J.W. Vanderpool was born May 13, 1942 in Beaver, Oklahoma . He went to the open range heaven on July 19, 2011, after a five year battle against colon, lung, and liver caner. He was born to the late Ella Vanderpool Heinson and Richard Barry Vanderpool. He was raised by B. J. Heinson, his stepfather. J.W. was preceded in death by his father Richard Barry Vanderpool in December,...

Raul Nieto , age 63, died Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at his residence in Liberal, Kansas . He was born May 5, 1948 in LaRegina, Julimez , Chihuahua , Mexico , the son of Alejandro and Maria del Soccoro (Lopez) Nieto. He had been a Liberal resident for 29 years. He had worked at Midwestern Oil Service and at Patrick Well Service now known as Best Well Service. He was ...

Theodore “Ted” Williams, 81, died on February 17, 2011, in Indio, California. He was born February 9, 1930 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of J.O. and Eunice Farriel Williams. His family moved to Stigler, Oklahoma, where he attended school and also played and lettered four years in basketball and lettered three years in football. He served as senior class pre...

Kay Ross, age 75, died Thursday morning, July 14, 2011, at the Harry Hynes Hospice, Via Christi St. Francis, Wichita, Kansas . She was born December 31, 1935, at Dodge City, Kansas , the daughter of Byron Harrison and Olive Lorene (Randolph) Fisher. As a young girl, she attended the Meade school system, graduating from Meade High School in 1953. On June 12, 1953, she married Wayne Robert ...

Ernest Kinney, age 76, died July 12, 2011 at the Integris Hospice House in Oklahoma City, OK. He was born on August 13, 1934, at Beaver, OK , the son of Roy Lee and Bessie (Mealer) Kinney. He attended school at Turpin, OK . He worked for Yellow Freight for 34 years, as a long haul driver, until his retirement in 2006, getting transferred to Okla...

Eugene F. “Gene” Ely, age 90, died early Wednesday morning, July 13, 2011, at the Minneola District Hospital , Minneola, Kansas . He was born May 13, 1921, at Moscow, Kansas , the son of Roy Razz and Ethel (Nimmo) Ely Harmon. As a young boy he attended school at Wilburton , later moving to Elkhart where he graduated from Elkhart High School. In 1942, he joined the United ...

Leonard H. Turner, age 91, of Elkhart, Kansas died July 12, 2011 at Morton County Care Center in Elkhart, Kansas. He was born February 23, 1920 in Cimarron County, Oklahoma the son of Don and Ethel (Eversoll) Turner. Leonard grew up in Elkhart, Kansas. Leonard was a farmer and rancher all his life. He designed and made spurs for many friends. He also was a wood working artist. He enjoyed tr...

James L. “Sam” Abbott, age 65, died July 9, 2011 at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, KS. He was born December 8, 1945 in Cordell, Oklahoma, the son of Mabel Abbott. He attended Liberal High School and had been a longtime Liberal resident. He worked at Koochel’s Parts Plus and had worked for Wettstein Farms for 10 years. He retired in April 2010. He enjoyed car racing, being a me...

Benjamin Lee “Bennie” Witzke, age 81, died Friday, July 8, 2011 at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, KS. He was born January 28, 1930 at Bessie, OK, the son of Leonard and Miriam (Kiehn) Witzke. He was a 1947 graduate of Turpin High School , Turpin, OK . He continued his education with a Bachelors degree from Southwestern State in Weatherford, OK , and then a Masters in Health Care Admin...

Abel Hernandez, age 63, of Ulysses, Kansas died Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at Via Christi Regional Medical Center / St. Francis in Wichita, Kansas. He was born December 15, 1947 in Chihuahua, Mexico, the son of Ramon and Amelia (Franco) Hernandez. Abel married Ramona Arrieta on June 5, 1967. They moved to Johnson in 1988, also living in Garden City, Kansas and moved to Ulysses in 2006. He worked a...