Ruth O’Dell, age 84, a former resident of Mapleton, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at the Ft. Scott Manor in Ft. Scott, Kansas.

She was born January 21, 1933, on the family farm near Lacygne, Kansas, the daughter of Clemmit Anderson and Edith Reynolds Anderson.

She married Donald Eugene O’Dell on February 28, 1953, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ruth lived in Kansas City for a time where she was employed by the Wonder Bread Bakery. She later worked at a service station in Ft. Scott and helped her husband with their own service station in Mapleton. She was a past member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Survivors include two sons, David Hearn and wife, Rosemary, of McPherson, Kansas and Claude O’Dell, of Ft. Scott and a daughter, Donna Thomas, and husband, Danny, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and three grandsons. Also surviving is a sister, Betty Hall, and husband, Allen, of Pittsburg and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her husband, Don, preceded her in death on October 30, 2004. She was also preceded in death by her parents, four brothers, Clarence, James, Howard and Henry Anderson and two sisters, Velma Miller and Viola Collins.

Jay Lotterer will conduct funeral services at 10:30 A.M. Monday, January 15 at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will follow in the Mapleton Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Lee’s Paws and Claws and may be left in the 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.

Evelyn Lucille Reynolds, age 95, a former resident of Uniontown, KS, died Thursday, January 4, 2018, at Windsor Place, Iola, KS.  She was born on June 5, 1922, in Elgin, KS, the daughter of Charles C. and Bertie Macher Mumbower.

She married Willis J. Reynolds on August 17, 1940, in Nevada, MO.  He preceded her in death on October 16, 2009.

Lucille was employed by USD 235 School District as a part-time custodian from 1967 until retiring in 1984.  She loved outside work including gardening with her husband.  She was a member of the First Missionary Baptist Church of Uniontown since 1960.

Survivors include her son, Jimmy L. Reynolds, Uniontown; as well as several nieces and nephews.  Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Gilbert and Bob Mumbower; and two sisters, Minnie McBride and Beulah Sipe.

Rev. Marty DeWitt will conduct funeral services at 10 AM Monday, January 8, at the Cheney Witt Chapel.  Burial will follow in the Uniontown Cemetery.  Memorials are suggested to the First Missionary Baptist Church of Uniontown and may be left in the 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.

Emil Charles Mashek, age 85, a resident of rural Richards, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, January 2, 2018, at the Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Missouri. He was born December 24, 1932, in Seward, Nebraska, the son of James Lewis Mashek and Mary Hromas Mashek. He served in the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. Following his military service, he relocated to the Mashek family farm near Richards, where he farmed and raised cattle for the remainder of his life. He married Carmen Dobry on December 11, 1959, at Girard, Kansas. Emil was a member of the Olson Frary Burkhart Post #1165 Veterans of
Foreign Wars of Ft. Scott, the Ft. Scott Elks Lodge and the American Legion Post of Dwight, Nebraska. In addition to his life on the farm, he enjoyed going to casinos and playing cards.

Survivors include his wife, Carmen, of the home; two sons, Steven Mashek, and wife, Jodee, and David Mashek, all of Richards; a grandson, Skylur Emil Mashek also of Richards and two step-grandchildren, Victoria Krohn and husband, Stephon and Jonathon Ireland, all of Moore, Oklahoma. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, James Mashek and a sister, Mary Ann Shane Jauernig.

Rev. Kevin Moyers will conduct funeral services at 1:30 P.M. Saturday, January 6 at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial with military honors will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery in Ft. Scott. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 P.M. Friday at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Vernon County Youth Fair and may be left in the 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.

Virginia Marie Chambers, 90, of Fort Scott, and formerly of Hiattville, Kansas, passed away Thursday evening, December 28, 2017 at the Country Place Memory Care in Fort Scott.

She was born July 31, 1927, in Girard, Kansas, the daughter of Don and Imo Irene (Rogers) Salmon. She married John Joseph “Joe” Chambers May 28, 1950, in Hiattville, Kansas, and he preceded her in death June 24, 1995.

Virginia graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1944 and during her time there was able to take courses from Fort Scott Junior College, graduating with sixteen college credit hours. She continued her education in the summers and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Pittsburg State University in 1957. In 1963, she received her Master’s degree in School Administration from PSU.

Virginia taught in rural schools including Hepler Elementary in Crawford County and in the USD 234 and USD 235 schools for thirty-nine years, the last eighteen as a Title I Reading Teacher at West Bourbon Elementary. She retired in 1985. She also worked for the Economy Book Company training teachers to teach the phonics method of reading.

Virginia was a member of the Hiattville United Methodist Church where she served as pianist and organist for over sixty years. She was instrumental in writing and directing the annual Christmas Program, and she also served as Choir Director, Sunday School Teacher, as well as helped with Vacation Bible School.

After moving to LaCygne, she transferred membership to the LaCygne United Methodist Church and remained an Associate Member of Hiattville United Methodist. She was a Lifetime Member of the Ideal Chapter #369 Order of Eastern Star which merged with Olive Chapter, the Kansas State Teacher’s Association, and the Bourbon County Retired Teachers Association. She received the Kansas East Conference Denman Award for Evangelism.

Survivors include close friend and heart-adopted daughter Regina Woodworth and husband Tom, of Iola, Kansas; brother Harold Salmon and wife Segrid of Placerville, California; sisters-in-law Juanita Long and Shirley Chambers, both of LaCygne, Kansas; numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband Joe, Virginia was also preceded in death by her parents.

Rev. January Kiefer will conduct funeral services Wednesday, January 3, 2018, at the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, with burial following at the Fort Scott National Cemetery.

The family will receive friends Tuesday evening, January 2, 2018, from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Fort Scott Community College endowed scholarship, Hiattville United Methodist, or LaCygne United Methodist, and 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.