Obituaries

     Charles E. Sipes, 77, Canton, Kan., passed away Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 in Wichita. He was born Nov. 16, 1938 in Elkhart, to Evelyn (Hale) and William Edward Sipes.
     Charles is survived by his son, Gerald Sipes (Kris) of Ellsworth; daughter, Mary Rathbun (Matt Munoz) of Kanopolis; son, Steve Sipes (Kathy) of Stafford; 7 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Myrna Sipes of Bethany, Okla.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
     He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Billy Sipes.
     A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, at Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth. The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. prior to the service.
     Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, c/o, the funeral home, P.O. Box 45, Ellsworth, Kan. 67439.
Condolences may be posted at parsonsfh.com
 

Keith Alan Baker, 60, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016, at his home in Holyrood, Kan.
He was born Oct. 15, 1955 in Salina, Kan. to Lyle and Janice (Shanahan) Baker.
Keith is survived by daughters, Megan Blackwood of Holyrood, Nikki Krier (Corey) of Great Bend, and Katie Graf (Buddy) of Great Bend; 10 grandchildren; mother, Janice Smith of Ellsworth; and three brothers and one sister.
He was preceded in death by his father Lyle; brother, Leroy Baker; and son-in-law, Dusty Blackwood.
Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Friday Jan. 8, at Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth, with family present 6-8 p.m.
The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, at Parsons Funeral Home with burial following in the St. Paul’s United Church of Christ Cemetery, Holyrood.
Memorial contributions may be made to Heartland Cancer Center, Great Bend, c/o Parsons Funeral Home, P.O. Box 45, Ellsworth, Kan. 67439.
Condolences may be posted at                parsonsfh.com

Vivian A. (Doubrava) Corrigan, 93, RN, beloved wife of John and mother of John III, Mary, and Sue (Malik).
Born July 31, 1922 in Ellsworth County, Kan., and died Jan. 2, 2016 in her Wichita, Kan. home, surrounded by family engaging in one of her favorite past times: playing Family Feud on the iPhone. We think Mom was so frustrated that we couldn’t get the right answers that she said to herself, “I’m out of here.”
She was preceded in death by our father, John; her parents, Tobias and Anna Doubrava; her sister, Mary Anderson; and brothers, Joseph, Victor, and Ray Doubrava.
She is survived by her son, John James III and his family (wife, Suzanne, and children, Nicole Garrett, Danielle Beachler, John Corrigan IV); daughter, Mary Colleen; daughter, Sue Erin Malik and her family (husband, Dev, and children, Ian and Chase Malik); two and a half great-grandchildren (Luke Douglas and Clare Vivian Garrett, and baby to be Beachler); and numerous nieces and nephews.

Dale E. Novotny, 69, died Jan. 1, 2016, in Hutchinson.
He was born March 24, 1946 in Ellsworth to Winslow and Marie Novotny. Dale worked in the Lawn and Garden Center at Wal-Mart in Hutchinson and was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Navy.
On Sept. 25, 1992, he married Glenna Montgomery. She survives along with his step-sons, Trong Allen Pinkston and Taoro Cono Pinkston, both of Wichita; step-daughters, Toryo Francis Hall and Tarrah Glenna Harris, both of Hutchinson; a brother, Roy Novotny, St. John, Kan.; and sisters, Betty Ann Holmes, Marjorie A. Reed and Dorothy M. Eisiminger, all of Hutchinson.
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, at Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth, with inurnment and military honors following at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ Cemetery, Holyrood.

Elizabeth E. “Betty” Heitschmidt, 91, Holyrood, passed away Dec. 30, 2015.
She was born Jan. 24, 1924 on a farm near Geneseo, Kan. to William and Lillian Allen Bailey. Elizabeth graduated from Ellsworth High School and then attended Fort Hays State. She began a teaching career in a one-room school north of Holyrood. She taught many years as a teacher and substitute in the Holyrood school system.
Elizabeth married Marvin Heitschmidt in Ellsworth on Aug. 2, 1945. He passed away Oct. 9, 1991.
For 19 years, Elizabeth owned and operated Betty’s dry goods store in Holyrood. She was a 4-H leader in Ellsworth County for 20 years. She was also a charter member of the Ellsworth County Health Care Foundation. She was a member of the St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Holyrood.
Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Martin Luther Bailey, of Ellsworth.

Jeffery James Conley, 39, died Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, at his home in Ellsworth.
Mr. Conley was born Jan. 10, 1976, in Sacramento, Calif. to Brian and LeeAnn Hamilton Emmons. He was a construction worker. He moved to Ellsworth seven years ago from Galva.
He was married Feb. 15, 2004, at McPherson to Melisa Hawks. She survives.
Other survivors include his mother, LeeAnn Emmons of Ellsworth; three sons, Trey Conley of Sacramento, Calif., Gage Conley of Ellsworth and Cameron Conley of Moss Point, Miss.; a step-son, Daniel Perry of Moss Point; a step-daughter, Tiffany Perry of Moss Point; two brothers, Joshua Conley of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Christopher and Julie Conley of Ellsworth; two sisters, Trisha Peterson of Great Bend and Tamara and Tim Miller of Chase; a grandchild; eight nieces and nephews; and several cousins and second cousins.

Mary Elizabeth Allen, 63, died Dec. 22, 2015, at her home in Hill City.
She was born July 24, 1952, in Plainville to Thomas C. and Gladys (Phillips) Allen.  She was a life-long area resident and librarian. She was divorced from Michael Balthazor and married Feb. 14, 2005, at Hill City to Todd Toman, who survives. Mr. Toman is from Ellsworth.
Other survivors include a son, Joseph Balthazor and his life partner, Paul Tanghal of Toronto, Canada; a step-son, Sam (Holli) Toman of Colby; a daughter, Anna (Jason Rushford) Balthazor of Wichita, a step-daughter, Jessica Toman of Salina; her mother, Gladys Allen of Plainville; two brothers, Michael (Paula) Allen of Douglas, Ga., and John (June) Allen of Hays; and two sisters, Sister Marcia Allen of Concordia and Margaret Allen of Plano, Texas.
She was preceded in death by her father.

     Randy Jon Neuman, 58, Kanopolis, passed away Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 in Salina. He was born June 24, 1957 in Ellsworth to Alice Mae (Myers) and Dale Joseph Neuman. He was a mechanic at Hoffman Auto Sales and previously at Holm Auto.
     Randy is survived by his brother, David Neuman (Sylvia) of Salina; brother, Brett Neuman (Julie) of Ellsworth; sister, Amy Neuman of El Dorado; step-mother, Laura Neuman of Kanopolis; and many nieces and nephews.
     He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Phillip Neuman.
     A memorial service will be conducted at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 2, at Parsons Funeral Home, Ellsworth.  
Memorial contributions may be made to the Randy Jon Neuman Memorial Fund, c/o the funeral home, P.O. Box 45, Ellsworth, Kan. 67439.
parsonsfh.com
 

     Alfa G. Brockelman, Sr., 78, of Salina, passed away Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015. He was born Sept. 14, 1937 in Salina. He worked for Koch Truck Line as a transport driver for over 10 years.
     He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Irene (Lindermuth) Brockelman; wife, Thelma D. Brockelman; sons, Dan and Tom Green; a grandsons, Michael Kyler and Ronald Bacon; brothers, Alvin, Clyde Jr. and Phillip Brockelman.
     Survivors include his daughters, Lisa Robertson of Grapevine, Texas, Linda (Patrick) Kyler of Kannapolis and Vicki (John) Degand of Salina; sons, Alfa “Butch” (Amy) Brockelman, Jr. of Salina, Kenneth (Nichole) Brockelman of Enterprise and Mike Green of Salina; sisters, Joybell Teach of Lincoln and Jenny Heath of Buckley, Wash.; 20 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

  Billie Rose (Boston) Root of Wilson passed away Friday, Dec. 18, 2015, at the Salina Regional Health Center in Salina, Kan. at the age of 72.  
  She was born on Aug. 30, 1943 in Alva, Okla. to William “Bill” and Rose (Gibson) Boston. She graduated from Mount Healthy High School in Cincinnati, Ohio and went on to attend college for two years. On Aug. 10, 1964, she was united in marriage to the love of her life, George Root, in Sedan, Kan. This union was blessed with four children: Deana, Joseph, Ray, and Georgie. Together they raised their family in Russell, Kan., and later moved to Wilson, Kan.