Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008

Obituaries Archive

R. Carl Shankland

R. Carl Shankland, 92, Topeka, died Sept. 16, 2008.

He was born Feb. 22,1916, in Las Animas, Colo. He graduated from high school there and attended Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, where he met his wife of 66 years, Mary Jane Steves. They married on her birthday, Jan. 29, 1939.

He went to work on the construction of the Parsons Army Ammunition Plant. Shortly after war broke out, he joined the Army and the 2nd Engineering Special Brigade. He left for the South Pacific, again on his wife’s birthday, Jan. 29, 1943. Carl took part in seven combat landings at New Guinea, Biak, and the Philippines as a member of the Shore Battalion, 542nd Boat and Shore Regiment, 2nd Engineering Special Brigade, eventually becoming Echo Company Commander.

He was in an LST in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender and was one of the first Americans ashore, where he spent several weeks traveling the Japanese coast spiking coastal defense guns. After the war the couple settled in the Topeka area.

He retired from the Kansas Army National Guard in 1976. He also retired from the University of Kansas printing service in 1981. He was a long-time member of the Military Officers Association of America, and was active in a local chapter of the AARP.

He was preceded in death by his wife and a grandson. He is survived by three children, Michaele Willis, Baldwin City, Kevin Shankland, Valley Falls, and Don Shankland, Holton; 13 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.

Services were Sept. 19 at the Mt. Hope Cemetery Chapel. Inurnment was in the Mt. Hope Cemetery. Penwell-Gabel Mid Town Chapel, Topeka, assisted with services.

Elizabeth Foster

Elizabeth Ann “Betty” Foster, 76, Topeka, formerly of Meriden, died Sept. 18, 2008, at Aldersgate Village Nursing Home in Topeka.

She was born Dec. 4, 1931, at Meriden, the daughter of Jessie and Elsie M. Neiberger Zinn. Mrs. Foster was lifelong resident of the Meriden and Topeka area.

She was a homemaker and had formerly worked for Southwestern Bell Co., the Meriden School District No. 340, and Kansas Insurance Department. She was a member of Women of the Moose Lodge in Topeka and a member of Order of Eastern Star Chapter No. 399 in Meriden.

She married Charles Duane “Cork” Foster in Topeka. He survives at home. Other survivors include two sons, Larry D. Foster, Meriden, and Ronald D. “Ron” Foster, Topeka; a daughter, Sandy Foster, Topeka; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by a brother, Clarence Zinn.

Funeral services were Sept. 22 at Barnett-Chapel Oaks Meriden Chapel. Burial was at Meriden Cemetery. Memorials can be made to Midland Hospice and sent in care of the funeral home, P.O. Box 331, Meriden, 66512.

Larry Shannon

Larry Damon Shannon, 69, Cleveland, Mo., died Sept. 19, 2008, at Kansas City Hospice House in Kansas City, Mo., as the result of a stroke.

He was born April 16, 1939, to Glen Damon and Doris Mae Trued Shannon in Merwin, Mo. One of three boys, he grew up in Merwin where he attended grade school and graduated from Miami High School in 1956.

He received a B.S. degree in agriculture at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He was a member of the Farm House Fraternity.

He married Jean Welston in Merwin Dec. 24, 1959. Mr. Shannon served in the Army National Guard and Army Reserve from 1960 to 1966. In 1969 he was a member of the Rotary Exchange Group traveling to Australia. He was a cattleman for several years after college until becoming president of Citizens Bank in 1977 and served in this capacity until 2004.

Larry continued his cattle operation even after retiring from the bank and was currently serving as chairman of the board. He served as deacon and elder at the Merwin Christian Church and later transferred to the West Line Christian Church.

He was a member of the Missouri Cattleman’s Association where he served as vice president, Missouri Banker’s Association board member, University of Missouri Curator’s Board and was instrumental in forming the committee for the McGinnis Youth Center.

Survivors include his wife of the home; a son, Randy Shannon, Drexel, Mo., formerly of Valley Falls; two daughters, Kelli Koberlein, Lawrence, and Angela Blume, Louisburg; two brothers, Dennis Shannon, Drexel, and C. J. Shannon, Amsterdam, Mo.; five grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were Sept. 23 at Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel in Butler, Mo. Burial was in West Point Cemetery, Amsterdam. Memorial contributions can be made to Kansas City Hospice House, West Point Cemetery, Merwin Christian Church or Westline Christian Church.

Jaquita Langston

Jaquita I. Langston, 86, Lawrence, died Sept. 16, 2008, at home.

She was born June 4, 1922, in Wichita, the daughter of Arlie L. and Charlotte Mustoe. Mrs. Langston was a homemaker.

She lived in Oskaloosa for many years. After her husband retired, they worked at Clinton State Park selling permits. They wintered at Alamo, Texas, for several years.

She married Harold L. Langston Sr. Dec. 24, 1940, in Topeka. He died in August 2005. Survivors include a son, Harold “J.R.” Langston, Topeka; two daughters, Sue Ann Langston, Topeka, and Shelley Langston, Lawrence; a brother, Arlie L. Mustoe Jr., New Jersey; three sisters, Sandy McCabe, Topeka, and Sharon Jackson and Sheila Christy, both of Texas; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Marguerite Zink, Valley Falls, is a sister-in-law.

Mrs. Langston was cremated and no services are planned. Memorial contributions can be made to Midland Hospice, 200 SW Frazier Circle, Topeka, 66606-2800.

LaDonna Kitterer

LaDonna J. Kitterer, 71, Laurie, Mo., died Sept. 18, 2008, at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach, Mo.

She was born in Kansas City to Opal L. and David E. Rankin. She graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1955. In 1968 she moved with her family to Lenexa, retiring to Laurie in 1999.

She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Ronald L. Kitterer, Laurie; a sister, Virginia L. Sweaney, Oskaloosa; a daughter, Rhonda K. Greene, Shawnee; sons, Brian C. Kitterer, Kansas City, Mo., and Brad A. Kitterer, Lenexa; and two grandsons.

Visitation services were Sept. 22 at Amos Family Funeral Home, Shawnee. Graveside services were Sept. 23 at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Kansas City.