Obituaries

Firman Henry Werth, 71, passed away Thursday, March 1, 2018 at his home in rural Ellsworth. He was born Oct. 11, 1946 in Schoenchen to Paul and Emmerentia “Emmy” (Haselhorst) Werth.

Firman worked as a shop foreman and diesel mechanic for Hi-Plains Sand, Kanopolis for 35 years. After moving to Ellsworth in 1997, he married Irene Vodraska on Oct. 3, 1998. He served his country in the U.S. Army during Vietnam and was a member of the Ellsworth American Legion Post 174. He was also a member of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church of Ellsworth and the Knights of Columbus.

Firman loved his family dearly. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandpa, brother, uncle, and friend. His horses were spoiled by him daily. As an American Legion member, he helped with military funerals and marched in parades. When someone called, he was always there to help without batting an eye. His hugs were sincere; you felt his love through them. We will all miss his deeply.

Rocky Stanford Boeken, 67, passed away Jan. 21, 2018 in Wichita. He was born June 24, 1950 in Great Bend to Dallas E., Sr. and Margaret Mary (Burrows) Boeken.

Rocky graduated from Holyrood High School class of 1968 and as cum laude from Stanford University.

Rocky is survived by his brother, Clark Boeken of San Antonio, Texas; sister, Jeanie Boeken of Holyrood; brother, Dallas Boeken II of Great Bend; and June Klug of Wichita.

Celebration of life service will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, at the Holyrood American Legion Hall.

Condolences may be left at parsonsfh.com

Audria Michelle Larsen, 50, passed away Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018 in Lucas. She was born Nov. 21, 1967 in Seattle, Wash. to Keith and Carol (Erickson) Kuck.

Audria is survived by her daughter, Amanda Larsen of Callaway, Md.; son, Darin Larsen of Ellsworth; grandchildren, Aden and Jacey Larsen; mother, Carol Sawyer of Ellsworth; father, Keith Kuck (Barb) of Yakima, Wash.; brothers, Raymond Kuck of Sioux Falls, S.D., Tony Kuck of Brandon, S.D., and Kenny Kuck of Hartsel, Colo.; sister, Brenda Rathbun of Ellsworth; grandfather, Raymond Morrison of Brandon, S.D.; and her beloved dog, Ginger.

She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Albert and Florence Erickson; paternal grandparents, John and Hazel Kuck; and step-father, Larry Sawyer.

Memorial service is at 2 p.m. today (Thursday, March 1)  at the Assembly of God Church, Ellsworth.

Mildred ‘Molly’ Florke, 75, of Brookville, passed away Feb. 21, 2018. She was born Feb. 10, 1943 to Marion and Ellaine (Franck) Bird. She married Roger Florke June 25, 1960.

Mildred received her degree as a certified surgical technician from Marshalltown, Iowa, retiring from Manhattan Regional Health Center, Manhattan, Kan., in 2006. She enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles, crocheting and most of all, spending time with her family and her three dogs.

Survivors include children, Rick (Janice) Florke of Baxter Springs, Kan., Ellaine (Charles) Vopat, Ellsworth, Brian (Sharon) Florke, Brookville, LeAnn Wood, Chapman, and Danielle (Nathaniel) Fox of Wilson; sister, Margaret (Ken) Kohler, Remsen, Iowa; brother, Larry (Donna) Bird, Marcus, Iowa; 12 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, cousins and her three fur babies, Fritz, Polo and Tinkerbell.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and brothers, Edward, Peter and Jerry Bird.

Phyllis Elaine Pierce, 79, passed away Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 in Parsons. She was born March 10, 1938 in Smith County to Lawrence and Laura (Wolf) Caspers.

Phyllis married L. Dean Pierce in Ellsworth on April 22, 1978. She was a longtime resident of Ellsworth where she was a homemaker and worked for Cashco, Inc. as a quality control clerk. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and Immanuel Lutheran Church, both of Ellsworth.

Phyllis is survived by her daughter, Carol Hilbrink of Parsons; sons, Doug Hilbrink (Teresa) of Russell and Brad Hilbrink (Veronica) of Wichita; brothers, Gerald Caspers of Gaylord and Robert Caspers of Smith Center; sister, Karen Cook of Jewell; 12 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dean in 2007 and son, John in 2008.

Visitation is from 1-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth.

Lois Helen Potts, 86, passed away Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 in Ellsworth. She was born Sept. 30, 1931 in Dillon, Kan. to John and Sarah (Hournung) Jacobson.

Lois was a secretary for the Topeka Water Department until her marriage to George Daniel “Dan” Potts, Jr. in Bentonville, Ark. on Feb. 18, 1955. After marrying Dan, the couple lived in Emporia where they operated Temp & Company, an automotive parts store and metal shop. Lois served as the secretary for over 30 years until her retirement.

Lois is survived by her husband, George “Dan” Potts, Jr. of Emporia; daughter, Lori L. Kroboth (Frank) of Wilson; granddaughter, Gabrielle Nicole LeSage of Salina; grandson, Dalton Jacob Potts-LeSage of Wilson; granddaughter, Cassidy Danielle Kroboth of Wilson; great-granddaughter, Chloe Danielle NaQuin of Salina; sister, Sarah Stillwell of Ione, Calif.; brother, Kenneth Jacobson of Topeka; and several nieces and nephews.

Cleona M. King, 89, of Linn, passed away Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, at the Linn Community Nursing Home.

Cleona, whose family grew up in the Wilson area, was born Feb. 27, 1928, at Frankfort, to Orie W. and Hazel M. (Myers) Zeek.  She married Robert King in 1976, they later divorced. She had worked as a nurses aide.

Survivors include her sister Marybelle Tregoning of Linn, seven nieces and nephews; Barbara Harrington, Susan Poage, John Zeek, Paul Zeek, Bruce Zeek and William Zeek.
She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers; Wesley and Don Zeek.
Private inurnment is planned for a future date at Antioch Cemetery southwest of Frankfort.
Memorials are suggested to the Antioch Cemetery may be sent in care of the funeral home at P.O. Box 61, Waterville, Kan. 66548.
Condolences may be left at www.terrychristiefuneralhome.com.

     Marilyn Jane (Schmidt) White was born to Oliver D. and L. Josephine Schmidt on Dec. 27, 1944 in Mt. Lakes, NJ. When she was two the family moved to Kirkwood, Mo. She enjoyed music lessons, Girl Scouting, and the many life long friends she made growing up and graduating from Kirkwood High School in 1962. She attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. where she met and married Robert White. Her graduation with a BA in Fine Arts was celebrated with a speech by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
     Her first employment was in Colorado Springs, Colo. at Ft. Carson, where she became a Director of the Army Recreation Center. She ran the coffee house, which was written up in Time Magazine. She later became chief of Army Recreation Centers at HQ Department of the Army. She also established her own consulting business, Performance Skills, Inc., and her professional name of Marilyn J. White.

John “Sonny” Francis Lonsky passed away Feb. 14, 2018, at Good Samaritan Society nursing home, Ellsworth. John was born Oct. 4, 1935, to John J. and Elizabeth Lorenz Lonsky in Jamestown, N.D. The family moved from Spiritwood, N.D. to a farm near Rogers when John was a child.

John attended St. Catherine’s Catholic boarding school in Valley City, N.D. where he played football. He graduated from St. Catherine’s High School in 1953. John took over the farming operation with his mother in 1957 after the death of his father and continued the farming operation until he moved to Kansas. He raised livestock and a wide variety of crops.

He was a basketball scorekeeper at Rogers High School and North Central of Barnes County schools for over 30 years. He also served on the Edna Township Board for many years and enjoyed league bowling in Valley City.

On Oct. 21, 1995, John married Marilyn Ann Gareis at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Wilson, Kan. She survives.

Rev. Donald Lee Ray, 92, passed away Feb. 15, 2018 at his home in Ellsworth. He was born Jan. 21, 1926 in Wichita to Howard Lee and Lena (Marino) Ray.

Donald served his country in the U.S. Army Air Force. He married Beverly Dean Sawhill in Wichita on March 24, 1946. He owned a grocery store in Wichita until 1958 when he felt called to the ministry. He served Arlington and Pretty Prairie churches while attending Sterling College. After graduation, he attended the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. After finishing seminary in 1965, he took his first and only pastoral calling at First Presbyterian Church in Ellsworth. He served there for 26 years before retiring in 1991.