Obituaries

    William (Bill) R. Meili, 91, of rural Lincoln Kan., died Dec. 13, 2015 at his home. William was born in rural Lincoln County July 25, 1924 to William and Esther (Line) Meili.
     He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, Albert Rippie and Robert and Ray Meili; and three sisters, Wilma and Alice Block, and Dorothy Meier.
     Left to celebrate his life are his wife Larinda; three sons, Gary (Carrie) of Lincoln, Larry (Rita) of Phillipsburg, and Doug (Janet) of Overland Park; two daughters, Joyce (Bob) Bunch of Phillipsburg, and Sharon (Rick) Hiss of Great Bend; a sister, Jo Ann (Norman) Hemmer of Topeka; six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
     Visitation will be from 1 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, in The Hall Funeral Home Chapel in Lincoln with the family present from 5 to 7 p.m.

Charles R. Vague, 94, of Wilson, Kan., passed away Dec. 11, 2015 in Salina, Kan.
He was born Sept. 13, 1921 in Wilson to Arthur and Marion (Jellison) Vague. He grew up in Wilson and graduated with the class of 1939. He went on to further his education at Salt City Business College in Hutchinson, Kan., but his plans changed after being drafted to the United States Army. After his tour of duty was complete in 1945, he returned home to Wilson where he met, fell in love, and was united in marriage to Ila Fern Kasper on June 21, 1949 at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Wilson. She preceded him in death Jan. 19, 2015. A lifetime resident of Wilson, he was a farmer and stockman in the Lincoln and Ellsworth County area.

     Bert L. Besthorn, 60, of Claflin, Kan., passed away Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, in Hays, Kan. He was born Nov. 29, 1955 in Great Bend, Kan. to Herbert L. and Joyce A. (Rathbun) Besthorn.
     Bert was a lifetime resident of the Claflin area. He earned his Master’s Degree in diesel mechanics from Pittsburg State University. Bert then went on to teach diesel mechanics at Barton County Community College, was a contract trainer for Case-New Holland teaching power mechanics, and after retirement, served as a substitute teacher at Central Plains High School in Claflin. Bert was co-owner of Besthorn Oil and Gas Service, Inc. and served the community on the USD 354 School Board for 16 years. He was also a member of the United Methodist Church of Claflin and the Pittsburg State University Alumni Association.

     Kathryn B. Whitmer, 57, Wilson, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, at Salina, Kan.
     Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be at a later date.
     Memorials are to the Kathryn Whitmer Memorial Fund in care of Foster Mortuary, Wilson, Kan.
     Condolences to the family can be made at fostermortuary.com

     Elmer Eugene Taylor, 72, of Santee, Calif., passed away peacefully Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, with his family by his side. He was born April 5, 1943 in Lincoln, Kan. to Elmer Taylor, Sr. and Ilene Morrison Munoz.
     He was a 1961 graduate of Kanopolis High. Elmer had a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, enlisting at the age of 18. He served our country from 1961 to 1991, retiring as a Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman. He received three purple hearts, and a Bronze Star with Combat V for Valor. He served six tours in Vietnam, his first in 1968 as a field corpsman for the Marines. He flew 125 missions on Medivac runs in helocopters to retrieve wounded troops. He was currently dedicating his life to service as a servant to the citizens of San Diego County for 23 years as a medical records tech.
     He was preceded in death by his step-dad, Angel Munoz, and brother, David Munoz.

      Larry Keith Soukup was born Oct. 19, 1942 in Ellsworth, Kan. to Marie (Jezek) and Godfrey Soukup, Jr. Larry passed away peacefully on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015, after bravely fighting a lung disease.
      Larry graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1960 and attended the Wichita School of Barbering. Larry and Sara McConnell were married at St. Bernard’s on Oct. 17, 1964. He owned and operated Larry’s Barber Shop and barbered in Ellsworth for 42 years. He was a member of American Legion Post 174, served in the Army National Guard, was active in the Ellsworth Correctional Facility Citizen’s Committee, St. Bernard’s Parish Council, Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), Bethpage Board, and was a sponsor and member in the Ellsworth Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for 36 years.

  Kristi R. Bender, 48, Great Bend, died Nov. 19, 2015, at the Clara Barton Hospital, Hoisington.
  She was born April 5, 1967 at Great Bend to David and Linda (Kratzer) Monroe. She lived in Great Bend for 25 years, moving there from Geneseo. Kristi was an Avon salesperson and baker. She also was a member of the Prince of Peace Parish at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and the Altar Society, Great Bend.
  She married Leo Bender Jr. July 1, 1995, in Great Bend. He survives.
  Other survivors are her mother, Linda Monroe of Geneseo; two sisters, Kelly Archer of Temecula, Calif., and Kathy McLouth and her husband, Rusty of Kansas City, Mo.; two brothers, Kerry Monroe and his wife, Catie of McPherson, and Kasey Monroe of Lawrence; sister-in-law, Stefanie Ann Shumate of Great Bend; mother-in-law, Betty Bender of Great Bend; and nine nieces and nephews.

Leona Lavern (Pejsha) (Besthorn) Dibben was born Jan. 16 1923 to Charles and Victoria Pejsha in Wilson Kan., raised on the family farm helping her daddy in the fields, and enjoyed working in the header box during harvest. She went to school at Mt. Series where she finished through the 8th grade and graduated. She worked on the farm and this is the time in her life when she met Peter Besthorn and began a friendship.

In 1943 she went to work in Salina, at the gun powder plant. She also did ironing on the side for other people.  Shortly after, she was transferred to Lawrence, to another powder plant. After the war was over in 1946, she married Peter Besthorn and they moved to Holyrood.  

     Raymond A. Bosquez, 83, Kanopolis, Kan., passed away Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015 in Beloit, Kan. He was born Dec. 26, 1931 in Uvalde, Texas to Juanita (Alvarado) and Tomas Bosquez.
     Raymond was a veteran of the Korean War (Corporal) and lifetime member of Ellsworth VFW Post 6485. He married Felecia Perez July 21, 1955 in Pontiac, Mich. This union resulted in seven children and 60 years of marriage.
     Raymond was a supervisor for General Motors Corp. and retired in 1987, moving to Kanopolis. He and Felecia came out of retirement and ran the Mainstreet Deli in Ellsworth for 10 years, after which they left for one year and established the Kanopolis Lunch Box for five years and finally retiring. His hobbies included fishing, camping, spending many hours coaching his sons’ baseball and his love for the outdoors. He was a truly devoted father, uncle, grandfather and husband.

     Fern Marie Zajic, 89, passed away Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. She was born Oct. 28, 1926 in Ellsworth County to Hedwig (Hoffman) and Edwin Westerman. She was a lifetime resident of Ellsworth County and a homemaker.
     Fern married Harold Ray Zajic May 14, 1948 in Holyrood. She was a member of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Holyrood. She was also a member of the Holyrood VFW Auxiliary,  Golden Belt Community Concerts Board of Directors, and St. Paul’s United Church of Christ Ladies’ Guild, Holyrood.
     Fern is survived by her son, Ray Dean Zajic (Jane) of Nixa, Mo.; daughter, Sandra Sue Byer (Troy) of Great Bend; son, Randy Zajic (Denise) of Holyrood; son, Michael Allan Zajic of Stockton; 15 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren with four on the way; and many more family and friends.
     She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Harold; five brothers, Lee, Ralph, Clyde (Bud), Ed, and Charles Westerman; and sister, Francis Kottas.