Loving husband, son, father, grandfather and brother, Jim Hittle, 67, passed away Saturday, December 10, 2016 at his home in Hugoton.  He had been a lifelong resident of Hugoton, where he was a farmer and rancher. He was born November 20, 1949 in Hugoton, Kansas, to Walter and Velma Hittle.  He graduate from Hugoton High School in 1967. On December 21, 1968, he married Connie Louthan at Hugot...

Melvina Esther Wichert, 90, of Mount Vernon, Missouri (formerly of Hooker, Oklahoma) died at 7:05 a.m. Dec. 9, 2016, at Lawrence County Manor, Mount Vernon. She was born April 28, 1926, to Henry and Esther (Wiebe) Hamm, at their home in the Adams community. Melvina spent her early childhood on the family farm.  Her parents moved to Kremlin, Oklahoma in 1937 due to health complications from the d...

  Margaret Pearle Engler 94 died, Thursday December 7, 2016 at Brookdale/ Liberal Springs Senior Living Center. She was born May 9, 1922, and at birth became the daughter of Willard and Lillian (Frey) Moody. She was made available for them to adopt at birth, and at the age of 66, she discovered her biological family. She has been a resident of Garden City and Haskell County most all of her...

  Helen Nadine “Dumpy” Gray, age 86, died December 7, 2016 at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, KS. She was born June 5, 1930 in Parsons, KS, the daughter of J. D. and Gertie Marie (Winters) Walker. She had been a resident of Liberal for 40 years. She was married to Bill Wesley, Sr. They divorced in 1969. On July 5, 1974 she married George Anton Gray at Raton, NM. He surviv...

  Maria F. Payen, age 90, of Johnson, Kansas died Monday, December 5, 2016, at her home in Johnson, Kansas. She was born March 31, 1926, in Ojinaga, Chihuahua Mexico, the daughter of Leon Urquidiz and Pascuala Rodriguez. Maria, a homemaker, married Ezequiel Payen, Sr. She enjoyed cooking and baking. She welcomed family and friends into her home and provided them with a warm meal. Singin...

Lena S. Doerksen, age 88, passed away Sunday afternoon, December 4, 2016, at the Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, Kansas.   She was born May 30, 1928, in rural Meade County, Kansas, the daughter of John H. and Sara J. (Reimer) Doerksen.  As a young girl she attended the Lake View Elementary School in rural Meade County.  She later received her nurses training at Dodge City Community College i...

Janice Fern Francis, age 71, died December 3, 2016 at Nichol Home in Glasco, KS. She was born December 3, 1945 in Sioux City, IA, the daughter of Harry L. and Esther (Schell) Baker. She attended Plains Elementary School. In September 1973, she married Donald Francis in Liberal, KS. He preceded her in death. She was a home maker. She enjoyed playing bingo, dominos and the arts at the craft sh...

  Roger E. Hurst, age 82, of Johnson, Kansas, died Sunday, December 4, 2016, at his home in Johnson, Kansas. He was born February 2, 1934, in Howard, Kansas, the son of Howard and Iva (Cory) Hurst. Roger moved to Stanton County when he was 10 years old. He graduated from high school at the age of 16. He went to work at a welding shop and purchased his first car. Roger then began farming...

Sara Jean Herd (Chappell), 32, died Thursday, December 1, 2016 at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal. She was born on December 20, 1983 to Sammy and Leslie Annette (Durbin) Chappell in Liberal, KS. She attended Southwestern Heights High School, and later went on to get her GED. She worked as a Home Aid for Home Heath for several years. Survivors include: 3 Sons Aiden, Anakin and Jordan ...

  Martha Ann Meza, age 53, of Ulysses, Kansas, died Thursday, December 1, 2016, at Via Christi Regional Medical Center / St. Francis Campus in Wichita, Kansas.  She was born May 25, 1963, in Ulysses, Kansas, the daughter of Manuel and Irma (Guerra) Meza. Martha grew up in Ulysses and graduated from Ulysses High School in 1981. She moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2001. Martha married Jo...