Dennis “Doc” Owen Courser, passed away in his home May 12, 2019.

A memorial service is planned for Doc on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 1:00 pm at the Shawnee Civic Center. Please join us in celebrating his life and the family would love to hear your stories.

Doc was born August 15, 1947 and was the second son born to Margaret and Roudy Courser. His parents owned Courser Family Funeral Home in Manhattan, Kansas.

Doc graduated from Manhattan High School in 1965. He attended Kansas State University where he received his Bachelor’s in History and secondary Education. Doc went on to pursue his Masters from The University of Kansas in English. Doc was employed with the Olathe School District and retired from teaching in 2006. During his time at the Olathe School District, he was the Golf Coach for both the Men’s and Women’s teams at Olathe East High School.

During retirement, Doc remained an avid golfer, enjoyed spending time with family, friends, and pets, loved watching sports, more specifically, anything related to Kansas State University and the Kansas City Royals, eating popcorn, and reading.

Doc is survived by his two children and their spouses; Jesi & Chris Downs of Manhattan, KS, Taylor & Erin Courser of Gilbert, AZ and his two Grandchildren Molly and Patton Downs.

Larry Ross Steck, 75, of Council Grove, Kansas, passed away May 9, 2019, at Morris County Hospital.

He was born December 10, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Claude and Angela (Yturriago) Steck. Larry’s family relocated to Council Grove, when he was five years old. He graduated from Council Grove High School in 1961 and attended St. Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City. He returned to Council Grove, due to his illness.

Larry was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and the church choir. He worked at Kansas Instruments, CG Healthcare Center and Rex Materials as a custodian, as well as other part time jobs.

He was preceded in death by his parents.  Larry is survived by his sister, Claudia Homman and husband Paul, of Council Grove, nieces, nephews and friends.

A Rosary will be recited at 6:00pm, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, with a visitation following until 8:00. Funeral Mass will be Wednesday, May 15th, all to be held at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Rose Catholic Church and sent in care of Zeiner Funeral Home, PO box 273, Council Grove, KS 66846.

Donald “Don” LeRoy Whitebread, known to some as “Sharp”, of Junction City, passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, May 11, 2019.
Born in Marysville, Kansas on December 3, 1927, Don was the oldest of three sons born to Cleo and Irma (Sipple) Whitebread. His parents later divorced and the boys were primarily raised by their single mother during the depths of the depression. Don’s early schooling was in Marysville, the intermediate years in Kansas City, MO and Independence, MO. He lived with his brother in McCune Boy’s Home from 1939-1941. Don returned to Marysville to live with his grandparents for high school. He graduated from Marysville High School in 1946.
After high school, Don’s adventurous spirit took him to California, but his Midwest roots quickly brought him back to Kansas City where he went to Radio School. Don worked in radio from the late 40’s through early 1970. In 1957, while working at KJCK Radio, Don met Florence York, who also worked for the station. They were married in November of 1958.
Mixed in with his radio career were odd jobs, including a lengthy stint at LaShalle’s Shoe Store. In 1973, Don began his career with United States Postal Service as a rural carrier. He retired from the postal service in January 1993.
In his spare time and well into his retirement, Don found pride in a huge garden, his collection of vinyl records, and his antique cars. However, Don’s greatest passion beyond his wife and family was his love of music and the theatre. Throughout his life, Don played drums in a number of Dixieland Bands or Jazz Combos—most notably the Skytones—and the Junction City Community Band. He also directed or performed in over fifty musicals and plays at the Junction City Little Theatre. He and Florence continued their love of music and theatrics in period shows for the Geary County Historical Society as well as various church and community events.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Florence (York); 3 children, Donald (Donnie), Junction City, Cleion Morton and her husband Mike, Wamego, and Crystal Mai, Lawrence. He was blessed with seven grandchildren—Angela, Daniel, Levi (Amanda), Claira, Sadie, Allie (Matt), and Katelin (Brett). And, he was doubly blessed with eight great grandchildren—Abygail, Irelynne, Kacelynn, Bella, Lily, Harrison, Brantley and Kinsley-who he delighted with silliness and shenanigans.
A Celebration and Remembrance of Don’s life will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, May 18, 2019 at Johnson Funeral Home, 203 N. Washington, Junction City, KS. Burial will be in Good Hope Cemetery, west of Junction City. The family will greet friends on Friday, May 17th, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m, at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions in memory of Don may be made to Friends of Animals, or the First Baptist Church, Junction City, KS.

Cary M. “Bouncer” Gobber, 62 years of age, of Chapman, Kansas passed away at his home under Hospice Care with his family by his side on May 10, 2019.

Cary was born May 1, 1957 in Manhattan, Kansas to Orville and Erma Gobber. He attended school in Manhattan and graduated from Manhattan High School. After graduation he completed vocational training.  He then worked at Woolworth’s, City of Chapman and Chapman Valley Manor. He retired from Chapman Valley Manor after almost 22 years as Maintenance Supervisor.

On May 10, 1980, Cary married Jean Grosser. They lived in Manhattan before moving to Chapman in 1981 to raise their two sons, Adam and Andrew.  He loved his family and enjoyed spending time with his sons. Chapman was not only a great place to raise his family but was also an opportunity for Cary to fulfill his childhood dreams of being a policeman and fireman. He served on the Chapman Police Department as a reserve officer and was a volunteer fireman for the Chapman Fire Department for many years.  His time with the fire department was especially meaningful to him because of the dedication he saw in his fellow firefighters.

Cary’s hobbies included hunting and old cars. He attended many Swap meets, car shows, and Farm shows in the area.  He loved his cars and the relationships he developed throughout the years with other car guys. He also enjoyed watching his favorite television shows about cars, old westerns, outdoors and the Food Network.

He was also a collector. He collected a variety of things and would often say, “You’ll never know when you might need it.” He had bottles and containers of all sizes for anything and everything.

Survivors include wife, Jean of the home. Sons Adam (Alyssa) Gobber, Oberlin and Andrew Gobber, Chapman; two grandchildren, Ailee and Abel Gobber, Oberlin.  His parents: Orville and Erma Gobber, Manhattan; brother Neal (Jan) Gobber, Hutchinson; sisters Beth (Bill) Olson, Lindsborg, Jana (Charles) Goin, Ogden, Kaye (Chuck) Hendricks, Manhattan; and many nieces, nephews and extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Kent Gobber.

Visitation with the family will be 5 – 7 p.m. Monday, May 13. Funeral service will be at 11 a.m., Tuesday, May 14, 2019, with Pastor Connie Wooldridge officiating. Both services will be at the Chapman United Methodist Church, 426 Sheeran, Chapman, Kansas.

In lieu of flowers the family suggest memorials be given to Home Health and Hospice of Dickinson County, Chapman United Methodist Church, or Chapman Labor Day Car Show in care of Londeen’s Funeral Home, PO Box 429, Chapman, KS 67431.

Carolyn Sue (Gilmore) Hatting, age 69, of Manhattan, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 9, 2019, at her residence with her family by her side.

She was born May 12, 1949, in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of C.R. “Duke” and Mary Ellen (Cravens) Gilmore.

Carolyn graduated from Manhattan High School in 1967, and then attended Kansas State University.

On July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, she was married to Richard P. “Rich” Hatting.

Carolyn was an Advertising Director for various newspapers.

She was a member of the Chambers of Commerce in the community they lived in and was very active in those communities. She was also active with the Leadership Development organizations in those communities and especially in Marion County, KS, and Sarpy County (Papillion), NE.

Carolyn was active with the Birman Breed Cat Community and attended and showed her cats at their shows. She loved her cats and they were like children to her and Rich. She also enjoyed reading and traveling. Most of all she loved her family and moved back to Manhattan in April of 2015 to be near her mother and sister.

She is survived by her husband Rich and her sister Dorothy Smith both of Manhattan.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents.

Cremation is planned with private family services.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Riley County Humane Society. Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502.

Funeral services for Troy L. Hash, age 55, of Solomon, will be 1:00 pm Friday, May 10, 2019 at the Carlson-Becker Funeral Home in Solomon with Pastor Stan Norman officiating. Mr. Hash passed away Thursday, May 2, 2019 at his home in Solomon.

He was born July 27, 1963 in Hanford, California the son of Troy H. and Sylvie (Vineyard) Hash (Vineyard) Hash.

Troy had been a longtime Solomon resident and was the owner of Troy’s Plumbing. He enjoyed boating and camping.

He is survived by his wife Julie Gray of the home, daughters Jessica and JoAnne of Arkansas, stepdaughter Krista Radke of Solomon and step son Brian Jones of Solomon, and his sister Renae McAnally of Solomon.

The family has selected cremation. Visitation will be 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Thursday evening at the funeral home in Solomon. Memorial contributions may be made to the Troy L. Hash Memorial Fund and may be sent in care of the Carlson-Becker Funeral Home, P.O. Box 308, Solomon, Kansas 67480.

Edna Marie Whitehair, 94, passed away Wednesday, May 8, 2019.  She was born October 23, 1924 to Ottis and Rachel Kennard Clapp in Burlington, Kansas. She was married to Wayne Whitehair on November 22, 1948 at St. Andrew’s Church in Abilene, Kansas. They lived on a farm east of Abilene.

Edna graduated from Burlington High School and moved to Abilene where she worked as a bookkeeper for Fisk Implement Company. She was employed by Alco Inc. for 25 years at the time of her retirement. She was also a member of St. Andrew’s Church and the Ladies Altar Society, Indian Hills Ladies Golf Club in Chapman, and a volunteer at Memorial Hospital. She also enjoyed playing bridge with several different groups.

Edna is survived by children: Tom Whitehair (Janet) of Abilene, Lynne Murphy (Kevin) of Hope, Dan Whitehair (DeLynne) of Abilene, Leah Hern (Randy) of Abilene, and Lennis Hasenbank (Randy) of North Liberty, Iowa; son-in-law Larry Karl of Abilene. Grandchildren: Kristin Whitehair (Levi Bowles), Megan McDugald (Jim), Kyle Murphy (Kirsten Zenner), Dane Murphy, Jenna Bentrop (Brian), Evan Karl (Nicole), Rachelle Sims (Kyle), Nick Whitehair, Sarah Sulanka (Eric), Tony Whitehair (Christy), Kendra Jenkins (Charlie Spann), and Kayla Kinser (Kyle), 16 great grandchildren, sister-in-law Mae Whitehair of Abilene and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Wayne on October 9, 1984; daughter Lou Ann Karl on July 23, 2016; sister, Flossie; and brother, Orville.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 am Monday, May 13, 2019 at the St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Abilene. Her final resting place will be in the Mt. St. Joseph Cemetery near Abilene. A Parish Rosary will be 6:00 pm Sunday evening at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mt. St. Joseph Cemetery Fund, Hospice of Dickinson County, or to the Memorial Health System Volunteers and may be sent in care of the Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home 414 NW 3rd, Abilene, Kansas 67410.