Richard Joseph “Rick” Schenk, 65, entered the gates of heaven with his beloved wife of 40 years, Annie, passing away October 20, 2019, in Angel Fire, NM. Rick was born Apr. 14, 1954 at Great Bend, to Bernard Richard and Mary Jo (Riedel) Schenk. Rick married Ann Jane “Annie” Linsner Aug. 18, 1979, at Olmitz, Kansas.

Rick, a resident of Great Bend since 1988 moving from Olmitz, was the C.E.O. of Community Bank of the Midwest. Rick was a member of Prince of Peace Parish at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 4th Degree Knights of Columbus Council #2100, Olmitz, EAA flight club, Young Eagles Association and enjoyed men’s card group.

Rick served his Church and community, being involved with 100 People Who Care Barton County, Barton County Fair Board, serving as treasurer for more than 20 years, and the Holy Family School Grandfriend program. Rick enjoyed flying his Piper Commanche and was a volunteer pilot for Angel Flights. He was considered a “jack of all trades” and a master of “Dad jokes” and pranks.

In the tradition of German Catholic weddings, Rick and Annie could not resist leading the Grand March, being called on more than one could count. They both loved spending time at their cabin at Kanopolis Lake, where they served on the Yankee Run HOA board, traveling, especially taking trips with five other couples, making cherished memories for many years, and spending time with their Grandchildren.

Survivors include three daughters, Allyce Hansford and husband Michael of Prairie Village, Amanda Pfannenstiel of Hays, and Briana Schenk of Russell; two grandchildren, Kolter Pfannenstiel and Kimber Pfannenstiel; mother, Mary Jo Schenk of Great Bend; two brothers, Brother Mark Schenk, OFMCAP, of Denver, and Greg Schenk and wife Kim of Great Bend; and one sister, Denise Hunt and husband Pat of Laguna Hills, Cal. He was preceded in death by his father, Bernard Richard Schenk; and infant sister, Geralyn Schenk.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Noon, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, with Father Don Bedore presiding. Visitation will be Noon to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, with the family present from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at Bryant Funeral Home. An Altar Society Rosary will be held at 4:00 p.m. and a Vigil with Knights of Columbus Rosary at 7:00 p.m., Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, both at St. Patrick Catholic Church. Memorials may be given to Prince of Peace Parish or Golden Belt Community Foundation, in care of Bryant Funeral Home.

Rita Mildred Doll, 95, passed away Oct. 25, 2019, at Holiday Resort Health and Rehabilitation, Salina. She was born Oct. 10, 1924, at Claflin, to Frank and Louise (Zecha) Miller. Rita married Gerald Doll June 18, 1951, at Claflin. He died Nov. 2, 1981.

Rita, a long-time resident of Claflin, was a homemaker and child care provider. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Claflin, Altar Society, and former member of Daughters of Isabella. She was a member of the V.F.W. Auxiliary and enjoyed bowling, belonging to many bowling teams over the years.

Survivors include two sons, Barry Doll and wife Laurie of Salina and Craig Doll and wife Annie of Norman, Okla.; one daughter Anita Taylor of Tucson, Ariz.; three sisters, Roberta Prosser of Hoisington, Teresa Dolechek of Hoisington and Marie Hoss of Claflin; nine grandchildren, Erin Huff and husband Eric, Hagan Doll, Dillon Doll and wife Paige, Jared Doll, Kathryn Doll, Hannah Doll, Maggie Doll, Luke Doll, Kelsey Doll; and four great grandchildren, Kloe Huff, Gabriel Huff, Daniel Huff and Priscilla Doll. She was preceded in death by one son, Tom Doll; two brothers, Martin Miller and Bill Miller; and two sisters, Doris Smith and Leona Leiker.

Mass of Christian Burial will 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, October 29, 2019, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Claflin, with Father Meinrad Miller. Interment will follow at Claflin Cemetery, Claflin. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, with a Vigil and Altar Society Rosary at 7:00 p.m. A memorial fund has been established with the Claflin Fi

Phyllis Marie Potter, 91, passed away on October 23, 2019 at Rhode Island Suites in Ransom, Kansas. She was born on October 30, 1927 in Arnold, Kansas the daughter of John and Gladys (Burrell) Shearer.

Graveside service will be on Monday, October 28, 2019, 10:30 A.M., at the Arnold Cemetery, Arnold, Kansas. Friends may call at Fitzgerald Funeral Home from 10:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Sunday, October 27, 2019, with the family present from 6:00 until 8:00 P.M.

Memorial contributions may be given to the Arnold United Methodist Church, Ransom VFW Post No. 7972.

A full obituary is pending.

Darrel Weber, 87, of Norton, passed away Wednesday, October 23, 2019, at Sebelius Reservoir, in Norton, County, KS.

Darrel was born July 22, 1932, to Freeda P (Agin) and Arthur H. Weber. He was one of six children born to the marriage and was the last living of his siblings. Darrel was raised in Northwest Kansas. He lost his father at age 13 and at that time he stepped up to run the family farm. Darrel married Laudine “Deanie” Carpenter on March 12, 1952 and to this marriage five children were born, Nina, Dina, Cynthia, Debra & Rebecca. Darrel and Deanie made their home in Rawlins County, KS. Darrel was a jack of all trades and held many jobs while raising his family. Darrel and Deanie ran the Pool hall for many years. Darrel also ran the Rawlins County Sanitation for 30 years and owned many rentals.

One of his pastimes was buying and remolding houses. He also remolded the ‘Ol Shirley Opera House for his wife, who opened Homesteaders, an import business. He was also active in the community serving on many city, county and state committees. Darrel was a gardener and loved to share his bounty. After Darrel and Deanie retired they moved to Pottsboro, TX, as they both loved to fish and Lake Texoma was the best place to do that. They returned to Kansas in 2012 and bought a house in Norton. Darrel loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. His favorite hobby was fishing and he died doing what he loved. Darrel was a hard worker, a man of his word, and very devoted to his family.

Darrel was preceded in death by his wife Laudine; his parents; siblings, Louise, Nina, Ruth, Della & Lynn and daughters, Rena, Dena & Cynthia.

He is survived by his daughters, Debbie (Terry) & Becky; grandchildren, Norma (Blaine), Bobby, Brandi, Jason (Lacy), April (Rob), Fallon, Matt (Melissa) and 27 great grandchildren.

Private family services will take place.

May 16, 1922 – October 25, 2019

An obituary is pending with Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home.

Click HERE for service details.

John L. Schultz was born September 6, 1938 in Decatur County to John Theodore and Leathe Ellen (Khalor) Schultz. He passed away October 25, 2019 at his home in Oberlin at the age of 81.

John grew up in Oberlin and attended Decatur Community High School. He was in the Navy from March 1958 to August 1966. John married Gloria Claire Sivi on February 28, 1962. After leaving the Navy, he drove an 18-wheeler across the U.S. for 41 years until retiring in 2003. John was a member of the VFW, the Oberlin American Legion Post 70. In his spare time, he enjoyed gardening.

John was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Gloria; son, Mark Allen Schultz and grandson, Derick Joe Schultz. He is survived by sons: Danny Joe Schultz and wife Angela of Fritch, TX and Wesley Andrew Schultz of Oberlin, KS; daughter, Paula Rae Henderson of Syracuse, NY; brother, Ted Schultz of Enid, OK; sisters, Bernice Reid of Northglenn, CO and Marie McVay of Hays, KS; 16 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at Pauls Funeral Home, Oberlin. Burial will follow at Oberlin Cemetery. Visitation will be Tuesday, October 20, 2019 from 9-11:00 am at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Decatur County EMT or Hospice Services, Inc. Palliative Care of Northwest Kansas. Condolences may be left at www.paulsfh.com

Elizabeth J. “Betty” Buchholz, age 86, of WaKeeney, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, October 15, 2019, at Trego County Lemke Memorial Hospital in WaKeeney. She was born March 22, 1933, in Gorham, Kansas to Vincent and Delphine (Kuhn) Copp. She shared a happy life with her husband, Duane W. Buchholz.

Betty was a homemaker and enjoyed gardening and canning, sewing and hand quilting quilts, crocheting and was an accomplished seamstress. She was an incredibly giving, talented and creative person.

Betty is survived by her husband, Duane Buchholz of WaKeeney; a son, Eugene F. Buchholz and wife Michelle of Oakley, California; a daughter, Gail A. Jensen and husband Richard of WaKeeney; three brothers, Michael Copp of Olathe, Kansas, Dwayne Copp of Roseville, California and Lawrence Copp of El Segundo, California; three sisters, Patricia Roe of WaKeeney, Rosemary Mai of Salina and Mary Jane Wahlmeier of Norton; two grandchildren, Tara Harold and husband Thomas of Moorpark, California, Kimberly Pinto and husband David of Oakley, California as well as two great grandchildren, Caylee and Dominic Harold and many beloved nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Vincent Copp Jr.

Memorial services will be 10:30 AM with memorial visitation from 9:30 until service time on Friday, October 25, 2019 at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601. Inurnment will follow the Memorial Service at approximately 11:45 AM at the WaKeeney City Cemetery.

In Lieu of flowers memorial contributions are suggested to the Trego County Lemke Memorial Hospital/WaKeeney Family Care Center or the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of WaKeeney

Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or by email at [email protected]

Charles Douglas “Charlie” Hall, 66 of Olivet, passed away Saturday, October 19, 2019 at the Coffey County Hospital in Burlington, Kansas.

He was born March 10, 1953 in Eureka, Kansas the son of Charles Willis and Alpha Celona Butler Hall. Charlie attended Eureka High School and graduated with the Class of 1971. He would go on to earn a Biology Degree from Emporia State University. He married the love of his life, Barbara “Amy” Long on July 14, 1973 in Eureka, Kansas.

During the summers of 1975 and 1976 while attending Fort Hays State University, Charlie worked as a fee ranger for the Corps of Engineers at Wilson Lake. He would complete his Masters in Range Management and serve as a 404 Tech from 1977 until moving to Iowa in July of 1979.

Charlie served as a park ranger at Rathbun Lake until May of 1980 when he and Amy made their home in Olivet, Kansas. Charlie took a position as a park ranger at Melvern Lake until transferring to the Corps of Engineers Kansas City District Office in the early 2000’s. He retired from the Corps of Engineers in 2016 and began working for FEMA as a disaster site planner, preparing environmental impact assessments.

Charlie held dual membership in Fidelity Lodge #106 AF & AM of Eureka and Lebo Masonic Lodge #152 of Lebo. He was an avid bird watcher and took every opportunity to travel and go camping with his wife Amy. His love for nature and the earth’s bounty was a gift that he proudly shared with his children and grand children. Charlie served as Scoutmaster for Troop #150 of Melvern for 20 years and achieved his Wood Badge certification, the highest level of training a scout leader can obtain.

He will live on in the hearts and memories of his wife, Barbara “Amy” Hall of their home in Olivet; a daughter, Heather Hall and her partner Matt Donnelly of Lawrence; sons, Nathan Hall and his wife Fleur Hopper of Portland, Maine and Matthew Hall of Lawrence; grandchildren, May Ann Donnelly, Ella Heikkila-Hall and Maxwell Hall; brothers, Allen Hall and his wife Sheridan of Eureka and Ron Hall and his wife Melinda of Eureka; numerous extended family and a host of former coworkers and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Larry Hall.

Cremation is planned with a memorial gathering and service is scheduled for 2:00 P.M., Saturday, October 26, 2019 at the Jones VanArsdale Funeral Home. Private family inurnment will take place in Eureka Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1:00 P.M. until service time, Saturday at the funeral home.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and sent in care of the Jones VanArsdale Funeral Home at P.O. Box #43, Lebo, Kansas 66856.