Dr. Jess Willard Koons, 95, of Liberal passed away on Friday, June, 30, 2023 at his home. Jess was born at home two miles northwest of Sedan, Kansas December 29, 1927. His parents were Arthur and Laura Bell Henson Koons. He graduated from Sedan High School in 1946. He then served in the Army of the Occupation in Korea between 1946 - 47. Following that, he attended and graduated in 1951 with a B...

PLAINS – Lela Mae Baalman Jacobs, 88, long-time resident of Plains, KS and Dodge City, KS, passed away June 28 in Wichita, Kansas. Mae, the daughter of Joseph and Walburga Robben Baalman, was born in Oakley, Kansas. As a child, Mae lived in Wellington, Winfield, and Oxford, KS. She and her sister, Jeanie, lacking funds to purchase store-bought toys but having abundant imagination, made mud pi...

Darvin D Jones 77 of Urbana, died June 12 2023 while vacationing in Belize. Darvin was born Febuary 4 1946 in Liberal Kansas to Ira and Ruby Mae Jones. He attended Liberal High School then moved to San Francisco California where he met the love of his life Mary Carranza. They married on June 22 1967. They moved to Liberal Kansas in 1969, then to Urbana Iowa in 1998. Darvin worked hard his ...

Mary Catherine Gleason, age 91, was born January 31, 1932, in Dodge City, Kansas. She died June 25, 2023, in Ulysses, Kansas. She married Donald J. Gleason on August 27, 1951, in Syracuse, Kansas.  Mary graduated from St. Mary of the Plains in 1969, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Fort Hays State, and in 1971 she earned her Masters degree in Special Education. Mary ...

Leaura Plummer, 98, died June 24, 2023, at Belleview Heights, Aurora, CO. She was born in Viroqua, Wisconsin on January 31, 1925, to Oscar Lewison and Edna Doris Dorwin Lewison. She and her mom moved to Kansas two years later where her mom remarried George Hatton and they had 4 more children. Her older sister Lee stayed in Wisconsin and became close to all the brothers and sisters. Leaura has resi...

Kerrin Ray Smith, age 82, of Johnson, Kansas, died Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, Kansas. He was born on December 12, 1940, in Gutherie, Oklahoma, the son of Walter Reed and Mattie (Easterling) Smith. Kerrin married Sharon Archer on March 21, 1964, in Ada, Oklahoma. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Northwestern College in Alva, Ok...

James (Jim) Clark Oswald, 75, passed away on Friday, June 23, 2023, at Morton County Hospital in Elkhart, Kansas. He was the son of Raymond Clark and Mable Irene (Sloan) Oswald. He was born on January 17, 1948, in Elkhart, Kansas. He graduated from Yarbrough High School in 1967, and then attended Oklahoma State University earning a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Ja...

Donna J. Burdge, age 91, passed away Sunday evening, June 25, 2023, at the Lone Tree Retirement Center, Meade, Kansas. She was born February 23, 1932, at Argonia, Kansas the daughter of Oliver (OJ) and Relna (Rhodes) Freeman. As a young girl, she attended school in Harper, Kansas, graduating from Harper High School. A longtime Meade resident, she was a cook for USD 226, having worked at ...

Connie Stebens, 70, died Friday, June 23, 2023 at her residence in Liberal. She was born on May 12, 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Thurman and Frances (Byrd) Bradshaw. She graduated from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa in 1971. On March 13, 1974, she married Delbert Stebens in Liberal, Kansas. They were married for 49 years. Connie worked for Seward County, where she retired ...

Davy Junior Brown was born August 12, 1975, in Liberal, KS to Junior and Martha (Longoria) Brown. He attended Liberal schools graduating in 1993. While in school he was active in sports and band, but he especially excelled in high school art class. He made beautiful award-winning hand-blown glass. After high school, he moved to Wichita, KS where he became one of the youngest Godfather's Pizza m...