Obituaries

Lucille Marie Jarus, 89, died Tuesday, April 4, 2017, at her home. She was the youngest of six siblings born to Emil and Anna Dimmer Ney, rural Hanston, Kan., March 7, 1928.

After graduating from high school and Marymount College, she taught home economics at schools in Kansas City, Mo., Morganville, Kan. and Wilson, Kan.

On June 8, 1957, Lu married Dr. Eugene C. “Bud” Jarus, at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Wilson, Kan. They settled in Ellsworth, Kan.

She was a member of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, Ellsworth, and most recently St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, Salina. She had been active in many church and community organizations over the years and was always there for her daughters and grandchildren.

Gola Ruth Montgomery, 86, passed away April 3, 2017 in Ellsworth. She was born Sept. 9, 1930 in Ellsworth to Elsie Anna (Besthorn) and William Daniel Stoltenberg. She married Eldon Ira Montgomery in Holyrood on Sept. 9, 1951.

Gola was a homemaker and an assistant at Wenz Interiors in Holyrood. She was a member of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Holyrood. She was also a member of the Ladies’ Guild at the church, VFW Auxiliary in Ellsworth, and EHU.

Gola is survived by her daughter, Brenda Younger (Gary) of Olathe; son, John Montgomery of Holyrood; grandchildren, Hollie Wages (Justin), Brock Younger (Nicki), Tyler Walker, Brett Davis, Chelsy Ausherman (Landon), Austin Montgomery, and Zach Montgomery; and six great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents and husband, Eldon.

Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m., Tuesday, April 11, at Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth.

Bobby Jim Langston, 83, passed Friday, March 31, 2017 at his home in Holyrood, Kan.
He was born Jan. 23, 1934 in Elsey, Mo. to the Rev. James and Mabel (Miller) Langston.
Bobby married Ellen Fortner on July 2, 1955 in Holyrood, Kan. She survives him. He was a member of the St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Holyrood, Masonic Lodge, formerly of Holyrood, now Ellsworth, Kan., and Eastern Star, formerly of Holyrood, now Hoisington, Kan.
In his earlier years, Bobby worked in the oil field as a roustabout doing some drilling, pumping, and other work. After leaving the oil field he became the manager for Doonan Farms at their farm south of Ellinwood. He then owned the Conoco station in Holyrood, from which he retired.

A celebration of the life of Rebecca L. (Trowbridge) Blocher, 68, Lawrence, will be at 11 a.m. Friday, March 31, at the First United Methodist Church, Lawrence, Kan.
Rebecca died Saturday, March 25, 2017, at the Kansas City Hospice House, Kansas City, Mo., following a brief illness. Inurnment in Lawrence’s Oak Hill Cemetery will follow the service.
She was born Jan. 4, 1949, in Ellsworth, Kan., the daughter of Donald Louis and Josephine McKittrick Trowbridge. She lived in Wilson, Kan., until 1957 when her family moved to Russell, Kan. Rebecca graduated in 1967 from Russell High School and in 1971 from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in language arts education. She earned a master’s degree in 1996 in gifted and talented education, also from KU.

Virginia Schmidt McIver, 87, passed Tuesday, March 21, 2017 in Warrington, Pa.
She was born Sept. 26, 1929 in Lorraine, Kan. to Walter and Elsie (Schacht) Schmidt.
A private family graveside service will take place at Lorraine Baptist Cemetery with Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth handling arrangements.
A celebration of life will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the First Baptist Church, Lorraine.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Virginia McIver Memorial Fund, c/o Willow Meadows Baptist Church, 4300 W. Bellfort St., Houston, Texas 77035.  
Condolences may be left at parsonsfh.com

Clarence Frank Hinton, 81, died March 24, 2017 in Wilson, Kan.
He was born Nov. 22, 1935 in Stockville, Neb. to Avery and Oma Ione Hinton. He was a U.S. Navy veteran and a retired truck driver for Western Box Meat Co., Vancouver, Wash.
 He married Betty Jane Heglin on May 10, 1959. She survives him along with his sisters; Hazel Rucker, Lubbock, Texas, and Louise Cordova, Pueblo, Colo.; brothers, Ezra William Hinton, Palmdale, Calif., Francis Avery Junior Hinton (Lois), Holyrood, Kan. and Marvin Hinton, Florence, Colo., along with nieces and nephews
He was preceded in death by brothers; Carl, Alvin, Daniel, Archie, Elmer and Roy Delbert; sisters, Ethel Sinclair, Leora Frasher, Leona Mann, Dorothy Taylor and Edith Ione Hinton.
A private family service will take place at a later date.
Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth was in charge of arrangements.

Cotton’s life began on Feb. 2, 1947, in Winfield, Kan., the son of Raymond and Ethel (Farnsworth) Young. He graduated from Moline High School Class of 1965. He married Jeannette Louise Schepmann on Nov. 11, 2000. Cotton was a tractor mechanic and owned and operated Cotton’s Repair in Leon the last 14 years. He was a member of the Leon First Baptist Church, the Leon Senior Center and the Dirtblasters Pulling Association. He collected John Deere tractors, was a tractor pull enthusiast, enjoyed working with wood, making miniature tractors and anything he could make with his hands. Cotton took pride in helping his family and community. In the event that someone needed help completing a project at home, working on a car or fixing a lawn mower, Cotton was always willing to give them a hand.

Elizabeth Sauers, 95, Kanopolis, passed Thursday, March 23, 2017 in Salina, Kan.

 Dorothy Ann Reif, 87, died March 24, 2017, at Cherry Village Nursing Home, Great Bend.  
She was born Oct. 25, 1929, on the farm near Odin, Kan., the daughter of Hugo and Matilda (Hoeffner) Frenzl.  
She married Albert Reif on April 16, 1952, in Odin, Kan.  He died Sept. 11, 1970.
Dorothy was a former member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Beaver, Kan. and also the St. Joseph Altar Society.  She later became a member of the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Hoisington, and was also a member of the Altar Society.  

Nicholas V. “Nick” Slechta, 84, died Friday, March 17 in Newton, Kan. He was born Feb. 3, 1933, the son of John R. and Anna Francis (Blick) Slechta on his grandfather Slechta’s farm southeast of Ellsworth and was a lifelong resident of the community. He was a 1951 graduate of Ellsworth High School and was awarded an Associate Degree from Barton County Community College after having attended night classes at Marymount College, Salina. He married his high school sweetheart Glorene Scheidt on May 18, 1953 at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. She preceded him in death in 2016. He was the Administrative Supervisor for Northern Natural Gas Company, Bushton, retiring after 35 years of service.

Nick’s military career spanned over 32 years, retiring as a Lt. Colonel, Kansas Army National Guard. His most coveted award was the Meritorious Service Medal. He was also awarded the Order of St. Barbara in 2000 and was a life member of the United States Retired Reserve.