Mark Lynn McDaniel, age 51, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Sunday, December 23, 2018, at his home.

He was born December 28, 1966, in Ft. Scott, the son of Donald Lee McDaniel and Barbara Sue Wolfe McDaniel. He graduated from the Ft. Scott High School and later completed welding and truck driving courses at Ft. Scott Community College. He operated his own mechanic shop. He was an avid stock car racer and fan. He used his mechanical abilities to further his own racing career and was always willing to help his friends as well. He married Tammy Peacock on July 28, 2000, at Ft. Scott.

Survivors include his wife, Tammy, and his children, Derek Miner, of El Dorado Springs, Missouri, Brittani Ledbetter and Cody McDaniel, both of Springfield, Missouri and Kimberly Skaggs and Taylor Shook, both of Ft. Scott and nine grandchildren. Also surviving is his father, Don McDaniel, of Ft. Scott; three brothers, Randall McDaniel, of Carthage, Missouri, Rick McDaniel, of Ft. Scott and Ron McDaniel, of Pittsburg, Kansas and three sisters, Patricia Flanigan, of Carthage, and Jeanise Malone and Tanya Lockwood, both of Ft. Scott.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Barbara McDaniel.

Graveside services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Saturday, December 29th at the Evergreen Cemetery.

Family and friends may meet at the Cheney Witt Chapel prior to leaving for the cemetery at 12:45 P.M.

Memorials are suggested to the Mark McDaniel Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Tom (Moose) Lawrence, age 58, resident of Ft. Scott, KS, died Friday, December 21, 2018, at the Mercy Hospital Emergency Room.

He was born July 20, 1960, in Ft. Scott, the son of Lloyd D. Lawrence and Shirley J. Sears Lawrence. He graduated from Fort Scott High School with the class of 1978. Tom excelled in both football and track and field, and still holds the school record in the shot put. He also broke numerous Junior Olympic records.

He married Norma Williams on July 8, 1989, in Ft. Scott. Norma was the love of his life. Together they did everything, especially enjoying traveling. Tom was a dedicated worker for Extrusions in Ft. Scott for over 26 years. He was always willing and able to accomplish anything needed.

Tom enjoyed woodworking, golfing, arcade games and was a KC Chiefs and Royals fan. He was a loyal FSHS athletic event attendee, especially football. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and family.

Survivors include his wife Norma and their grandson Brayden of the home; a sister, Cindy O’Rear, Ft. Scott; two brothers, Larry Lawrence and Terry Lawrence and wife Linda, all of Ft. Scott; sons Brad Peterson and wife Crystal, Joplin, MO, and Cody Lawrence and wife Rebecca, Oronogo, MO; a daughter, Kortney McGehee and husband Alex, Ft. Scott; grandchildren Bailey Peterson, Tyler Bradley, Zoey Lawrence, Lexi Lawrence, Kaylynn McGehee, and Jaxson McGehee; and six nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Robert and Kathy Clark will conduct funeral services at 10:00 AM Friday, December 28^th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel.

Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 Thursday evening at the Cheney Witt Chapel.

Memorials are suggested to the FSHS Athletic Department and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Paul Vernon Russell, age 87, a life-long resident of Redfield, Kansas, passed away Thursday, December 20, 2018, at the Medicalodge in Fort Scott.

He was born July 1, 1931, on the family farm in Redfield, the son of John Russell and Muriel Boileau Russell.

Paul graduated from the Uniontown High School. He served with the United States Army from 1953 to 1955 where he was stationed in Germany.

Following his military service, he graduated from Pittsburg State University.

Paul married Clarice Needham on June 9, 1957, in Mapleton, Kansas.

Paul taught business classes at both Elsmore and Moran High Schools. He retired from teaching in 1991.

In addition to teaching, Paul also maintained the family farm and raised beef cattle.

He was a member of the Mount Orum Baptist Church and had served as Sunday School Superintendent for thirty years.

He had also served on the Marmaton Township Board.

Survivors include his wife, Clarice, of the home; a son, Curtis Russell and wife, Susan, of Sugar City, Colorado and a daughter, Marsha Tucker and husband, Ken, of Terra Haute, Indiana. Also surviving are three grandsons, Jason Russell, Chad Russell and Russell Tucker and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Bernard and Dale Russell.

Rev. Waylon Ingle will conduct funeral services at 10:30 A.M. Thursday, December 27^th at the Mt. Orum Baptist Church.

Burial will follow in the Mount Orum Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Wednesday evening at the Cheney Witt Chapel.

Memorials are suggested to the Mt. Orum Baptist Church and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O.Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Donna Lynn Bruner, age 73, resident of Ft. Scott, KS, died Wednesday, December 19, 2018, at the Mercy Hospital emergency room.

She was born on September 22, 1945, in Nevada, MO, the daughter of Ava “Brownie” Brown and Ethel Goins Brown.

She attended Ft. Scott schools until December of her senior year when her family moved to Spring Hill, KS. She always considered herself a member of the FSHS Class of 1963.

She married Evert Eugene “Gene” Bruner on December 20, 1963, in Ft. Scott. He preceded her in death on June 19, 2015.

Donna worked for Western Insurance Company in Ft. Scott for ten years, beginning in 1963. After her boys started kindergarten, she began working for Fort Scott Middle School from 1978 until her retirement in 2015.

Donna enjoyed cross stitch, reading, tending her flowers and watching birds at her numerous birdfeeders. She enjoyed working with the Fort Scott kids at school. Her great love was spending time with her family and watching all the grandkids’ activities.

Survivors include her daughter, Genea Bruner, Ft. Scott; two sons, David Bruner and wife Michelle, Ft. Scott, and Darren Bruner and wife Tracie, Lee’s Summit, MO; a brother, Terry Brown and wife Kristy, Spring Hill, KS; a sister-in-law, Katherine Ann Pritchett, Pratt, KS; grandchildren Kylie and Dylan, Ft. Scott, and Ben, Lee’s Summit; and several nieces and nephews.

Besides her husband Gene, she was preceded in death by her parents; and in-laws, Homer and Dortha Bruner.

Rev. Dusty Drake will conduct funeral services at 12:00 P.M. Wednesday, December 26^th, at the Community Christian Church.

Burial will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 11:00 until 12:00 Wednesday, prior to the service, at the church.

Memorials are suggested to the American Heart Association and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, P.O. Box 347, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Daryl Keith Swanwick was born in Columbus, Kansas on August 23, 1946, to Francis Darrell “Sonny” Swanwick and Alma Arlene McCorkle Swanwick of rural Oswego, Kansas. He attended Sunny View Elementary School, which was a one-room schoolhouse in his 1st-grade year, then replaced by a modern two-room school from his second through eighth grades. There were five students in his eighth-grade graduation class, four boys and one girl. Daryl sang The Marines Hymn at his graduation.

He graduated from Labette County Community High School in 1964, attended Kansas State University one year, then graduated from Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) in May 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

Daryl and Nancy Kathleen Austin had been married on January 25, 1969, at the First United Methodist Church in Parsons, Kansas.

He was drafted and inducted into the Army in July 1969. He was chosen to be an Image Interpreter with a Top-Secret Security clearance, doing his AIT at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, Maryland. Orders for Viet Nam were changed as his brother was already serving there, so he spent a year in Khorat, Thailand. When he returned home, he enrolled in chemistry courses at Pitt State while Nancy finished her degree, then did a year’s training at Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri to become a Registered Medical Technologist. Daryl and Nancy moved to Fort Scott, Kansas in December 1973 where he worked in the laboratory at Newman-Young Clinic for eight years, then the rest of his career at Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott, retiring on Dec. 18, 2008.

At his retirement, Daryl took up distance running. He trained for, entered, and placed in his age division in many half marathons beginning in 2009, and he has the medals and trophies to prove it. He also traveled all over the United States, Canada, Italy, France, England and Ireland with his wife and attended more quilting events than he ever planned to, always a good sport and supportive husband.

As a young father, Daryl was a “room dad” at Winfield Scott school, a soccer coach, T ball and Little League coach, 2^nd and 3^rd grade Sunday School teacher, a member of the Marching Dragoons and volunteer through the Fort Scott National Park Site, co-chair of the Fort Scott High School Booster Club, and became a very knowledgeable father/coach of two placekickers for the FSHS football team.

Baptized in the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church by Rev. Jerry Tubach in 1988 with his wife and sons as witnesses, he has been a very devoted and faithful member of the church. He has served on boards and since retirement has been the paint specialist on the Wednesday Morning Men work crew.

A retroperitoneal sarcoma, diagnosed October 1, 2018, took Daryl’s life. He was stoic and strong through the ordeal and those of us who mourn him take comfort that his faith was strong, and his pain was relatively short.

He was a kind and gentle man who will be forever loved and missed.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Austin Swanwick of Fort Scott; his sons and families, Matthew Austin Swanwick, wife Carissa, children Tatum and Elliott of Lenexa, KS; and Daniel Levi Swanwick, wife Catherine, and children Benjamin and Anna of Warrenton, Virginia; his father, F.D. Swanwick of Oswego; his brothers, Roger Swanwick of Wann, Oklahoma and Duane Swanwick and wife Traci of Alma, Kansas, his in-laws Virginia Austin Constance of Lawrence, Dennis Constance of Lawrence, T. J. and Sharon Austin of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and several nieces, nephews, aunts and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Alma Swanwick of Oswego, his parents-in-law, Kirk and Barbara Austin of Parsons, his sister-in-law, Carolyn Austin Brigman and her daughter, Laura Ann Brigman, of Mukilteo, Washington.

Daryl’s service will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, December 27, 2018, at the First United Methodist Church under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.

Visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. until service the at 11 a.m.

Burial will take place in the Oswego Cemetery, in the family plot purchased by Daryl’s great-great-grandfather, Lt. Col. Francis Swanwick, who served in the Black Hawk War and led the 22^nd Illinois Infantry in the Civil War before moving to Kansas.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Fort Scott or to Mercy Hospice, soon to be Integrity Hospice. They were truly a Godsend to Daryl and his family. Contributions may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, PO Box 309, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.

Charles Maurice Blevins, age 86, a resident of rural Ft. Scott, Kansas, peacefully passed away Saturday, December 15, 2018, at Country Place Memory Care in Ft. Scott.

He was born April 20, 1932, in Foster, Missouri, the son of Maurice Blevins and Hazel Hooper Blevins.

Charlie graduated from the Hume High School with the Class of 1950. He married Arlone Lee on February 23, 1952. They were married for sixty-six years. To this union two daughters, Ronda and Robin were born. Charlie served in the Korean War with the United States Army from 1952 to 1954.

Charlie was a caretaker of the soil; he raised corn, soybeans and wheat on farms in both Kansas and Missouri. He also operated several Grade A dairies. In addition, he always raised beef cattle and enjoyed every minute of caring for his cattle. He pulled a team of small horses at several pulling matches and even took them to Kansas City to be in the American Royal Parade. He also owned a matching pair of Belgian horses. Charlie owned and operated Blue Stem Cattle Company, a trucking business, hauling cattle to and from local sale barns.

Survivors include his wife, Arlone, of the home; two daughters, Ronda Hastings and husband, Bradley, of Grants, New Mexico and Robin Miller and husband, Stephen, of Ft. Scott; five granddaughters and nine great-grandchildren. Also surviving are a brother, Eddie Blevins and a sister, Pat Edgeman.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Betty Keiser and Joan Blevins.

Rev. Bradley Hastings will conduct funeral services at 10:30 A.M. Thursday, December 20 at the Cheney Witt Chapel.

Burial with military honors will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery.

The family will receive friends on Thursday from 10:00 A.M. until service time at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Leon Foster passed away peacefully Tuesday evening December 11, 2018, in Independence, Kansas, with family members by his side. He was 94.

He was born in McCune, Kansas, August 2, 1924, to Marie (Tridle) and Earl Foster. At McCune High School he excelled as a student and an athlete in track and football. After graduation in 1943, he immediately joined the Navy and served his country during World War II until 1946 as a hydraulics engineer building turrets for aircraft bombers.

After returning home, he attended Kansas State Teachers College in Pittsburg where he graduated with a bachelors and master’s degree in teaching and coaching and an E.S. degree in administration. He also played football for the college from 1946-1948.

He spent his entire professional career in education. He taught high school and coached many different sports in Kincaid, Sedan, Cedar Vale and Fort Scott, Kansas. He was a principal at Turner High School and returned to Fort Scott to become Dean of Fort Scott Community College and later became the college president. He moved to Independence, Kansas later in his career to become the president of the Independence Community College before retiring in 1986. Throughout his career, he touched the lives of thousands of young students and athletes, employees and colleagues.

After retiring he and his wife Earline became active members in the Kansas and International Airstream organization. During their over 25 years of participation, they saw the world pulling their travel trailer to Mexico, Newfoundland, Alaska, Canada and all corners of the US. For nearly 30 years they would travel with their trailer to South Texas and spend their winter months with friends.

Leon is survived by his wife Earline Foster of Independence, Kansas, his sister Gloria Wintjen of Joplin, Missouri, his son Stephen Foster of Jackson, Wyoming, and daughter Joan Foster of South Padre Island, Texas. He also has 3 stepchildren Luann Baker, Steven Wulz, and Curtis Wulz. There are also many step-grandchildren and step-greatgrandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM Monday, December 17^th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel, Fort Scott, Kansas.

Burial will follow in the U. S. National Cemetery in Fort Scott.

The family will receive friends from 3:00 until 5:00 Saturday afternoon at the Potts Chapel, Independence, Kansas.

They will again receive friends from 3:00 until 5:00 Sunday afternoon at the Cheney Witt Chapel, Fort Scott.

Memorials are suggested to the Red Cross and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, P.O. Box 347, 201 S. Main St., Fort Scott, Kansas 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.