Neva Lee (Hoskins) Dodson, 92, of Salina, Kansas, and formerly of Russell, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, March 19, 2019 in the loving presence of family and the staff at Dignity Care Home of Salina, where she resided the past four and a half years.

Neva was born in Paradise, Kansas, on September 24, 1926 to Arthur and Elise (Larsen) Hoskins. She attended schools in Natoma and was an excellent student. Neva loved learning and was a lifelong learner, earning an associate degree from Barton County Community College and her insurance agent license in 1992.

Neva married the love of her life, Howard Dodson on October 5, 1943 before he left for WWII. She graduated from Natoma High School in 1944 and worked for the Union Pacific Railroad until Howard returned. They moved to Russell in 1947 to be near the oil field boom. Howard preceded her in death after 55 years of marriage on January 17, 1999.

Neva was a homemaker, worked on the docks in Natoma for Union Pacific Railroad, manager of Parkside Trailer Park, sold for B.F. Goodrich, served as school secretary for Bickerdyke Elementary School, Louie Mai Oil Operations, United Service Insurance Agency and church secretary for her church, First Congregational Church. Neva loved her work, family and friends, traveling with Howard … always giving 110% to everything she did. She also served as a 4-H Leader and a caregiver to several sisters and her mother. In her later years, she moved to Salina to be near her children and families, living at Drury Place Retirement Apartments with her sister, Roberta Reh. During her final years of life, she was lovingly cared for by the staff of Dignity Care Home of Salina, with frequent visits by family and friends. Neva had a beautiful smile, twinkling blue eyes, and a giving and kind heart. Her family was her life and she was loved dearly.

Neva’s surviving family include her son, Bruce Dodson (Mary) of Burnsville, North Carolina; daughter, Libby Charvat (Larry) of Sylvan Grove, Kansas; daughter-in-law, Tresia Dodson of Abingdon, Virginia; grandchildren, Laura Dodson-Pennington of Abingdon, Virginia, Alan Dodson (Kelley) of Seattle, Washington, Matt Charvat (Sarah) of Topeka, Kansas, granddaughter-in-law, Lana Charvat of Lindsborg, Kansas, and Amber Armstrong (Josh) of Salina, Kansas; great grandchildren, Sarah Pennington of Sylva, North Carolina, Mason, Carter, Lilly, Elliott and Grace Charvat all of Topeka, Kansas, Josie Charvat of Lindsborg, Kansas, Graham and Creighton Armstrong of Salina, Kansas, and Asher Dodson of Seattle, Washington; and a host of nephews, nieces, and friends that she loved unconditionally.

Neva was preceded in death by her parents; husband Howard Dodson; grandson, Nick Charvat; two brothers, Paul Hoskins and Harold Hoskins (Corinne); four sisters, Marie Marlow (John), Clio Wickham, Irene Kirby and Roberta Reh (Marion). Also her brothers and sisters by marriage, Hazel Harrell (Dick), Earl Dodson (Ila Mae), Helen Burger (Harold), Elma Lowder (Jack), Alice Whitman (Fritz) and Walter Dodson, (Elsie), many cousins and friends as well.

Celebration of Neva’s Life will be held at 10:30 AM, Friday, April 5, 2019 at First Congregational Church of Russell. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 PM, Friday, at Mt. Herman Cemetery in Paradise, Kansas. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Thursday, April 4, 2019 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, with the family present to greet friends from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Memorials have been established with First Congregational Church or Dignity Care Home. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.

Teresa Eileen Ehmke, age 72, passed away on Saturday, March 30, 2019 at the Lane County Hospital in Dighton, Kansas. She was born on June 10, 1946 in Garden City, Kansas, the daughter of Raymond and Eva Deliah Thomas Ehmke. A lifetime resident of Dighton, Kansas, before retiring she was a CNA working for Lane County Hospital Long Term Care Unit in Dighton, Kansas for over 30 years.

She was a member of the Christ The King Lutheran Church in Dighton, Kansas, Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Scott City, Kansas and FCE in Dighton, Kansas.

Survivors Include her Two Sisters – Joyce Baker of Garden City, Kansas, Chrissy Ehmke of Garden City, Kansas, One Niece – Kim Hamilton of Garden City, Kansas, Four Nephews – Mike Baker of Kansas City, Kansas, Richard Ehmke of Coffeyville, Kansas, Glen Ehmke of North Carolina and Charlie Ehmke of Coffeyville, Kansas.

She was preceded in death by her Parents and One Brother – Phillip Ehmke.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday, June 10, 2019 at Price & Sons Funeral Home in Scott City, Kansas with Leland Jackson presiding.

There will be no calling times.

Interment will be in the Dighton Cemetery in Dighton, Kansas.

Memorials are can be made to the Teresa E. Ehmke Memorial Fund in care of Price and Sons Funeral Home, PO Box 553, Scott City, Kansas 67871.

Ardis I. Woods, age 88, passed away Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at the Smith County Memorial Hospital in Smith Center, KS.

An obituary is pending with Simmons-Rentschler Mortuary.

Click HERE for service details.

Former Phillipsburg resident Rozella Bowman passed away March 30, 2019 in Edmond, OK at the age of 101.

Survivors include her sons: Rod of Eugene, OR & Russ of Phillipsburg; her daughter, Becky Jacks of Edmond, OK; 8 grandchildren & 16 great grandchildren.

Cremation was chosen. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Karen Sue (Roeder) Cecil, age 61, former Goodland, Kansas resident died Friday, March 29, 2019 at her daughter’s home in Hays, Kansas.

She was born November 29, 1957, in Goodland, Kansas to Ronald Paul and Dorothy Pauline (Nondorf) Roeder Sr. She married Mike Cecil on April 28, 1990.

She was a loan officer and program technician for 29 years at the USDA, Farmers Home Administration office in Goodland, Kansas. Karen began her education in Colorado Springs, Colorado and several other states. She also spent 2 ½ years in Germany and was a 1975 graduate of Ferndale High School in Ferndale, Michigan.

She moved to Goodland in 1975 and became a certified nurse and worked at the Goodland Hospital until starting with the USDA in 1977. In 2009 she moved to Medford, Oklahoma and was diagnosed with the Swine Flue and shortly after developed COPD.

Karen moved in 2018 to her daughter’s home in Hays, she enjoyed playing cards, gardening, camping and her only grand cat, “Squirt”.

Survivors include her daughter, Natashia Cecil, Hays, Ks; her former husband, Mike Cecil, Goodland, KS; two brothers, Ron Roeder Jr, and wife, Tina, Goodland, KS; Curtis Roeder and wife, Donna, Hominy, OK; two sisters, Phyllis Ailey, Goodland, KS; Rita Gattshall and husband, Todd, Thornton, CO; six nephews and nieces; and 5 great nephews and great nieces.

She was preceded in death by her parents and grandparents.

A celebration of her life memorial service is at 10:00 A.M. (Mountain Time) Saturday, April 13, 2019, at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 222 West 13th Street, Goodland, Kansas. Inurnment will be at the Goodland Cemetery in Goodland, Kansas.

The family suggests memorials to the Humane Society of the High Plains, 2050 Hwy 40, Hays, Kansas 67601.
Services are entrusted to Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601.
Condolences can be left by guestbook at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or can be sent via e-mail to [email protected]

Treva Venus Fite, 97, of Colby, died Monday, April 1, 2019, at Citizens Medical Center, Colby. She was born May 21, 1921, on a farm in Thomas County, KS, to Charles F. and Nellie A. (Kieffer) Laurant. Treva married John Alvin Fite on Nov 17, 1944. They both worked at Albert and Helen Frahm’s farm, where he was the foreman of farm operations and she cooked. After that Treva cooked in several restaurants and then waitressed at the Pyramid Restaurant. She eventually started her own business where she did housekeeping and ironing. Treva enjoyed sewing, crocheting, gardening and doing needle work. She was a member of the V.F.W. Auxiliary.

Treva was preceded in death by her parents; husband John Alvin Fite; sisters, Cleo Frances Mastin; brothers, Lawrence Leon Laurent and Jerold Victor Laurant; infant sister Ruth Laurent; son-in-law David Hilton, Sr. and great-granddaughter Hayley Diane Phillips.

She is survived by her children, Corinia Hilton, Sheila (Bob) Wise and Carol Fite; 6 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.

A Memorial Service will take place at 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2019, at Baalmann Mortuary, Colby with inurnment in Beulah Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the V.F.W. Auxiliary, in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. For information or condolences visit www.baalmannmortuary.com

Brandon Lee Barbo, age 19, of Ulysses, Kansas, died Sunday, March 31, 2019, in rural Kearny County, Kansas. He was born January 18, 2000, in Ulysses, Kansas, the son of Benjamin and Jessica (Randolph) Barbo.

Brandon grew up in Ulysses and graduated from Ulysses High School in 2018, and was currently a student at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. He was active in theatre, music and tennis. Brandon’s life-long dream and greatest passion was to be a member of the US Army, Air Borne Division. He had joined the Grant County Fire Department and had plans to study fire science in college. Brandon enjoyed racing sprint cars, he had an unmatched sense of humor, loved his family and giving hugs. He had an inquisitive mind and was very knowledgeable about all wars. Brandon was a computer wiz and a master of video games. He had a natural talent playing the guitar.

Brandon is survived by his parents, Ben and Jessica Barbo of Ulysses; sister, LynDen Barbo of Ulysses; girlfriend, Skylynn Lane of Ulysses; grandparents, Tracy and James Byers of Balko, Oklahoma, Jeff and Nancy Randolph of Garden City, Kevin and Debra Barbo of Ulysses, Robin and Keith Dugan of Falcon, Colorado, Mike and Laurie Reid of Colorado Springs, Colorado; great-grandparents, Vic and Millie Barbo and Chuck and Mary Griffith; many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Brandon is preceded in death by his great-grandparents Cliff and Joyce Randolph, Peggy Dailing, and Lee Crawford.

Memorial service will be Friday, April 5, 2019, at 10:00 AM at the Oasis Church in Ulysses with Pastor Garrett Gretz officiating. Memorial contributions may be given to National Epilepsy Foundation in care of Garnand Funeral Home, 405 W. Grant Ave, Ulysses, KS 67880.

Alberta “Bertie” Louise (Forbes) Sites was born on April 4, 1938, in Osborne County, Kansas and passed away on March 31,2019 at Homestead Assisted Living in Manhattan, Kansas at the age of 80.

She lived her younger years in Osborne County. Later, the family moved to Benkleman, Nebraska. After Alberta’s father died in a plane crash in 1945, Alberta’s mother, Gladys, and the children moved to Covert, Kansas, to be near the Roenne family. In 1949, the family moved to Rexford, Kansas where Alberta and her three brothers attended school.

After high school, she attended Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. This is where she met the love of her life, Donald Sites. They were married August 25, 1957, in Rexford, and moved to the farm south of Grinnell where they lived the rest of her life. Alberta and Donald were inseparable. They enjoyed traveling. After retirement, they traveled to at least 84 countries. When telling stories of her travels, people would ask her where the most beautiful place on earth was, her response every time, was western Kansas. She loved being a farmer’s wife, spending many hours working outside with the family working with the cattle, gardening, or doing whatever needed to be done. Alberta was very active in the Grinnell United Methodist Church and the local Extension Homemaker Units (EHU). Alberta had many hobbies that she enjoyed with her husband. They traveled all over the U.S. and Canada searching for unique antique items and patent models. They moved the Grinnell Train Depot to the north Oakley 1-70 exit and turned it into a museum. Alberta’s favorite treasures were the lightning rod ball collection, the windmill weight collection, the barbed wire collection, and the cast iron seat collection. She was very proud that she held the Powder-Puff Barbed Wire Splicing Championship for a few back-to-back years. Donald and Alberta had celebrated 61 years of marriage last year.

Alberta and Donald were blessed with a son, Dalen, in 1958, and a daughter, Marla, in 1961. Dalen is a veterinarian and lives in Mohave Valley, Arizona with his wife Deann. Their child, D’adra, was Alberta’s first granddaughter. D’adra lives in Phoenix, Arizona and is a Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist. Marla (Webster) lives in a rural area near Olsburg, Kansas with her husband Lynn. Marla works at Covetrus in the Manhattan, Kansas office. Lynn and Marla gave Alberta and Donald two more granddaughters, Codie and Callie. Codie lives in Topeka, Kansas and will be graduating from Washburn Law School this May. Codie and her fiancé, Tanner Swartz, are planning an August 10, 2019, wedding. Callie lives in Manhattan, Kansas and attends Kansas State University. She is majoring in Kinesiology and plans to attend Physical Therapy school in the future.

Alberta was preceded in death by her father Lewis Willard Forbes and her mother, Gladys Alberta Roenne Forbes. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Alberta is survived by three brothers; Lewis Forbes (wife Hazel) of Madera, California; Duane (wife Connie) of Mesa, Arizona, and Marion (wife Marlene) of Fresno, California.

Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 am Saturday, April 6, 2019 at Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home in Oakley. Burial will be at the Grinnell Township Cemetery, Grinnell. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials: Alberta Sites Memorial Fund in care of Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home, P.O. Box 221, Oakley, KS 67748.

Online guestbook: www.kennedykosterfh.com

Norma Mae (Spacil) King, 86, peacefully passed away Monday, April 1, 2019 at Woodhaven Care Center in Ellinwood, Kansas. Norma was born May 11, 1932 to Ernest Frank and Alice Marie (Batchman) Spacil at the family homestead on the Barton/Stafford County line. She attended St. Joseph Catholic School in Ellinwood and Sacred Heart Academy in Wichita. While attending Sacred Heart, Norma entered the sisterhood at the Dominican Convent where she took her initial vows as a Novitiate. A short time later she left the convent and returned to graduate from Sacred Heart. She went on to receive her Registered Nursing Certificate from St. Rose School of Nursing in Great Bend and worked as an RN for Drs. White, Swan, Evans and Hill.

On January 12, 1957 she married Kenneth Ballard King in Ellinwood. They were married for 58 years before Kenneth passed away on August 31, 2015.

Norma was a member of Prince of Peace Parish, St. Patrick Catholic Church and it’s Altar Society. Her Catholic faith was important to her and she was an active member of the Daughters of Isabella, serving as Vice Regent, Regent and Past Regent. In recent years, she was welcomed to and enjoyed celebrating weekly Mass with the Sisters of the Dominican Convent.

She was very active in her children’s lives and activities and served in Camp Fire as a Bluebird and Camp Fire Leader, Board President and Camp Chu-Wa-Ni Director. She also served with the Boy Scouts in Pack 120 as a Den Mother, Den Leader Coach and Committee member, and with the Cheyenne District of the Kanza Council as a Committee Member, Cub Chairman and Key Three Member. She was a recipient of the Silver Fawn Award.

Norma is survived by her children, James King and his wife Diane, Pittsburg, Karen Smith, Great Bend, Lori Jacobs and her husband Paul, Great Bend, Martin King and his wife Julie, Lenexa, and Jason King and his companion Kendra Beakey, Great Bend; and 11 grandchildren, Alyssa and her husband Matt Cook, Nichole and her husband Shiloh Walker, Jayme King and her fiance’ William Dorr, Dustin Rhodes and his companion Lora Saul, Andrew and his wife Amanda Jacobs, Alexander Jacobs and his fiance’ Becky Tolle, Austin Jacobs, Adam Jacobs, Haley and her husband Ian Evans, Spencer King, and Hayden King. Additional survivors include seven great-grandchildren, Cameron and Donovan Cook, Tripp Walker, Gaige Gunderson, Zoey and Kason King, and Isabella Rhodes; one sister, Marilyn Brehm, Phoenix, Arizona; and special friends Ken and Lisa Edgett, Great Bend, and Margaret Bartholomew, Great Bend. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Norma was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and brothers Ronald Spacil and Raymond Spacil.

Visitation will be held from 12:00 to 9:00 p.m., with an Altar Society Rosary at 4:00 p.m., and Vigil Service with Daughters of Isabella Rosary held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 5, at Bryant Funeral Home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, at Dominican Sisters of Peace Convent in Great Bend with Father Don Bedore celebrating. Burial will be at Lakin Comanche Cemetery in Ellinwood. Friends may call from 12 to 9 p.m. on Friday at Bryant Funeral Home. Memorials are requested to Dominican Sisters of Peace or the Daughters of Isabella in care of Bryant Funeral Home.

Mabel M. Bender, 87, passed away April 2, 2019 at River Bend Assisted Living, Great Bend. She was born Feb. 10, 1932 at Claflin to Henry & Anna (Christians) Riemann. She married Oscar Bender Aug. 29, 1954 at Salina. He died Oct. 1, 2002.

Mabel had been a resident of Great Bend since 1946, coming from Claflin. She graduated from Great Bend High School and Salt City Business College, Hutchinson. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church, Great Bend, and held former employment at First National Bank as a bookkeeper. She enjoyed Bingo, crocheting, knitting, quilting and spending time at the baseball fields.

Survivors include, one son, Douglas “Doug” Bender of Great Bend; one sister, Ruth Ummen of Great Bend; eight grandchildren, Benjamin McDowell of Denver, CO, Heath McDowell of Garden City, Blake McDowell of Provo, UT, Tommy McDowell of Dumas, TX, Danica Bender of Emporia, Laura McDowell of Dumas, TX, Dalton Bender of Great Bend and Audrianna Bender of Great Bend; and eight great-grandchildren. Additional survivors include her two dogs, Shadow a Miniature Collie and Howie a Pekinese. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Oscar Bender; two brothers, Willis Riemann and Albert Riemann; one sister, Opal Cox; and one grandson, Brandon Bender.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday, April 5, 2019 at Bryant Funeral Home, with family present from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, April 6, 2019 at First Presbyterian Church in Great Bend, with Rev. Kathie Luke and Pastor Mike Joiner presiding. Interment will be in the Great Bend Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the Great Grandchildren’s Education Fund, in care of Bryant Funeral Home.