Melvin E. Hart (July 26, 2018)

Remembering Bill Watson by Charlene Watson

William George (Bill) Watson

William George Watson, better known as Bill, was born on February 22, 1934 in Lincoln County Kansas, to Emery H. Watson and Hazel A. (Loy) Watson. He passed away on December 30, 2014, at the Mitchell County Hospital in Beloit, Kansas, after a lengthy illness.

Bill spent the first five years of his life on a farm west of Barnard, Kansas. He attended Rocky Point Country School, located across the road from his home, for the first year of school. This was during the Kansas Dust Bowl years and was not an easy time for the family.

In 1939 or 1940 the family moved to a farm northwest of Barnard, where Bill lived for the rest of his life. He attended grade school in Barnard and graduating from Barnard Rural High School with the class of 1952. While in school he participated in baseball, basketball, and football, school plays, and was an active member of the Salt Creek 4-H Club. He became the 4-H Club livestock leader as the years went by and his own children joined the club. Bill had fond memories of walking or riding his horse to school with other kids throughout his freshman year of high school. After graduation Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army Active Reserves in 1953 and was in the QMCUSA through May 31, 1961.

Bill met his future wife at a surprise birthday party at the home of his parents in February 1952. Two years later on June 11, 1954 he married Charlene May Rawlings at the Presbyterian Church in Beloit, Kansas. In his words, she became his wife, his lifetime partner and the love of his life. The couple made their home on the family farm near Barnard where they raised their five children, Vicki, Beverly, Dwight, Jeana and Ginger.

When he graduated from high school, Bill’s parents gave him three registered Hereford cows and this was the foundation for a lifetime in the registered Hereford business. Seeing that the future of the Hereford breed was in the Polled Hereford segment, Bill and his new bride switched to the Poll’s in 1954-1955 and continued to raise them for the next 60 plus years.

Bill’s “love for raising and showing cattle” continued throughout his life as he and his family showed in local, state, and national cattle shows all over the country. He also raised Registered Australian Blue Heeler dogs. The Watson’s had an enjoyable life with a host of cattle friends they made throughout the U.S, Canada, Australia, and the world. Bill was proud of being the Lincoln County Wheat King and later named the Outstanding Farmer of Lincoln County.

Bill was baptized and became a member of the First Baptist Church of Barnard, where he served as a Deacon in later years. He was a member of the Barnard Masonic Lodge, Barnard Chapter 360 Order of the Eastern Star, Barnard Lions Club, and the Lincoln County Hereford Assn. He was a lifetime member of both the American Hereford Assn. and the American Polled Hereford Assn. He served as a director on the Salt Creek Watershed Board for over 30 years and was active in county and state Republican organizations.

Bill enjoyed attending his children and grandchildren’s activities and sporting events over the years. He celebrated his 80th Birthday on February 22, 2014 and the Watson’s celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on June 14, 2014.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include his wife Charlene of the home, five children: Vicki (Doug) Lebien, Lincoln; Beverly Boling (Rob Daniels), Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dwight (Tracy) Watson, Barnard; Jeana (Mark) Eckhart, Lincoln; and Ginger (Steve) Sedbrook, WaKeeney. Also, seven granddaughters, seven grandsons and six great grandchildren, all of whom he loved dearly.

Pete Saunders

Keith D. "Pete" Saunders, 87, Minneapolis died Monday, September 22, 2014 at the Good Samaritan Society in Minneapolis.  Pete was born in Barnard on March 19, 1927 to Otto and Eva (Loy) Saunders.

Pete was united in marriage with Pat Beck on November 8, 1947.  Pete worked various jobs including at El Dorado and Ottawa County State Lakes.  He was an avid golfer.

Pete was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Pat; son, Mike; grandson Tyler Vishnefske; and brother, Dale.

Survivors include his children, Mitch Saunders and wife Lynne; Monte Saunders and wife Marie; Shelly Vishnefske and husband John; daughter-in-law Jan Saunders; siblings Beth Holcomb, Jerry Saunders, and Peggy Blanding; grandchildren Nick Saunders, Dakota Saunders, Deuce Sunders, Megan Vishnefske, Jenny Saunders, and Levi Saunders; and great-grandchildren  Liby Vishnefske and Emma Saunders.

It was Pete's wishes to be cremated and memorial services will be announced at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Minneapolis Golf Course and may be left in care of Wilson Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 166, Minneapolis, KS 67467.

John Wesley "Wes" Pepper 1932-2014

John Wesley Keith Pepper "Wes", 82 of Redding, California, passed away of heart failure due to complications from surgery, on September 12, 2014, at the Shasta Regional Hospital in Redding.  He was  born on May 18, 1932 in Lincoln, Kansas to John Prouty and Reita Geraldine (Bishop) Pepper.

Wes moved around in the earlier years of his life with his family, living for a while in Lingle, Wyoming and in Clorado near Colorado Springs.  The family later moved back to the Pepper family farm in Barnard, Kansas and that is where he spent most of his growing up years.

He lived in and around Barnard, off and on, until he jointed the US Air Force in the fall of 1951.  We graduated from Barnard High School in 1950, along with his cousin Lloyd Jackson.  Wes was the older sibling of Duane Pepper, Judy Pepper, Frank Pepper, Gene Pepper, and Cheryl Pepper, all of the Barnard area.  Wes had many Bishop, Wallace, and Jackson cousins in and around Lincoln County, KS.

Wes served in the Korean War and flew 18 bombing missions over Korea as a right gunner on B-29 bombers.  He met and married his wife of 59 years while stationed in Roswell, New Mexico.  Wes and Evelyn (Roork) Pepper had three children there before moving to California in 1962.

Wes worked as a harvester in his teen years in Barnard and traveling up to the Dakotas and down south as well.  He also later worked on missile sites and became a building contractor in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960's.  Wes built solid homes on strong foundations and Steve Jobs, of Apple fame, lived in one of his houses.  It held up nicely in the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and Steve Jobs praised the craftsmanship of John Pepper Properties in the San Francisco Chronicle.

In the late 1990's, Wes and Evelyn followed their son, John, down to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico and have lived there since.  Wes always loved the ocean and enjoyed the beauty and freedom found in that area.

He leaves behind his wife Evelyn; children Teresa, John, and Terri; twelve grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Memorials can be given to the Northern California Veterans Cemetery at 11800 Gas Pint Road, Igo, CA 96047 wher Wes was interred.

Teresa (Hamilton/Pepper) Rust

Joye Eilert

Funeral services for Joye Eilert will be 10 a.m. Saturday, September 28, at the St. John's Catholic Church in Beloit.  Mrs. Eilert died Tuesday, September 24, at the Mitchell County Hospital.

Her family includes sons Darrell of Barnard, Carl of Beloit, Frank of Simpson, and daughter Kristine Shumway of Omaha.  Joye was very active in the Beloit community and touched the lives of many people who regarded her as a second mom or another grandmother.  Her death affects many people far beyond the Beloit area.  Please keep those that treasured her in your thoughts and prayers as they remember her, mourn her, and celebrate her life.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the McDonald Funeral Home with a celebration of life at 7:30 p.m. at the McDonald Funeral Home.  Memorials may be given to the Library Foundation, the Perdue House, or St. John's Memorial Trust Fund.  Condolences may be left at www.mcdonaldrobertsfuneralservice.com.

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend: The Barnard WPA Water Tower...1941-2013

Since 1941, at least five generations of Barnard residents and visitors have seen the majestic art deco water tower as the trademark part of the Barnard skyline.  That tower is part of the memory of anyone who has any connection to Barnard, Kansas.  As of September 18th, the tower is becoming a memory.  Demolition started erasing the last significant structure that made Barnard unlike most other communities.

The Barnard WPA water tower was completed in 1941 around the time of the United States' entry into WWII.  It was the visible jewel of the newly installed municipal water system in Barnard.  The tower held 50,000 gallons of water that satisfied the needs of the prospering community.

The tower held another role other than the functional water storage facility.  Barnard's tower quickly became a landmark.  Numerous people returning home or visiting could see the tower miles away and knew they were close to their destination.  Returning soldiers from WWII knew they were close to home when the reinforced concrete tower appeared on the horizon.  Ott Saunders' grandchildren always tried to see which one of them could be first to see Grandpa's water tower.  When they visit Barnard nowadays, they still look for that tower.  The question of "are we there yet?" was clearly answered from miles away by that tower appearing on the skyline.

Barnard's historic art deco tower watched over the town for 72 years.  It was built during the years when prosperity still made its appearance in town.  At that time, Barnard had several hundred residents, groceries stores, banks, drug stores, barber shops, lumberyards, a meat locker, a theater, and a functioning railroad station.  The tower continued its duties as the population and local economy declined.  Gradually, people left and businesses closed.  Vacant buildings were demolished and the downtown business district disappeared along with a significant portion of the residential area.  Barnard died as the tower watched and provided water for those who refused to give up.

When the Barnard water network was attached to the rural water district, the purpose of the tower became redundant.  The pressure provided by the rural water district was more than enough (as we have recently experienced) to provide for the needs of the town.  However, the silent sentry still kept watch over the town.

Even after its fate was decided by a small fraction of Barnard's now tiny population, the water tower kept up its duty.  Within the last year, the water valve to the RWD was left on and the tower filled to its full 50,000 gallon capacity and water flowed from its overflow channel.  The tower did not buckle, it continued to serve just as it had for over 70 years.  During a recent lightening strike, the charge blew out  several pipes in the water network all over town...however, the tower itself was not damaged.  We were told that the tower was near collapse, but even as it is being torn down it is showing its strength, having to be slammed repeatedly by the wrecking ball before a little bit of concrete gives away and falls to the ground near the base of the tower.

I am relatively new to this community and the first time I saw that tower, it left me in awe.  As I learned more about the town, it almost seemed like a glorious tombstone for a once vibrant lady.  However, today...as I drove out of town to go to work, I looked at the tower in my rear view mirror...it seemed more like the image of a kindly old gentleman being beaten to death by the town bullies.  Its height had only been diminished by a fraction but it was less prominent on the horizon.  What will replace it will be absurdly mundane.  Where this tower was immediately recognizable as Barnard's, the new one will be a metal tube like thousands of metal tubes just like it scattered across the United States.  You will only be able to tell it is Barnard's because BARNARD will be painted on the side.  Since it is smaller, by the time you can see the print, you will already be in town.  It will be non-descript and like the town...many people will not even realize it is there.

Kansas 1861-2013

This isn't about Barnard...or is it?

Kansas 1861-2013

By Jason Probst

TOPEKA - The Great State of Kansas passed away on March 31, 2013, after a long and difficult battle with extremism that became markedly more aggressive in 2010. The struggle left the state so weakened it could no longer fight against the relentless attacks by the fatal disease.

Kansas was born on Jan. 29, 1861.

 
 
The state is preceded in death by fair taxation, good highways, strong education, family farms, a good public parks and wildlife system, open government, neighborliness and belief in helping each other out, freely elected public servants, and political moderation.


 Kansas is survived by widespread poverty, low-wage jobs, high property taxes, pollution, poorly educated children, outmigration and rural depopulation, foreign land and farm ownership, lobbyist-funded legislators, chronic mistreatment of the disabled, a maniacal hatred of government and children who dream of living anywhere else.

During its early years, Kansas played a pivotal role in the Civil War by staking out a strong progressive stand against slavery. Despite repeated raids from border ruffians, Kansas held firm to the belief of free men and free soil.

Throughout its life, Kansas often aligned with leading progressive causes. William Allen White, one of the state's most notable residents, once wrote that "if it's going to happen, it happens first in Kansas." That once was true. Kansas was the first state to ban the Ku Klux Klan, and the first to elect women to public office - one as mayor and another as sheriff.

It was the birthplace of the populist movement, rising as farmers and ordinary people grew weary of the Gilded Age politics of the late 1800s and early 1900s that favored investment interests over those of landowners and laborers.

Kansas was a leader in public education, with one-room school houses dotting the plains. A full 12 years before it was a national concern, Kansas established child labor laws that restricted employment of children in potentially dangerous industries.

In the 1950s, Kansas laid the path to civil rights for African-Americans with the historic Brown vs. Board of Education case - the first in the country to rule against a policy of segregation in public schools.

Despite its compassionate nature, Kansas proved to be a state teeming with inventiveness, ingenuity, determination and a savvy sense of business.  Cessna, Beech and Stearman helped establish Kansas as a center of the aviation industry. Coleman launched an international company from Wichita that became a household name. Pizza Hut and White Castle - two iconic eateries - both got their start in Kansas, and the man who helped establish the American automobile industry called Kansas home.

Kansas' history is filled with vibrant, dynamic people. Settlers who claimed land once described as a desert and turned it into the world's garden; immigrants who came by the train-load and brought with them the hard winter wheat that germinated the state's prosperity. Throughout the years, Kansans endured drought, grasshopper plagues, depression and fierce weather, yet its people worked to hold tight to their land and the belief that there was goodness in Kansas. In spite of those hardships, the state produced world-renowned artists, writers, inventors, business leaders, astronauts, even a president.

Kansas was a strong-willed state whose hands were calloused enough to turn up the hardest sod and tender enough to calm a crying child.

Despite its strength and vitality, Kansas couldn't survive the influences of outside political machines that sought to use this fertile ground and its people as a test plot for an ambitious political experiment.

The elections of 2010 and 2012 brought the poisoned pill that would bring about Kansas' untimely end. The first election seated a governor who tossed aside Kansas' storied history and replaced it with a vision of his own design. In 2012, record setting campaign contributions from out-of-state donors financed the defeat of those moderate Republicans who had spent the last of their political careers keeping Kansas alive.

One by one, the things Kansas had spent a lifetime building were dismantled, until the state was rendered as empty and uninviting as it had been in those early days when the first settlers eyed its endless expanse.

Along the way, the state's defenders - the farmer, the laborer, the property owner and the shop keeper - stood mute and passive, hoping for a day when the state would spark back to life, as it had always done before.

They remained silent too long.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Policy Institute, or Americans for Prosperity all in care of Gov. Sam Brownback, Office of the Governor, Capital 300 SW 10th Ave. Ste 241S, Topeka, KS 66612-1590.
 
Jason Probst is news editor at The Hutchinson News. Email: jprobst@hutchnews.com.

Arthur "Tuti" Arellano (husband of Karla Wallace Arellano; son-in-law of Bill Wallace)

Arthur "Tuti" Arellano, 52, departed this life Thursday, April 18, 2013, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Celebration of life: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in Greenwood Chapel. Interment: Greenwood Memorial Park. Rosary: 6 p.m. Friday in Greenwood Chapel, followed by visitation at 7 p.m. at Greenwood Funeral Home. Arthur was born July 31, 1960, in Fort Worth. He was happily married for 24 years to his loving wife, Karla (Wallace) Arellano. Arthur was a beautiful person inside and out. He was loved by everyone who had an opportunity to be a part of his life. His world revolved around his sons and grandchildren. Arthur was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Teresa Arellano. Survivors: Wife, Karla (Wallace) Arellano; sons, Brandon Arellano, Tyson, Mathew and Jason Taylor; grandchildren, Kayla and Brooklyn Perkins, Riley, Gavin and Kinley Taylor, and Bralyn Arellano; brother, Jose Arellano Jr.; sisters, Delores Furr, Andrea Perez and Patricia Arellano; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Bruce A. Keeler, Husband of Elsie Wallace Keeler

SOLOMON -- Bruce A. Keeler, 78, of Solomon, died Saturday, May 11, 2013.

Mr. Keeler grew up around the Barnard area.  His parents were Oliver Charles Edward Keeler (1911-1997) and Ruby Wild (1914-1982).  He has a sister, Kathy.

Bruce met Elsie Wallace while going to school in Barnard.  Bruce and Elsie later married and started a family.  They have several children and grandchildren.

Mr. Keeler worked for Lincoln County, was in the National Guard, worked building missile silos, and worked for and retired from Beechcraft.

Bruce loved to hunt and fish.  He and his brother-in-law, Wayne Wallace, were great hunting and fishing buddies.

Ryan Mortuary, Salina, is handling arrangements.  Services will be at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at Ryan Mortuary in Salina, Kansas.  Visitation was Monday, May 13.  Mr. Keeler will be cremated and interment at Milo Cemetery will be at a later date.

George Murray, Jr. Passes

On Tuesday, April 30, 2013, George Murray, Jr. passed away.  He was 86 years of age.

Mr. Murray graduated from Barnard High School in 1944.  He later married his wife Arlene and started a family.  Mr. Murray farmed for many years and worked with his sons Brett and Mark farming the land.  His grandfather, William M. Murray, settled in the Barnard area in 1886.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by McDonald-Roberts of Beloit.  The service is at 9 a.m. on Friday at McDonald-Roberts with a dinner to follow at the Barnard Community Building.


Photo from  Barnard History: 1885-2010 compiled by Marie Kelly Moffit.



Doug Cramb

Doug Cramb, 71 years of age, died Thursday morning, April 11, 2013 at the Mitchell County Hospital in Beloit. 

Mr. Cramb is survived by his wife, Rose; daughter, Maria Halloran (Pat); and grandsons, Tim, Keegan, and Liam.

Visitation will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at the Harrision Funeral Home in Beloit with Rosary at 7 p.m.  the casket will be closed at 6 p.m.

The funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 15th, at St. John's Catholic church in Beloit with a luncheon at the Knights of Columbus.  Burial will follow at Milo Cemetery in Barnard, Kansas.

Madge Floydene (Keeler) Cramb

Madge Floydene Cramb passed away on March 4th at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.  Mrs. Cramb was born in Barnard on October 18, 1927.  Her parents were Frank and MaeBelle (Rathbun) Keeler.  She was a member of the Barnard High School Class of 1945 and taught at Fourth Creek school in the Barnard area.  Mrs. Cramb was also a 60 year member of the Harmony Chapter #2 Order of the Eastern Star.

Preceding her in death are her parents, brothers Gilbert and Keith, and sisters Maxyne and Melba.  Those continuing in life are her husband, Charles; son Craig (Carol) Cramb; grandsons Andrew (Joanna) Cramb and Kyle Cramb; and great-grandchildren Shelby and Gavin Cramb; and nieces and nephews.

Services were held in Wichita at the Aldersgate United Methodist on March 9th and at the United Methodist Church in Lincoln on March 16th.

Jo Ann McClary

Jo Ann McClary, from Barnard, died on February 22, 2013 at the age of 88.  She is survived by her husband Buck, daughters Teresa Stevens and Susan Reinert, son Michael, and nine grandchildren.  Her life and homegoing are celebrated by family and friends.

Mrs. McClary was born in Claremore, OK to Delmer and Daisy (Robertson) Whittenberg.

The decision was made for cremation and a memorial service was held on Thursday, February 28th at the First Baptist Church in Barnard.  Memorials may be made to the American Red Cross in care of Hall Funeral Home, 111 E. Elm, Lincoln, KS 67455.

Erick Dewayne Hall

Erick Hall, 34, Ripley, Oklahoma passed from this life  on Saturday, November 3, 2012.  Services were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.  Erick's friends wrote their final goodbyes on his casket.  A graveside service was held at the Milo Cemetery near Barnard, Kansas.  He and his family spent a number of years in Barnard.

Erick was born on April 30, 1978 to his parents Becky Sue Hall and Richard Dewayne Ebert.  He graduated high school in Ripley, OK in 1996.  After high school he enlisted in the US Army and was eventually stationed at Fort Hood.  He was a communication specialist and served in Korea, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq.  In 1998, he married  Shawna Johnson.

Erick's remaining family include his wife, Shawna; his mother, Becky Hall of Lincoln; daughters, Allyson, Alexys, and Aubrey; brother, Trint Hall and his wife, Heather of Lincoln; sister, Annette Sneath and her children, Levi, Logan, and Landon of Hoisington; and other beloved family.

A Barnard Resident's Story...The Obituary of Otto Saunders

A town's story can be told through the obituaries of its residents...

Otto Saunders

Otto Saunders was born July 29, 1899, in Lincoln to Flint and Elizabeth (O'Neill) Saunders and passed away on Feb. 24, 1983, at the Ottawa County Hospital, Minneapolis, at the age of 83 years, six months, and 26 days.

Ott and Eva Loy were united in marriage Sept. 25, 1921 and this union was blessed with five children.  They lived most of their life in Barnard and celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary last September.

Ott and Eva had an ice business for many years, and in the late '40s, he became a city councilman for Barnard, and a year later, became city marshal.  Ott was also Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff until his death, and was both fire chief and water and sewer superintendent for Barnard.  Ott helped build the water tower, sewer, and dike and retired a year ago after 35 years of service to the city.

Ott and Eva both enjoyed fishing and he loved fishing from the boar especially.  He would go out and get crawdads when he could hardly walk, just to have on hand in case someone came along wanteing to go fishing.  He loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and when any of them came into town they would argue over who saw Grandpa's water tower first and still think it is Grandpa's.

Ott is survived by his wife Eva, of the home; five children:  Dale of Salina, Pete of Minneapolis, Beth (Mrs. Leroy Holcom) of Gypsum, Jerry of Dodge City, and Peggy (Mrs. Norris Herbel) of Barnard; four brothers, Melvin, Colton, Calif.; Alfred, McPherson; Ludwell, Yucaipa, Calif.; and Donald, San Bernadino, Calif.; two sisters, Mrs. Ethel Smith, Salina, and Mrs. Helen Crawford, Derby; 19 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Services were held Feb. 26, 1983, at the Hall Memorial Chapel.  Burial was in the Milo Cemetery, Barnard.


From:

Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, 17 March 1983
Lincoln County Historical Society Obituary Archive

Jennette Marie Brockway

Jennette Marie Brockway, of Daingerfield, Texas, passed away on July 1, 2012.  She was born on May 11, 1973 to Dr. Edwin and Joyce Brockway.  She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Delbert Brockway and the Mr. Howard Kelly (deceased) and Elsie Jean Kelly of Lincoln, KS.  Services were held on July 4, 2012 at the Church on the Rock in Daingerfield and burial was at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Hughes Springs.  Memorials may be made to the Church on the Rock missions, in Daingerfield.  Online condolences may be left at reeder-davis.com.

Donald Hickman

Donald E. Hickman, 80, went to be with the Lord on June 16, 2012.  Don was born October 22, 1931 in Lincoln County to Austin and Irene (Pierce) Hickman.

He was untied in marriage with Amaryllis Y. Parson on February 18, 1951 in Barnard.  They owned and operated Big Valley Meats in Barnard and he also farmed.

Survivors include his wife Amaryllis of Minneapolis; children, Wesley Hickman and wife Janice of McPherson, Bryan Hickman and wife Terrie of Minneapolis and Dawn Stephens and husband Richard of Salina; brothers Vernon Hickman of Barnard and Dean Hickman of Salina; sister, Lois Pixler of Salina and Laura Godsey of Ponca City, OK; eight grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

It was Don's wishes to be cremated and that there be no service.  Memorials are to Wilson Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 166, Minneapolis, KS 67467 to assist with expenses.

Frances M. Coover

Frances M. Coover died at the age of 93 on May 10, 2012.  She was preceded in death by her husband W. Harlan Coover.  She is survived by her sons Ray and wife Brenda Cover of Houston, TX and Joe and wife Vickie Coover of Barnard, KS; Grandchildren Kim and husband Gregg McIntire of Tulsa, OK, Sara and husband Nick Biggs, Jason Coover and fiance April, and Brady Coover, all residing in Barnard; great-grandson, Logan Biggs; and step-great-granddaughter, Tyler McIntire.  Services were held on May 15th at the Barnard First United Methodist Church with burial in the Milo cemetery.  Memorials may be given to the Barnard Lions Club Scholarship Fund.

Hall D. Byarlay, Passes (family member of Becky McQueen)

Hal D. Byarlay, 86, Lincoln, passed away Saturday April 14, 2012. Hal was born Jan. 17, 1926, to Alfred V. and Lillie L. (Detmer) Byarlay, Clay Center, KS.

After serving in the Army Air Force, he returned home and graduated high school in 1947 from Randolph High School. He earned a B.S. degree in Animal Science from KSU in 1951. During his career he was County Agent for Lincoln County, a field man for the KSU Farm Management Assoc.and lending officer an senior VP at Farmer's National Bank in Lincoln, retiring in 1995.

On May 6, 1954, he married Mary T. Bohm, Tipton. Hal and Mary started life together in Lincoln, and made it their lifetime home; they raised their 5 children and became active members of the community. Hal enjoyed serving as chairman and director of several civic committees. Hal belonged to St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Lincoln and was a charter member of K of C Council 10074.

Hal was preceded in death by: wife, Mary; his parents; sister Verna Beebe; brother Lowell.

Survivors include: sons Dan (Deb), Salina; Bob (Diane), Olathe; daughters Deb Webb (Bruce), Osborne; Becky McQueen (Truette), Barnard; Angela Davied, Lincoln; brothers Phil, Randolph, KS and Star, Versailles, KY; sister Jan Harshman, Fuita, CO. He was a loving "Papa" to his 12 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 1-7 P.M. Tuesday, April 17th at Hall Chapel, with Family present 5-7 P.M. Vigil service and rosary will follow at 7:30 at St. Patrick's Church. Funeral services will be at 10:30 A.M. Wed., April 18th at St. Patrick's Church, with interment in St. Patrick's Cemetery. Memorials may be made ot St. Patricks's Catholic Chruch. Leave an online condolence at www.postrockfs.com.

Former Barnard Resident, Robert Mahlon Griffeth, Passes

Robert (Bob) Mahlon Griffeth, 87, died Thursday April 12, 2012. He was born July 9, 1924 to Albert W. and Gladys Griffeth in Barnard, KS.

He is survived by wife, Miola; children, Linda (Mike) Richard, Miltonvale; Peggy (Calvin) Bohnert, Robin (Deb) and Bill (Melanie) Griffeth, Jewell; 9 Grandchildren: Casey (Krystal) Richard, A.J. (Tiffany) Richard, Josh (Krista) Bohnert, Marla (Jeff) Koops, Tracy Bohnert, Chad (Alyssa) Griffeth, Sarah (Doug) Spencer, Kelly (Teresa Griffeth, and Eric Griffeth; 6 great-granchildren: Boone and Case Richard, Isaac and Eli Koops, Owen Spencer, and Wadyn Griffeth; 2 step great-granchildren: Hannah and Tyler Jackson; sisters-in-law: Ouida Griffeth and Dorothy (Bill) Elliot; nephews Glen (Pam) Griffeth and Steve (Judy)Elliot, plus a host of relatives and friends.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, brother Bill Griffeth, and sister Jean Shaffer.

Bob was a born farmer which consumed his entire life. He felt he was doing his part in keeping Good's earth productive.

Pastimes for Bob were "wheeling and dealing" whether that be cars, motor homes, or farm machinery; camping and traveling to all states except one with Miola; and enjoying the smiles and antics of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held Monday, April 16 at the Jewell Trinity Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for memorials to the Jewell Trinity United Methodist Church in care of Kleppinger Funeral Home, 409 Broadway, Jewell, KS 66949.