Theron Fitzpatrick, 89, Neosho Falls, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013, at Allen County Regional Hospital in Iola.
Theron was born Nov. 24, 1923, in Geneva, the son of Edward Anthony and Anna Thresa (Mabie) Fitzpatrick. He grew up and lived his entire life in the Geneva and Neosho Falls communities.
On Aug. 22, 1948, Theron married Pauline Stovall. He enjoyed farming, raising cattle, and also ran a saw mill with a neighbor during the winter months. He liked to hunt and fish with family and friends. Pauline preceded him in death on Nov. 15, 2004.
Theron served on the board of directors of the Piqua Farmers Co-op and Woodson County FHA.
Survivors are two sons, Ed Fitzpatrick and companion Chris, Neosho Falls, and Ken Fitzpatrick and wife, Rhonda, Wellington; daughter Patsy Mapes and husband, Dan, Skiatook, Okla.; five grandchildren, Heidi Theurer and husband, Travis, Casey Fitzpatrick, Anna Lucas and husband, Nic, Emily Mapes and fiancé, Terry Reed, and Eli Mapes; and five great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Georgia Mae Cleaver.
Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola.
Visitation will be prior to the service.
Burial will be at Geneva Cemetery, northwest of Iola.
Memorials can be made to Geneva Cemetery Fund. Memorial gifts may be left with Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel of Iola, which is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.iolafuneral.com.
Udell Hobelman
Udell Hobelman, 92, Colony, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013, at Allen County Regional Hospital in Iola.
Udell was born Sept. 22, 1920, in Oklahoma City, Okla., the son of William and Anna Hobelman. He moved to the Moran area with his family.
He married Marjorie Hank and they later divorced. Udell and Freda Bohm were married and made their home on the Horville farm near Iola until moving to a farm southeast of Colony in 1973. She preceded him in death on Jan. 19, 1998.
Survivors are his son, Rodney Hobelman and wife, Michelle, Snohomish, Wash.; daughter, Kay Maple Westerman and husband, Wendell, Iola; sister, Dorothy Schultz and husband, Melvin, Sapulpa, Okla.; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Olan Hobelman and a sister, Vera Harmon.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Highland Cemetery in Iola.
Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel of Iola, is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.iolafuneral.com.
Doris Hill
Doris Hill, 91, was taken from this life into the presence of her heavenly Father on Monday, Aug. 12, 2013, at her home in Iola.
Visitation will be from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola.
Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel in Iola.
Burial will be at Kincaid Cemetery, Kincaid.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.iolafuneral.com.
Mary Odaffer
Mary Imogene “Imo” (Coover) Odaffer, 82, Parsons, passed away Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013, at the Good Samaritan Society in Parsons where she had resided since Feb. 27, 2012.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Faith United Methodist Church, 3035 Crawford Ave., Parsons. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery. Visitation is 6-8 p.m. Friday at Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons.
Memorials are suggested to Faith United Methodist Church and can be left at or mailed to Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, KS 67357.
Online condolences may be left at www.forbeshoffman.com.
Clarence Johnson
Clarence Hartley Johnson, 82, Burlington, passed away Monday, Aug. 12, 2013, at his home.
He was born Oct. 6, 1930, in Salem, S.D., the son of Clarence Lester and Esther Hannah (Krull) Johnson.
When he was 10 years old the family moved from Salem to Kansas and Clarence graduated from Burlington High School. Not long after high school he entered the U.S. Army. Following his discharge he returned home. He became acquainted with Luella Bernice Serl and they were married on Dec. 18, 1956, in Iola.
They lived in Burlington for five years before moving to California where Clarence was an inspector for Lockheed Martin Aircraft until his retirement. In 2001 he and Luella returned to make their home in Burlington.
Clarence was baptized in the Burlington Christian Church.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Marlys Burk-hart.
He leaves Luella, his wife of more than 56 years; seven children, Linda McElfresh and husband, Lindsay, Le Roy, Steven Johnson and wife, Gail, Burlington, Ronald Johnson, Burlington, Michael Johnson, Le Roy, Larry Johnson and wife, Teresa, Le Roy, Debra Johnson, Burlington, and Cynthia Garceau and husband, Arthur, Gridley; 24 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Carolyn Thomason, Topeka.
Clarence was cremated. Memorial services will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at Jones Funeral Home in Burlington.
John Wagner Jr.
John Wagner Jr. 81, LaHarpe, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013, at Labette Health in Parsons.
John was born May 9, 1932, in Garnett, the son of John David and Violet Genelle (Hartman) Wagner. He grew up in Moran. John served in the U.S. Army 15th Inf. Regt. 3rd Div. during the Korean War, attaining the rank of Cpl. E4 and was awarded the United Nations Service Medal, Korean Service Medal-w/1 Bronze Service Star, National Defense Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Good Conduct Medal and New Korean War Service Medal.
On Sept. 5, 1956, John married Eva L. Burton in Iola and over the years they have made their home in Iola, Moran and LaHarpe. He worked as a heavy equipment operator and diesel mechanic for Nelson Quarries for 57 years.
His memberships include Calvary United Methodist Church, LaHarpe Veterans of Foreign Wars, Iola American Legion, 40 et 8 and The Graybeards. John enjoyed gardening and raising flowers.
Survivors are his wife of 56 years, Eva Wagner; his five children, Jeanne Harles and husband, Will, Moran, Leon Wagner and significant other, Stacey Tate, Moran, Gary Wagner and significant other, Kelly Morrison, Iola, Janet Stafford and husband, Ron, Thayer, and Kevin Wagner and wife, Rachel, Hiattville; two brothers, Bill and Deliena Wagner, Hepler, and J.V. and Ila Wagner, Moran; one sister, Maxine Engle, Fort Scott; 14 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren with another great-granddaughter on the way; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his in-laws Bert W. and Goldie Florence (Creason) Burton, son Larry Dean Wagner, brother Melvin Dean Wagner and sister Florine Stewart.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Calvary United Methodist Church in Iola.
Burial will be at Highland Cemetery, Iola.
Memorials can be made to Calvary United Methodist Church or 40 et 8. Memorial gifts may be left with Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel of Iola, which is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences for the family may be left at www.iolafuneral.com.
Good study habits can give edge on learning material
The summer slide — when children lose valuable skills and information over the three-month hiatus — is about to end.
Soon, area students will be back behind their desks having all sorts of information — some useful, some not — drilled into their heads. For parents, teachers and students alike, the challenge is to make it all stick.
To help make the learning experience more valuable, researchers have determined two study habits help students retain new information better.
Put away the highlighter and don’t reread the text ad infinitum. Instead, play teacher.
That’s right.
Throw yourself a pop quiz over the material.
The results are two-fold. Firstly, knowing which questions to ask shows an understanding of the general concept of the material studied. Secondly, finding the answers and rehearsing them with flash cards, for instance, helps cement them in the old, or young, noggin.
Short, frequent self-exams also help students prepare for the real thing, without the pressure.
The second bit of advice is against learning everything you can about one subject in a short period of time. It doesn’t stick.
Instead, space out the study of a subject, say Spanish, over a period of days — the longer the interval the better.
Although it goes against typical textbook learning, psychologists have found that students better retain new concepts when they can come back to them at least 30 days later. Ideal learning conditions include six- to 12-month gaps to return to a specific concept — although that plays havoc with a traditional learning schedule.
Having several days before a certain class is repeated helps students develop better recall of fundamental concepts.
This method of distributive practice works best when learning a new language, playing an instrument, and even advanced skills such as medical surgery, according to researchers published in the recent edition of the journal “Scientific American Mind.”
Other helpful techniques include having students ask themselves “why” questions to the topic at hand forcing their minds to do more than just rote memory. This elaborate interrogation process helps students see a subject at different angles.
Students can better learn a subject by pretending they are participating in a debate, where they must explain a topic thoroughly with justifications for their reasoning.
Learning how to learn more effectively can give students lifelong skills. When it comes down to it, we’re all perpetual students — with a lot to learn.
— Susan Lynn
Cross country campers
Twenty-nine high-schoolers learned in-depth running instruction recently as part of Vince DeGrado’s second annual Allen Community College cross country runners camp.
The camp drew participants from as far away as Topeka, Kansas City and Oklahoma, DeGrado said, and included Iola High’s Jeremy Spears.
In addition to several training runs, campers played a number of games and underwent a computerized gait analysis to better detail their strengths and deficiencies as distance runners. The 29 runners were about twice as many as those who participated in 2012, DeGrado said.
“Every year I try to either improve on the previous year’s presentation or come up with something different,” he said. “I personally don’t like to do the same things over and over again, I believe that creates complacency and when it comes to running, there is always room for improvement. The camp itself is designed to get the campers EXCITED about their upcoming season which is why I have it so close to the start of their season.
“The gait analysis is something that is pretty foreign to a lot of them,” he said. “They were pretty shocked after I put them through the analysis and then I literally go through each runner’s mechanics and give them feedback to help them. A lot of mechanical errors can correct future injuries from happening. It’s almost too simple, but yet one of the most neglected aspects of any runners program.”
The Allen cross country season begins with the second annual Red and Black scrimmage Friday in Iola.
Marceline Bishop
Marceline Luellen Bishop, 83, Garnett, passed away Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013, at the Anderson County Long Term Care Facility, Garnett.
Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel, Garnett, with burial in Garnett Cemetery. Visitation is this evening from 6 to 8 o’clock at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Marceline Bishop Memorial Fund.
Davis has guts
Rep. Paul Davis is testing the waters for a 2014 gubernatorial race.
He should jump in.
As the current House minority leader, Davis, D-Lawrence, has a wealth of experience.
Besides, he walks his talk, meaning his votes reflect his values.
In this most recent legislative session Davis voted “nay” on four key issues. All passed, which is not to say Davis is not representing his constituents. To the contrary.
For example, Davis voted against reducing state income tax rates.
Kansas legislators are taking our state down a road to disaster because of their unwillingness to properly fund schools, highways, and social services.
Already, fiscal year 2013 is behind last year’s budget numbers.
Yes, all the buzz from the revenue department says receipts are “up” $90 million. But that’s against what was expected.
In fact, today’s revenues are $72 million behind last year’s at this time.
Poll after poll has shown Kansans view education, healthcare and infrastructure as a responsibility of the Legislature. You can’t be pro-education but anti-tax in the same breath.
DAVIS ALSO was in the minority by voting against the authorization of handguns in state buildings.
Starting July 1, persons licensed to carry concealed guns are able to enter most public buildings armed.
The new law has made city, county and school district officials seek exemptions to avoid the costly security measures necessary to detect firearms.
Davis also voted against Kansas’ claim that it need not obey federal laws regarding firearms.
In regards to Kansas courts, Davis voted against authorizing the governor to have sole authority to appoint judges to the Kansas Court of Appeals.
The old system included a commission, which vetted nominees for the governor’s appointment.
Giving the governor this power raises all kinds of temptation to return favors by appointment to the bench of the state’s second-highest court. Word has it Brownback also wants the same power for appointments to the state’s Supreme Court.
To his credit, Davis is not looked upon favorably by the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity tea party movement, which gives him a 10 percent rating for his political stances.
At the other end of the political spectrum, the Kansas Association of School Boards gives him a 75 percent rating. He’s also received endorsements from Kansas Farm Bureau and the state chapter of the AFL-CIO.
Davis is on record for supporting a stronger minimum wage and in 2009 praised then-governor Kathleen Sebelius for raising the state’s minimum wage from $2.65 an hour to $7.25 an hour.
Contrary to his voting record, Davis is a positive and amiable person with energy to spare.
He’s also gutsy to be willing to go up against Brownback, who walked away with a 63 percent majority in the 2010 race against State Sen. Tom Holland.
Davis knows his candidacy is a longshot — unless the voters say otherwise.
— Susan Lynn