponsor with the Lawrence High School band and orchestra on trips to Portland, OR; St. Louis, MO; and Washington, D.C. In addition, he was a 4-H leader for 20 years for the Four Leaf Clover 4-H Club in Douglas County. Paul served as a sponsor for the 4-H Citizenship Conference in Washington D.C. He received the Douglas County 4-H Family Award, the Friend of 4-H Award, and the Friend of the Fair Award. He served on the Douglas County Fair Board for 6 years as treasurer, vice-president, and president. His hobbies included leather tooling and woodworking projects.

Besides Paul’s wife, Evelyn, other survivors include his children Paula (husband David) Aiken, Mike (wife Julie), Merlin (wife Susan), Mark (wife Terra), and Penny (husband Clark) Eschliman. He has 11 grandchildren: Josh (Jennifer), Molly (Seth), Jake (Meghan), Micah, Katie, Jared, David (Makenzie), Douglas, Luke, Evan, and Carley; 3 step-grandchildren: Ron, Larry (Susan), and Gale; 3 great-grandchildren: Caroline, Wyatt, and Michaela; and 5 step great-grandchildren: David, Bry, Jacob, Kelly, and Jackson. He is also survived by a brother, Dale (Marlyn Kay) and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends Tues., Nov. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home.

The family suggests memorials in his name to the Douglas County 4-H Foundation, in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana, Lawrence, KS. 66044.

Marjorie A. Snodgrass

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A Celebration of Life for Marjorie A. Snodgrass, 88, Lawrence, will be from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, at the Eagles Lodge, 1803 W. 6th St.

Mrs. Snodgrass died Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

She was born July 26, 1924, in Yuma County, Colo., the daughter of Forrest and Bessie Worcester Sheard. She attended school in Joes, Colo.

Marjorie was a specification writer at Lawrence Paper Co., and retired after 35 years of service. She was a member of the Lawrence Women’s Bowling Association, and a member and officer of Alford-Clarke Post 852 of the VFW Auxiliary, Dorsey-Liberty Post 14 of the American Legion auxiliary, and the Eagles Lodge. She was an avid bowler, and loved animals and playing the piano.

She married Chester Vaughn in 1940 and had two sons, Kenneth and Dennis. She married Clarence ‘Pep’ Snodgrass on Apr. 17, 1947, in St. Francis, Kan. He preceded her in death, as did three brothers, Richard, Robert, and Dwight Sheard, and two grandsons, Jonathan Cannon and Ashanti Moshe.

Survivors include two sons, Kenneth Cannon, Skaneateles, N.Y., and Dennis Cannon, Gold Bar, Wash; three daughters, Connie Snow and husband Gary, Lawrence, Debbie Sink and husband Tommy, Ottawa, and Virginia Kanza, Carson City, Nev.; a brother, Glen Sheard and wife Anita, Carson City; a sister, Evelyn Willis and husband Don, Oskaloosa; nine grandchildren, Kathryn Cannon, Susan McCarvill, Kimberly Green, Brittany and Jason Cannon, Brandon and Kevin Henderson, Cynthia Goetz, and Dustin Ryan; and 15 great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Lawrence Humane Society, or the Vintage Park Retirement Community Activity Fund, in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home & Crematory, 601 Indiana St., Lawrence, KS, 66044.

Wiona Opal Brown

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Services for Wiona Opal Brown, 94, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Mrs. Brown died Thursday, November 15, 2012, at Allen County Hospital in Iola.

Wiona, or “Wi” as she was called by family and friends, was born on January 24, 1918, to Oscar I. and Hazel Goldsmith Beck in Melvern, Kansas. She attended school in rural Osage County. She excelled in spelling. As the oldest of nine children, she helped out on the family farm.

She married Lyman Lee Brown in Lawrence, Kansas, on August 4, 1939. They resided in Oakland, California, during World War II, and worked in the shipyards there. They also ran the Cozy Café in Burlingame, Kansas, in the early 1950s. Wiona worked in the food service department in the Burlingame school district until she moved to Lawrence in 1975. She then worked for USD 497 until she retired. Mr. Brown died in 1984. Wiona remained in Lawrence until 2010, when she moved to Iola to be closer to her daughter.

She was a member of the Corinthian Chapter #181 and Fidelity Chapter #38 of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was also a member of the Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem Trinity Shrine No. 7 of Topeka.

Wiona was a fun-loving individual. She enjoyed playing games, especially bingo and dominoes, and watching the Kansas Jayhawks in football and basketball. She also had fun working with the children in the Age-to-Age Preschool at Windsor Place as well as the students in the Service Learning class at Iola Middle School.

Wiona will be missed by her daughter and son-in-law, Cynthia and Clayton Carr of LaHarpe and her loving granddaughters, Ashlee Carr and Amy Carr of Lawrence, and Amanda Carr of Topeka. Other survivors include her siblings, Ione “Hap” Monroe of Osage City, Velma “Crick” McMillin of Hoisington, Irene “Rene” Sattler of Newton, Russell Beck of Emporia, and Anita “Neet” Faulkner of Osage City and a large group of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by three brothers, Oscar (Bud), Elmer, and Freeman.

The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Community Shelter or the Hope Center at the Topeka Rescue Mission.

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