Obituaries

Robert Lavern Smith age 94 of Paola passed away on August 29, 2024 at Delmar Gardens of Overland Park. Bob was born August 15, 1930 in Kansas City, Kanas to Henry Logan and Iva Ray Smith. He was raised in Kansas City, Kansas and attended Kansas City Public Schools. He married Dorothy Pennington in 1949 and they had a son Steven Lavern. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1961 he married Louise Leonard and they had two sons, Kevin Wayne and Charles Lynn. They made their home in Kearney, Missouri until 1966 when they moved to a farm west of Paola where they spent most of their married life and raised their sons and later helped raise their granddaughter. Bob raced motorcycles from 1949 to 1955 earning a pro ranking. He worked in the printing industry and was a member of the Graphic Arts Union. He later had his own excavating business, building ponds, doing farm work and working in the oil fields. He enjoyed spending time with family, tinkering around the farm, riding his 4-wheeler, hunting morel mushrooms and watching the Kansas City Royals. He was proceeded in death by his wife Louise in 2023, his parents, a brother James Henry, grandson James Lee and daughter in law Sherry Berglund Smith. He is survived by his sons Steven (Kathy) of Basehor, Kevin (Melanie) of Paola and Charles (Ria) of Lead, South Dakota, brother Kenny (Margaret) of Tonganoxie, sister Janice Ficke (Stephen) of Topeka, sister in law Sue Smith of Wichita, granddaughter Mallory Crowl (Casey) of Olathe, grandsons Timothy (Amy) of Berthoud, Colorado, Eric of Olathe, Austin (Maikla) of Olathe and Dennis of Liberty, Missouri, 4 great grandchildren Cali, Tyler, Silas, and Asa and many nieces and nephews.Cremation no services planned. arrangements by Dengel and Son Paola Chapel.

Shirley Arleen Hubbard age 84 of Paola passed away on August 30th at Northpoint Nursing home. She was born on August 1, 1940 in Branson Missouri to Ralph and Alta Belle Keeler English. On September 3, 1961 she was united in marriage to Jesse Eugene Hubbard in Reed Springs, Missouri. Shirley worked as a hairdresser for many years also she worked as a clerk at Paola Hardware Store. She enjoyed spending time with family, cooking, quilting and singing in the church choir, where she was very active at the Trinity Lutheran Church. She was preceded in death by her parents, and one son Kenneth. Surviving is her husband Eugene, her sons Nathan Alan Hubbard (Christy) and Anthony Hubbard (Jennifer), sister Betty McGinnis, 6 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by family and friends. Visitation will be 6 to 8pm Friday September 6th at Dengel and Son Mortuary 305 N. Pearl St. Paola. Funeral Services will be Saturday September 7th at 11am at the Trinity Lutheran Church of the Block Community. Memorials may be made to the Trinity Lutheran Church Choir.

Patricia Rae Fox, aged 88, passed away peacefully on August 27, 2024, in Olathe, Kansas. Born on January 5, 1936, in Overland Park, Kansas, Patricia led a life marked by dedication to her family, community, faith and numerous passions.

KELLERMAN Zechariah Taylor Wood Kellerman, age 31, of Centerville, Kansas passed away Tuesday, August 6, 2024. He was born on January 14, 1993 in Bellingham, Washington the son of Janet Sue Brownback.

Garret Delson Brumley, 56, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, passed away on July 14, 2024, after a driver crashed into his vehicle. Garret was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 13, 1967, to Gary and Glenna (Cherry) Brumley of Louisburg, Kansas. He graduated from Louisburg High School in 1985 and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Missouri- Kansas City in 1989. On June 3, 1989, Garret married the love of his life, Juneitta Kolkmeyer, at St. Luke Evangelical Free Church in Wellington, Missouri. They shared a deep and abiding love and recently celebrated their 35th anniversary. They made their home in Lee’s Summit, raised two children, Eric and Kayla, and were members of Abundant Life Church. Garret served as the Director of Software Engineering supporting ExamOne for Quest Diagnostics. He was successful in numerous Information Technology leadership roles throughout his 38 years of service with the company, several of which were spent with SBSI (1986-1998) and LabOne (1998-2005) before Quest acquired them. Although his knowledge and work ethic were exemplary, nothing was stronger than the empathy, kindness, and compassion he showed to those around him. Garret’s life was anchored in his love for God, his family, and his friends. As such, he was passionate about life in everything he did. He was an inspiring role model, selfless leader, empathetic friend, encouraging coach, friendly neighbor, and the ultimate epitome of a loving and compassionate family man. Garret proudly supported his kids throughout all their interests in life whether it be coaching their teams, never missing a game or performance, or cheering on their college teams with them. Garret’s unconditional love for his family reflected the way God loves His children. The way Garret lived for God and his Christlikeness were an incredible influence on his family and those around him. Garret was adventurous. He enjoyed traveling, being outdoors, exploring new restaurants

Walda Ann Baker, formerly of LaCygne, Kansas, passed peacefully on August 3, 2024. She was born January 14, 1943 to Walter and Edna (Moulton) Hilliard.

Judith A. Spitzenberger Blackburn age 83 of Lane, Kansas passed away peacefully on August 12th, 2024, at the Olathe Hospice House. Judy was born on July 15th, 1941, in Osawatomie, Kansas to James and Alta Barnes Spitzenberger and was followed two years later by her brother Donald. The family moved to Paola where Judy attended school, graduating from Paola High School in 1959. Ronald Blackburn captured Judy’s heart and the couple were united in marriage February 10th, 1962, making their home in Paola and welcoming daughter Leslie in 1967, and son Randy in 1972. Judy loved becoming a mother, homemaker and enjoyed gardening and canning.