Phyllis Norris, 88, of Fort Scott, passed away at her home Saturday morning, April 11, 2020. She was born March 11, 1932, in Liberty, Kansas, the daughter of Archibald Warren and Hazel Johanna (Johnson) Austin.

She married Claude Wayne Norris on September 24, 1950, in Cherryvale, Kansas, he preceded her in death on April 30, 2017.

Phyllis attended the Mercy School of Nursing and later worked at the Newman-Young Clinic from 1959 to 1997. She was a member of the Church of Christ.

She is survived by a daughter, Jonni Stanton, and husband, Steve, two sons, Mike Norris and wife, Kathy, and Phillip Norris and wife, Debbie all of Fort Scott, a sister-in-law, Joycelyn Malone and husband, Keith, grandchildren, Jerod Stanton, Lindsey Gulager, Linda Cabuay, Lisa Davis, Megan Vincent and Andy Norris, and 12 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, Claude, she was preceded in death by her parents.

Phyllis was cremated per her wishes.

Memorial services will be held at a later date under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made in Phyllis’s name to The Beacon, Inc. contributions may be sent to, or left in the care of, the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home at P.O. Box 309, 15 W. Wall Street, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701

The family encourages friends to sign Phyllis’s memorial book at the funeral home. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.

Elder James O. Johnson, age 74, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away early Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at the Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Missouri.

He was born June 16, 1945, in Supply, North Carolina, the son of Carlie Hughes and Laura Ruth Johnson.

He married Catherine Jackson on August 18, 1989, at Ft. Scott. James had served with the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.

He was currently serving as pastor of the Mt. Sinai Church of God in Christ.

Survivors include his wife, Catherine, of the home and his two children, Terrence Johnson and Elinor Johnson, both of Ft. Scott and a grandson, Isiah Johnson. Also surviving are a brother, Carl Johnson, Jr. (Barbara) of North Carolina and a sister, Orene Fullwood More, of Maryland.

He was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Mia Johnson and a brother, Robert Johnson.

A memorial service will be held at a later date

. Private burial will take place Friday at the U. S. National Cemetery in Ft. Scott.

Memorials are suggested to the Mt. Sinai Church of God in Christ 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.

Marilyn Young, age 88, a resident of Leawood, Kansas, passed away Saturday, April 4, 2020, at the Glenwood Village of Overland Park.

She was born November 19, 1931, in Ft. Scott, Kansas, the daughter of Elmer Phillips and Marjorie Eagon Phillips. Marilyn graduated from the Ft. Scott High School and the Ft. Scott Junior College.

Shen married Jack A. Young in July of 1954, at Ft. Scott. Marilyn had worked as a reservationist for Braniff Airlines.

In her spare time, she enjoyed reading, tending to her flower garden and watching the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs on television.

She and Jack also enjoyed taking the occasional trip “down to the boats.”

Survivors include her son, John Young and his wife, Jeri, of Garland, Texas; her granddaughter, Lauren Minyard and her husband, Kyle and a great-granddaughter, Lucille Minyard.

Marilyn’s husband, Jack, preceded her in death on December 1, 2019. She was also preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Phil Phillips.

Private burial will take place Thursday, April 9^th at the U. S. National Cemetery in Ft. Scott, Kansas.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, Kansas.

John Thomas Durbin Jr., 54, died suddenly on Monday, March 30th from complications related to illness.

John was born on May 21, 1965 in Salinas, California to John Durbin, Sr. and Mary Durbin, the youngest of five children.    

John is survived by his wife, Kelli Durbin (Long), his four children: Micheal Murphy, John, Micheal, and Jeffery Durbin; two step-daughters and a step-son:  Katelyn, Ladonna, and Dylan Long; his three older sisters: Kathy Biggert, Dee Anna Poole, and Faith Durbin; six grandchildren: Taylor, Rebecca, Ayden, Jorden, Knox, and Waylon; and one great-grandchild: Vincent, as well as four nephews and a niece: Jimmy Poole, Jr., Brandon Poole, Matt Brown, Jessica Brown, and Daniel Durbin.

 He was preceded in death by his parents:  John Thomas Durbin Sr. and Mary Durbin (Wicham); his older sister: Candy Brown, as well as his daughter, Justina Marie.

No public services will be held, nor are contributions necessary.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

E. Irene Stockstill, age 90, formerly of Uniontown, KS, went home to be with her lord. She died on April 3, 2020, at her daughters’ home.

She was a lifetime member of First Missionary Baptist Church of Uniontown, KS. She taught Sunday School to the sandbox kids for years at the church every Sunday. She was always ready to help if there was something that needed to be done. She had perfect attendance at church for 25 years. She was always ready with a smile, a kind word or a hug to anyone who was present.

She also worked in the kitchen and lunchroom at Uniontown High School for a number of years. She enjoyed all the people she worked with but especially all the children who came in to eat lunch at school.

Private burial will take place in the U. S. National Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of the Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

In the month of May, 1939 in the central Kansas town of Natoma Roberta Mae (Reynolds) Peck was born into the family of Pastor W.R. and Essie Faye Reynolds.  Her next address would be Covington, Tennessee, then on to West Virginia where her parents ministered to churches in Ashford, Chapmanville, and Huntington.  During those growing-up years she learned to take great pride in being a “West Virginia girl” and often referred to herself as such.   She and her older brother, Arnold Lee, and younger sister, Donna Faye were gifted singers.  At a very young age they were involved in musical concerts, contests, Lion’s Club, Eastern Star, revivals and camp meetings.

In response to the desire to have their children attend a Christian school, the Reynolds family moved to Kansas in 1953.  Roberta began the ’53-’54 school year at Fort Scott Bible School (later known as Fort Scott Christian Heights) in Fort Scott, Kansas as a high school freshman, graduating in 1957.  When a caring, perceptive high school teacher, Marjorie Boldra, told Roberta that she should become a teacher, she took it to heart and established that as her goal.  After graduation she went on to Pittsburg State University to earn her Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Arts in Elementary Education.  Roberta began her teaching career as a third grade teacher in Lee’s Summit, MO.  Later, she joined the faculty at Fort Scott Christian Heights, where she taught for seven years.  In 1972 she responded to a need for Fort Scott USD 234 to begin a Special Needs Education Program.  She taught there four years before moving into the third grade classroom for USD 234.  She served for many years in that capacity, dearly loved by her superiors, co-workers, students, parents – actually, by all who knew her.  Roberta truly loved to teach.  It seems it was what she was born to do, and she fulfilled her calling with excellence.  One of her oft-repeated joys was to have a former student come up to her and tell her she was his/her favorite teacher ever.  She has stayed in close contact with many of those students.  The last day of her career coincided with her 70th birthday, after 45 years of teaching.

During the busy years of her teaching career, Roberta also found time for her ALL-TIME FAVORITES, her family!  On December 21, 1964 she married Wayne L. Peck, who farmed several acres of land southeast of Fort Scott.  Though she once said “I will never marry a farmer,” she did!  She embraced it and learned to love the farm.  She took a year off from teaching on two very worthy occasions, for the birth of daughter Kimberly Dawn and the birth of son Keniston Wayne.  Her family now includes grandchildren: Braden, Aubrey, Nick, Paige, and her husband, Jeff, and great grandson, Caden.  They are genuinely her greatest pride and joy!  Her retired life revolved around her grandchildren’s sporting events, planning special celebrations for the family and establishing unique traditions for them.

Anyone who knew Roberta knows how much she enjoyed laughter and good times with family and friends.  Those good times might even involve a prank or two!  They also know she was a strong Christian and prayer warrior, often sharing your prayer burden as though it were her own.  Those prayers will be greatly missed by her immediate and extended family members!  She will be missed by a multitude, but her spirit will be with us always, a spirit we would all do well to emulate.

Roberta traded her treasured farm home for her heavenly home on April 4, 2020.  She is survived by her husband, Wayne; her daughter and her husband, Kim and Bruce Murphy of Olathe, KS; her son and his wife, Keniston and Tonya Peck of Webb City, MO; her grandchildren: Braden and Aubrey Peck, Nick Murphy, Paige (Murphy) and her husband, Jeff Wixson; and a great grandson, Caden Wixson.  She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Marcy Reynolds of Fort Scott, KS; two sisters and their husbands: Donna and Gerald Carlson of Pinson, AL; Mary Lou and Wayne Sams of Harrisonville, MO; one brother and his wife, Bob and Sharon Reynolds of Olathe, KS; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.  She was preceded in death by her parents, W.R. and Essie F. Reynolds, and her brother, Arnold Reynolds.

Private family burial will take place in the Evergreen Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Fort Scott Christian Heights and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Daisy Lalinda Lee Burton, age 58, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kansas, passed away Thursday, April 2, 2020, at 12:55 A.M. at Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Missouri.

She was the daughter of R. Rela Holmes and Artist Burton of Bradley, Arkansas. She resided in Blue Mound, Kansas.

Mama Daisy had five children, Moses L. Burton, age 39, Glory Anamana Relf, age 35, Vondric E. Relf, age 34, Irella Burton, age 32, and Ireana Burton, age 32.

Daisy had thirteen grandkids, three girls and ten boys.

Daisy had worked at Key Industries for three years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, R. Rella Holmes and Artist Burton and her brother Andrew L. Callahan and brother, Jimmy.

Also surviving are David C. Haynes and Glory Ann Callahan and a host of sisters and brothers on her dad’s side, Audry (Michele), Gail (Rico), Wayne, Lee Artis (Chanaya), Virginia (Kenneth), Rebecca (Vincent), Michael (Denise), Sabina (Thomas), Jason (Tonya), Alex, Crystal (Chester) and a great host of nieces and nephews.

Cremation was handled by Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

John David Bidwell, age 47, passed away on March 25, 2020 in Fort Scott, Kansas.

John was born on July 21, 1972 in Norwalk, California.

John is survived by his daughter, Brianna Bidwell; son-in-law Juan Salas; grandchildren, Scarlet, Rowan and Phoenix Salas; mother and step-father, Brenda Hammons and Bill Hammons; father and step-mother, Ronald Bidwell and Marilyn Bidwell; grandfather, Donald Bidwell; sister Teri Matthews; nieces and nephews, Taylor Morgan, Cody Morgan, Kassidy Matthews and Braedon Matthews; Aunt and Uncle, Glenda and Phil Garcia; Aunt, Sheri Landrum; cousins, Travis Leake, Don Landrum and Kristi Ledesma; life-time friend Carrie (Honey) Robison and her children.

John was a very sensitive and loving person. Although he struggled in much of his adult life, he always had a big heart and would share whatever he had with anyone. He was making plans (it was his heart’s desire) to take a trip to California to see his daughter and grandchildren.

John loved the outdoors. Before moving to Kansas, he worked many years as a groundskeeper/caretaker of a large property at Piute Mountain near Lake Isabella, California. He dreamed of going there again someday and expressed he wanted Piute to be his final resting place.

John is now reunited with his grandparents, Virginia Landrum, J.D. Landrum, and Ethel Frost; Uncle, Paul Landrum. John recently shared with his family that he loved Jesus and Jesus was in his heart. John will be missed and will forever be in our hearts.