JEFFCOUNTYNEWS.COM

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008

Edward Riedel

Edward A. Riedel
    Edward A. Riedel, 85, Valley Falls, died Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008, at the Jefferson County Hospice care facility at Winchester.
    He was born on Oct. 11, 1923, at St. Peter in Graham County, the son of John J. and Anna K. Rome Riedel.
    He owned and operated Ed Riedel’s Body Shop in Valley Falls for 27 years.
    He was a member of St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Valley Falls. He was a 4th degree member of Knights of Columbus for 58 years and a charter member of Council 6671 in Valley Falls. He was the first Grand Knight of Council 6671 and served as Faithful Navigator.
    Ed served on the USD 338 School Board and was a volunteer fireman. He was a member of the Lions Club, Rotary, the Jefferson County Baseball Association and was a Meals on Wheels volunteer.
    He married Elizabeth Ann Kammer on Nov. 26, 1949, at Topeka.
    He was preceded in death by two brothers, Johnny Riedel and Joe Riedel, and three sisters, Isabelle Fiffe, Aurelia Artzer and Viola Gross.
    Survivors include his wife, Ann, Valley Falls; a son, Ed (Alma) Riedel, Gilbert, AZ; four daughters, Gerianne (Dave) Harrington, Valley Falls, Agnes (Wayne) Smithers, Ozawkie, Pat (Bill) Lederer, Lawrence, and Joleen (Bill) Morris, Valley Falls; two brothers, John Vernon Riedel, St. Peter, and Bob Riedel, Topeka; six sisters, Doris Perry, Clara Finan, Mary Lynn Ryan, Leona Kinderknecht, all of Salina, Vera Hartman, Grainfield, and Jeannie Gross, Hays; 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
    Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, at St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Church in Valley Falls. Burial will be at the church cemetery.
    Visitation was at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday at St. Mary’s Church with a Chalice Service at 7:30 followed by a Rosary.
    Memorial contributions may be made to Jefferson County Hospice and sent in care of Mercer Funeral Home, 810 Broadway, Valley Falls, KS 66088. mercerfuneralhomes.com

Nellie Bird
    Nellie Becker Bird, 98, died Oct. 14, 2008, at McCrite Plaza in Topeka.
    She was born Nov. 9, 1909, on a farm near Meriden, the twin daughter of Edward and Lottie O’Brien Becker. She moved to Topeka in 1918 and attended Topeka Public Schools, graduating from Topeka High School in 1928.
    She graduated from McClellands Business College, worked for Capper Publications and later for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad as a stenographer. She learned to play golf from her brother Marshall Becker and won the Topeka Golf Club Championship title in 1932.
    She was a member of the Topeka Seratoma Club and Santa Fe Old Timers. She made quilts, one of which was displayed at Bloomingdale’s Department Store in New York as part of the Kansas Exhibit. This quilt is now in the permanent collection of the Kansas History Museum.
    She was an 86-year member of Central Congregational Church.
    She married Charles Denton Coffman in 1933. They divorced and in 1959 she married, Chalmers Bird. He preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her brothers, Lester, Leo, Lloyd, and Marshall and more recently by her twin sister, Louise Stafford of Bremerton, Wash.
    She is survived by a daughter, Judy Coffman Bray, Topeka; two grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and a stepdaughter, Suzanne Bird, Lawrence.
    Funeral services were Oct. 18 at Central Congregational Church. Private internment will follow at the Meriden Cemetery.
    Memorial contributions can be made to Heart of America Hospice, 3715 SW 29th Street, Suite 20, Topeka, 66614.
    Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel, Topeka, was in charge of arrangements.

Loreta Zwygart
    Loreta Jean Zwygart, 81, Meriden, died Oct. 16, 2008, at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka.
    She was born Nov. 22, 1926, at McLouth, the daughter of Jacob “Jake” and Zelma Ruth Lowe Brey.She was a lifelong resident of the Ozawkie and Meriden area.
    Mrs. Zwygart was a homemaker. She was a 1944 graduate of Ozawkie High School.
    She married Lloyd Gene Zwygart March 31, 1946, at Ozawkie. He survives at the home.
    Also surviving are one son, Lynn Zwygart, Meriden; four brothers, Alfred Brey, Sabetha, Dale Brey, Topeka, and Charles “Chuck” Brey and Eldon Brey, both of Oskaloosa; two sisters, Belva Fox, Leawood, and Ceona Michaelson, Topeka; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
    She was preceded in death by one son, Larry Gene Zwygart, July 1, 1979.
    Funeral services were Oct. 20 at Barnett-Chapel Oaks Meriden Chapel. Burial was at Ozawkie Cemetery.
    Memorials can be made to the organization of the donor’s choice and sent in care of the funeral home, P.O. Box 331, Meriden, 66512.

Nancy Boyer
    Nancy Jeanne Boyer, 45, Overland Park, succumbed to a 2 ½-year battle with cancer Oct. 14, 2008.
    She was born Feb 6, 1963, in Great Bend, the daughter of John and Marilyn Marye. She graduated from Valley Falls High School in 1981. She also attended Emporia State and Washburn universities.
    She married Philip L Boyer June 1, 1985. He survives of the home.
    She is also survived by her parents, Topeka; brothers, Rusty Marye Overland Park, and Jeff Marye, Olathe; and a grandmother, Marjorie May, San Jose, Calif.
    Mrs. Boyer spent most of her adult life working in the travel industry, earning the unofficial title of “Travel Queen” because of her good works. Her final position was as an account manager for Shorts Travel.
    Services were Oct. 21 at Blue Valley Christian Church in Overland Park.
    Memorials can be made to Kansas City Hospice House, 12000 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, Mo. 64145.

Tisha Yearout
    Tisha Lynne Yearout, 46, Overland Park, died Oct. 13, 2008, as the result of an automobile accident.
    She was born March 6, 1962, in Alameda, Calif. She spent her early years living in various states, including Hawaii, with her mother and sister as her father served in the U.S. Navy.
    Relocating to Kansas in 1976, she entered Shawnee Mission Northwest where she was crowned homecoming queen in 1980. She then went to the University of Kansas where she became a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. Tisha graduated with a degree in nursing in 1985. She worked in a hospital intensive care unit and as a flight nurse.
    She married Bobby Yearout in 1990. He survives of the home.
    She was recently preceded in death by her grandmother, Susie Downing, McLouth.
    Other survivors include three daughters, Haley, Hanna, and Jamie; a son, Ryan; her father and mother, Lyndall and Roberta Ford, Olathe; and a sister, Tawnya Ford of Texas.
    Her father is a Valley Falls native and her mother is a McLouth native. Tisha was a niece of Daryl and Bette Ford, Valley Falls.
    Funeral services were Oct. 17 at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. Memorial contributions can be made to Saving Grace Productions, United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, 13720 Roe Ave., Leawood, 66224.

Donald Royer
    Donald Ray Royer, 79, Carbondale, formerly of Valley Falls, died Oct. 19, 2008, at an Overbrook care facility.
    He was born Jan. 24, 1929, at Valley Falls, the son of Clark S. and Orpha Dickey Royer.
    He graduated from Valley Falls High School and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
    He was a truck driver in Topeka.
    He was a member of VFW Post 2709 at Scranton.
    He married Lois Arlene Christie. They were divorced.
    He was preceded in death by four brothers, Harold Royer, Milton Royer, Claude Royer, and Kenneth Royer.
    Survivors include two sons, Steven Royer, San Francisco, Calif., and Larry Royer, Montclair Calif.; a daughter, Christie R. Collins, Tucson, Ariz.; and 11 grandchildren.
    A memorial service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at Mercer Funeral Home in Valley Falls. Burial with military honors conducted by Grahem-Herbers VFW Post 3084, will be at the Valley Falls Cemetery.
    Memorial contributions can be made to Hospice Care of Kansas and sent in care of the funeral home, 810 Broadway, Valley Falls, 66088.

Allen Hoefeler
    Allen Loyd Hoefeler, 76, McLouth, KS died Sunday, October 19, 2008 at his home.
    He was born Oct. 8, 1932, in Van Buren, Mo., the son of John and Gladys Bucy Hoefeler.
    He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War.
    Allen worked as a typesetter by trade and retired as owner of Allen’s Typesetting Co., Glendale, Calif.
    He married Marie Elizabeth Koch Aug. 22, 1959, in Hemet, Calif. She survives of the home.
    Other survivors include two daughters, Cheryl Lynn Conklin, West Covena, Calif., and Heidi Stoker, McLouth; a sister, Joyce Wells, Hemet; and four grandchildren.
    No service is planned.
    Memorials are suggested to Jefferson County Hospice and can be sent in care of Quisenberry Funeral Home, PO Box 993, Tonganoxie, 66086.