Melva Jane Shields, 88, of Ottawa, Kansas passed away peacefully on February 28th, 2022 at Community Hospice in Jacksonville, Florida. The Celebration of Life will be held on April 23rd, 2022 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 401 W 13th Street, Ottawa, Kansas 66067. Visitation starting at 10:00am, followed by the Service at 11:00am.
Funeral services for John Richard “Rick” Donaldson will be on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, at 6th St. and Indiana St., in Lawrence, KS. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m, funeral services at 2:00 p.m, with burial to immediately follow at Oak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, Kansas. Pastor Dakota Smith of Ottawa Bible Church, Ottawa, Kansas, will officiate the services.
Ede Ackmann, age 82, of Garnett KS passed away on Saturday, March 12, 2022. She was born June 20, 1939 in Wichita KS, the daughter of Arthur and Josephine (Crandall) Conley. She was an avid Coca-Cola memorabilia collector, and loved being surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She is survived by her husband Henry, her 6 children, 9 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren.
Marie Louise (Hildebrandt) Lines Draves, 83, of Ottawa, KS passed away Saturday, March 12, 2022 at Rock Creek of Ottawa, KS. She was born April 14, 1938 on the family farm near Quenemo, KS the daughter of Henry O. and Minnie (Niehoff) Hildebrandt.
Keith Lavern Churchill, age 75 of Wellsville, KS passed away Friday, March 11, 2022 at Rock Creek of Ottawa. Memorial services will be held 6PM, Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at the Family Life Center at the Baptist Church in Wellsville. Memorial contributions may be made to the organization of your choice in care of Wilson’s, PO Box 486, Wellsville, KS 66092.
Dear Readers: Every year I step away from my column for two weeks to work on other creative projects. (Anyone interested in my personal essays and photographs can subscribe to my free newsletter: amydickinson.substack.com).
Louis Elkin Short, son of Lewis J. and Opal Short, died peacefully March 7, 2022 at home. Born in Lexington, Missouri, he graduated from high school in 1956. He served our country in the U.S. Air Force and ended his military career in Vietnam.
Jane Ellen Boles, 71, of Ottawa, KS passed away Wednesday, March 2, 2022. She was born May 6, 1950 in Ottawa, KS the daughter of Robert Brenner and Nancy (Hartpence) Duncan. Jane grew up and attended schools in Ottawa, graduating from Ottawa High School. She was a lifelong Franklin County resident living in Ottawa, Williamsburg, and Richmond.
Bob F Jones passed peacefully on February 19, 2022 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois at the age of 95. He was a long-time resident of West Lafayette, Indiana, where he was a Professor of Agriculture Economics at Purdue University for thirty-two years. Family and friends remember him as a farmer, a dedicated public servant, a faithful member of First United Methodist Church, a lover of learning and travel, an enthusiastic storyteller around the dining-room table of the people and places he visited, a prayer-giver at holiday meals, a gameplayer, a sports fan of grandchildren and Purdue, a maker of pies and fudge and waffles.
Betty Jean Wittmeyer, 99, of Ottawa, KS passed away February 20, 2022, at Nottingham Health, Olathe, KS. Betty was born on July 26, 1922 in Kansas City, MO, the daughter of Thomas W. and Jemima Floy Mainard. Betty grew up in the Kansas City area graduating from Central High School with the class of 1939. She also graduated from Kansas City Junior College and then attended the University of Kansas City, now UMKC.