Lana Mitchell
Mar 17, 2026
Lana Mitchell, 78, of Chetopa, passed away Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at her home.
Complete obituary details and funeral arrangements will be announced by the Bath-Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home of Chetopa.
Vickie A. Willey
Mar 15, 2026
Vickie A. Willey, 79, of Parsons, passed away at 8:55 a.m., Sunday, March 15, 2026, at her home. Vickie was diagnosed with cancer and was well cared for by her loving husband, Jerry, her granddaughter, Haley, and her niece, Victoria.
Vickie Ann Leon was born in Cherryvale, Kansas on January 18, 1947, to Socorro (Lopez) Leon and Julian Leon.
For many years,...
Franklin D. Stark
Mar 12, 2026
Franklin Stark, 83, of Columbus, passed away Thursday, March 12, 2026, at Medical Lodges in Columbus.
Franklin Dudley Stark was born on December 6, 1942, to Irvin D. and Mattie J. (Lewis) Stark in Bartlett, Kansas. He grew up and attended school in Labette County, graduating from Labette County Community High School in 1961.
Following high school, Franklin joined the United States...
Merle L. Modesitt
Mar 11, 2026
Merle L. Modesitt, 89, of rural Thayer, passed away at 6:20 a.m., Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at his home.
Merle Laverne Modesitt was born on November 12, 1936, to Laverne and Marguerite (Bayless) Modesitt on the family farm that was located where the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant is now. When the family farm was purchased for the building of the ammunition...
Janice K. Wrench
Mar 9, 2026
Janice K. Wrench, 84, of Chetopa, passed away Monday, March 9, 2026, at her home.
Complete obituary details and funeral arrangements will be announced by the Bath-Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home of Chetopa.
Craig D. Sonka
Mar 8, 2026
Craig D. Sonka, 75, of Parsons, passed away on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at the Hospice House in Olathe. He is survived by his wife, Jean LeBeau, of the home. Other survivors include his daughter, Becky Mock and her husband, Jeremy; and his son, Travis Sonka.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Cremation is under the direction of...
Stephen S. Cunningham
Mar 6, 2026
Stephen Cunningham, 45, of Altamont, passed away on Friday, March 6, 2026, at his home.
Stephen Scott Cunningham was born on July 16, 1980, to John Edward and Bonnie Gayle (Kenworthy) Cunningham in Columbus, Kansas.
Stephen graduated from Labette County High School in 1998.
After high school, Stephen served in the United States Army, serving two tours in Iraq. After he was honorably...
Preston T. Billingsly
Feb 28, 2026
Preston T. Billingsly, 18, of Cherryvale, passed away Saturday, February 28, 2026, at his home.
Preston Taylor Billingsly was born on June 14, 2007, to Kyle Billingsly and Alessandra Francine Lopez in Parsons, Kansas. He grew up and attended school in Houston, Pearland, Mound Valley and Altamont where he built lifelong friendships.
Preston was a true free-spirit- funny, goofy, handsome and deeply...
Don E. Rasmussen
Feb 28, 2026
Don E. Rasmussen, 86, of Chetopa, passed away the morning of Saturday, February 28, 2026, at his residence.
Don Erick Rasmussen was born on April 18, 1939, to Leonard and Marie (Linderholm) Rasmussen in Lindsborg, Kansas.
Don graduated from Labette County Community High School in 1957. He married Virginia Mae Yandell on October 26, 1959, in Parsons, Kansas.
Don worked as a farmer...
Debra J. Addis
Feb 27, 2026
Debra J. “Debbie” Addis, 64, of Parsons, passed away at 9:45 a.m., Friday, February 27, 2026, at Parsons Presbyterian Manor.
Debra Jean Addis was born on November 4, 1961, to Roger L. and Dorothy M. “Dottie” (Evans) Addis in Oswego, Kansas.
For 37 years, Debbie was in the care of Class LTD, who she affectionately considered part of her family. She was...
Debra J. Yeoman
Feb 25, 2026
Debra J. Yeoman, 56, of El Dorado and formerly of Parsons, passed away on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
Debra Jean Yeoman was born on July 27, 1969, to Sharon Myers and James Koger in Parsons, Kansas. She grew up and attended school in Parsons, graduating from Parsons High School in 1987. After high school, she earned a bachelor's degree from Wichita...
Daniel G. Bogner
Feb 24, 2026
Daniel G. “Dan” Bogner, 64, of rural Galesburg, passed away at 11:02 p.m., Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at Labette Health.
Daniel Gerard Bogner was born on October 11, 1961, to Leo and Mildred (Rausch) Bogner in Wichita, Kansas. He grew up in rural Galesburg, attending Galesburg Grade School and graduating from Erie High School in 1980. After high school, Dan earned...
Shirley A. Gray
Feb 24, 2026
Shirley A. Gray, 87, of Parsons, passed away at 7:15 a.m., Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at Elmhaven East in Parsons.
She was born on August 15, 1938, in St. Paul, to Paul “Pat” and Maxene (Hudson) VanLeeuwen. She grew up and attended school in St. Paul, graduating from St. Paul High School.
After high school, Shirley worked at Mercy Hospital for two...
Florence L. Kimrey
Feb 19, 2026
Florence L. (Curry) Kimrey, 99, of Pittsburg, passed away at 1:15 a.m., Thursday, February 19, 2026.
Born at the family home in Coffeyville to James and Margarette (Carroll) Curry on July 23, 1926, she was their second child and the oldest daughter of seven children. She attended rural schools in the Coffeyville and Edna area through the 8th grade. In 1970,...
Terry L. DeCow
Feb 13, 2026
Terry L. DeCow, 74, of Edna, passed away at 11:30 a.m., Friday, February 13, 2026, at Freeman in Joplin.
He was born on August 15, 1951, to Ralph Clinton and Berva Marie (Hagan) DeCow in Oswego. He grew up and attended school in Labette County, graduating from Labette County High School in 1969.
For many years, Terry worked as a truck driver.
He...
Hosea H. Banzet
Feb 12, 2026
Hosea H. Banzet, 89, of rural Altamont, went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
He was born on May 19, 1936, to Hosea H. and Oma (Ford) Banzet in Pampa, Texas. In 1956, he graduated from Labette County Community High School.
Following high school, Hosea served in the United States Army. His service time...
Stephen O. Helt
Feb 10, 2026
Stephen O. “Steve” Helt, 77, of Grove, Oklahoma, and formerly of rural Parsons, passed away at 2:14 a.m., Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at Mercy Hospital in Joplin.
Stephen Orville Helt was born on April 4, 1948, to Elvin O. and Emaline (Marchant) Helt in Coffeyville, Kansas. After graduating from Labette County Community High School, he served in the Army National Guard.
On...
Jonathan L. Byrd
Feb 7, 2026
Jonathan L. Byrd, 34, of Parsons, passed away the morning of Saturday, February 7, 2026, at his home.
Jonathan Leroy Byrd was born on January 14, 1992, in Parsons. He grew up and attended school in Parsons, graduating from Labette County High School and earning an associate’s degree from Labette Community College.
He worked as a caregiver for SKIL for several years.
Besides...
Braxton B. Irish
Feb 7, 2026
Braxton Irish, 19, of St. Paul, passed away the afternoon of Saturday, February 7, 2026, at his home.
Braxton Blake Irish was born on May 23, 2006, to Brandi Clark and Casey Irish in Pittsburg, Kansas. He grew up and attended school in St. Paul, graduating from St. Paul High School in 2025.
Being a volunteer firefighter was among Braxton’s proudest roles....
Shelly L. Gray
Feb 3, 2026
Shelly L. Gray, 60, of McCune, passed away the morning of Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at her home.
Shelly Lynn Henson was born on April 20, 1965, to William Steve Henson and Darlene Kay (Warner) Call in Miami, Oklahoma.
After graduating from Oswego High School, Shelly worked for many years in home health care. Her generous spirit was well suited to caring...
