Obituaries
Col. Norman B. Gates 1954-2008
Col. Norman B. Gates, 76, Topeka, formerly of Lawrence, died Monday, Dec. 8, 2008. He was born on Aug. 7, 1932 to Charles and Mary Gates. He married Carol Jester on Aug. 14, 1954 in Chanute. He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 23 years. His family included five children, Gwen, Sandy, Brian, Eric and Dana; 6 granddaughters; and 3 great-grandsons. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 11 at East Side Baptist...
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Dale ‘Dutch’ Biele 1913-2008
Dale “Dutch” Biele, 94, formerly of Chanute, died Saturday, December 6, 2008, at Pinnacle Ridge Nursing Home, Olathe. He was born in Bentonville, Ark., on Dec. 19, 1913, to Fred and Dora Spivey Biele. He married Rosemary Cooper on May 24, 1937, in Iola. She died on Oct. 25, 2006. He worked as a Rail Car Inspector for the Santa Fe Railroad until his retirement. Survivors include two daughters and sons-in-law, Janie and Bill Yeamans and Suza...
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Bertha A. ‘Nanny’ Wilmot 1915-2008
Bertha A. “Nanny” Wilmot, 93, Chanute, died Friday, December 5, 2008, at Heritage Health Center. She was born May 28, 1915, in Chanute to Raymond and Ethel Glover. She married Harvey Johnson in 1933. He died during World War II. She married Charles Wilmot in Chanute in 1956. He also preceded her in death. She worked as a machine operator in the clothing industry. Survivors include a daughter, Doris J. Love, Chanute; a son, Charles P. Wilmo...
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Addis Christopher Messersmith 1915-2008
Addis Christopher Messersmith, 93, Humboldt, died Thursday, December 4, 2008, at Chanute Healthcare Center. He had been in failing health for the past several months. He was born May 2, 1915, to Ephraim and Cora Mae Drake Messersmith south of Coffeyville. He graduated from Tyro High School in 1935. He retired from the Montgomery County Bridge and Road Crew in May 1980, after 34 years of employment. He married Mildred Comstock Hughes on Sept....
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Beuford Elwin “Beau” Tindal 1935-2008
Beuford Elwin “Beau” Tindal, 73, formerly of Chanute, died Saturday, November 29, 2008, at his daughters’ home, surrounded by his family, after a long battle with cancer. He was born on April 4, 1935, in Randlett, Okla., to Elmer William and Clara Le√≥n Marsh Tindal. He grew up in Madera, Calif., graduating from Madera High School in 1953. He served in the U. S. Navy from April 1953 to March 1957, and then received his Bachelors in Electrical ...
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Bertha A. Wilmot
Bertha A. Wilmot, 93, Chanute, died Friday, December 5, 2008, at Heritage Healthcare Center. Arrangements are pending with Penwell-Gabel Johnson Chapel.
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Verle F. Bachelder 1915-2008
Verle F. Bachelder, 92, Yates Center, died Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 at Coffey County Hospital, Burlington. He was born Dec. 22, 1915 in Benton, the son of Roscoe and Lydia Meyersick Bachelder. He grew up on a farm near Benton and graduated from Benton High School. He farmed and worked at the aircraft factory in Wichita. He farmed and drove a school bus for 11 years in Woodson County. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church. He marr...
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Ross Scott 1920-2008
Thomas Ross Scott, 88, Fredonia, died Wednesday, December 3, 2008, at Fredonia regional Hospital. He was born Feb. 10, 1920, in Fall River to Thomas Jefferson and Mary Pearl Ivey Scott. He retired from the street department of the City of Fredonia. On Feb. 27, 1939, in Fredonia he married Ruth Lyon. She survives. He was a member of the Fire Baptized Holiness Church in Fredonia. Other survivors include a son, Jimmy Ross Scott, Cherryvale; four...
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Lewis McDonald Harp 1923-2008
Lewis McDonald Harp, 84, Independence, died Tuesday, December 2, 2008, at Mercy Hospital, Independence. He was born Dec. 26, 1923, in Cedar Vale to Ambrose C. and Lula B Jerome Harp. He married Frances J. Patterson on June 2, 1951. She survives. He served in the Army Medical Corps during the Korean Conflict. He was most recently employed as a metal fabricator for Dixon Manufacturing. He was a member of Grace Memorial United Methodist Church. ...
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Cheryl Lynn McKee 1967-2008
Cheryl Lynn McKee, 41, Fredonia, died Sunday, November 30, 2008, at her home. She was born Aug.2 1, 1967, in Parsons to Frank and Sandra Stillwell Howard. She was a homemaker. She married Joel McKee on April 22, 1985 in Fredonia. They later divorced. Survivors include three children, Kendall McKee, Cassandra Lawler and Dillion McKee, all of Fredonia; her parents; and two sisters, Lisa Letterman, Fredonia, and Deanna Spencer, Anchorage, Alaska...
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Owen A. Duling 1927-2008
Owen A. Duling, 80, rural Walnut, died Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 in the emergency room at the Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute. His death was unexpected. He was born on Dec. 6, 1927 at Greenbush, to William Joseph and Anna O’Rourke Duling. He grew up on the family farm near Walnut and attended country schools. He worked as a farmer and stockman on his farm near Walnut for 54 years. He also worked as a cowboy at the Parsons Lives...
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Billie MacPherson Carleton 1925-2008
Billie “Miss Billie” MacPherson Carleton, 83, formerly of Southeast Kansas, died Thursday, November 20, 2008, at her Lake Crystal, Minn., home. She was born Aug. 8, 1925, in Wilson County to Silas Oliver and Jennie Garner MacPherson. She graduated from Fredonia High School in 1942 and Pittsburg State University with a teaching degree. She was a freelance journalist. She married Robert Carleton in Fredonia in 1946. In 1979 she married Willis J...
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Chester R. Palmer 1919-2008
Chester R. Palmer, 89, Tulsa, Okla., died Monday, December 1, 2008, in Tulsa. He was born May 10, 1919, in Iola to David and Martha Ketchum Palmer and graduated from Chanute High School. He received his degree as a health inspector from Vanderbilt College in Nashville, Tenn., and moved to the Tulsa area in the early 1950s. He lived in Turley much of his life. He retired from his job as a building engineer for the Tulsa World, then worked seve...
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Robert G. Adelgren 1936-2008
Robert G. Adelgren, 72, retired Boeing aircraft employee, died Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. He was the son of Henry and Wilma Adelgren, both deceased. Survivors include wife, Wanda Adelgren; sons Brian Adelgren, Daron Adelgren; brothers George Adelgren, Goodland, Ralph Adelgren, Fremont, Neb.; four grandchildren. Visitation is 6 to 8 this evening at Resthaven Mortuary, 11800 W. Hwy 54, Wichita, KS 67209. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at M...
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Ethel Emaline Watson 1912-2008
Ethel Emaline Watson, 96, Neodesha, died Thursday, November 27, 2008, at her daughter’s home. She was born April 8, 1912, in Lakin to Charles H. and Hattie L. Rowe Redington. She graduated from Neodesha High School in 1930. She married Kenneth H. Watson on Aug. 4, 1931, in Howard. He died in 1995. She was employed as a nursing assistant with Wilson County Hospital until her retirement in 1975. Survivors include six daughters, Charlene Schneid...
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Mary Ann Wood Hinkle 1947-2008
Mary Ann Wood Hinkle, 61, Chanute, died Tuesday, November 25, 2008, at her home. She was born Oct. 2, 1947, in Chanute to Kenneth and Cecilia Rensing Wood. She attended St. Patrick’s School through ninth grade, and graduated from Chanute Senior High School in 1965. She married Dale Hinkle on Aug. 28, 1992, in Miami, Okla. He survives. She worked at Kustom Signals for 28 years before her retirement. Other survivors include a son, Steven T. B...
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John A. Birner 1943-2008
John A. Birner, 65, Neosho, Mo., died Thursday, November 27, 2008, at his home, following a lengthy illness. He was born Feb. 11, 1943, in El Paso, Texas, to Augustine and Audra Wilson Birner. He moved to Neosho on Jan. 1, 1990, from Chanute. He had served in the National Guard and worked in construction. He married Myrna Mitchell on Aug. 30, 1968, in Erie. She survives. Other survivors include three children, Dhanna Birner, Wichita, John A. ...
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Dalen D. Thomas 1948-2008
Dalen D. Thomas, 60, Toronto, died Thursday, November 27, 2008, at St. Francis Hospital, Wichita. He was born July 15, 1948, in Eureka to John D. and Helen Swilley Thomas. He graduated from Toronto High School in 1966. He was employed in the Paint and Research Department of Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita for 22 years. He was a member of Toronto United Methodist Church. Survivors include his mother, Helen Thomas, Toronto; and a sister, Bec...
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Clark Merton King 1920-2008
Clark Merton King, formerly of Thayer and Erie, died recently. He was born in Edmond, Okla., to Forest and Anna King. He graduated from Foyil (Okla.) High School and Oklahoma A&M College. He married Dorothy May Chicken in 1942. She died in January 2005. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and the Korean Conflict. He retired from farming in 1999. There will be no memorial service in accordance with his request. He will be burie...
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Dale Mitchell 1960-2008
Dale Mitchell, 48, Cherryvale, died Monday, November 24, 2008, at his home. He was born April 12, 1960, in Independence to Loma and Dorothy Ash Mitchell and attended Cherryvale schools. He worked for Powder Blue as a powder coating specialist. Survivors include a daughter, Amanda Decker, Springfield, Mo.; a son, Jacob A. Mitchell, Glenpool, Okla.; four sisters, Debbie Rash and Gayle Cunningham, Cherryvale, Nancy Gordon, Carl Junction, Mo., an...
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