Luke Leon Stricker, 63, of Winona, Kansas, and former Milberger, Kansas resident, died on Saturday, March 04, 2023, at the Wilson Care and Rehabilitation Center in Wilson, Kansas.  Luke was born on March 27, 1959, in Russell, Kansas, the son of Leon Henry and Carla June (Pruter) Stricker.  He grew up on the family farm in Milberger and graduated from Russell High School in the class of 1977.  He was blessed with two children Jenna and Shawn.  Luke worked as a farmer on the family farm but also worked selling farming machinery throughout Kansas and Nebraska.  He was a longtime

Doris Marie Knight Blanke, 93, of Russell, Kansas, and former Kensington, Kansas resident, died on Saturday, March 04, 2023, at the Russell Regional Hospital. Doris was born on May 04, 1929, in Phillips County, Kansas, the daughter of Howard and Julia (Lala) Smith.  She was born and raised on the family farm south of Kirwin, Kansas.  She attended Jaybird country school through grade school.  Her father died from tuberculosis when she was 12 and her mother remarried when she was 14.  The family moved to a farm north of Kensington, Kansas, and Doris graduated from Kensington High School.  She was

Marvin Bryan Miller, 89, of Claflin, Kansas and former Russell, Kansas, resident, died on Thursday, March 02, 2023, at his home in Claflin surrounded by his family. Marvin was born on June 17, 1933 in Paradise, Kansas, the son of Vernon and Fay (Stielow) Miller.  He grew up in the Paradise, Kansas, area on the family farm and attended local schools.  He met, fell in love, and was united in marriage to Shirley Jean Schumaker on October 09, 1954, in Russell, Kansas.  From this union Marvin and Shirley were blessed with four children Linda, Debra, Marlene and Bryan.  He served

Dustin Dean Poche’, 44, of Russell, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, February 28, 2023 in the quiet peace of his home. Dustin was born March 31, 1978 in Russell.  He was one of two sons born to David Humphrey and Nancy Marie (Dole) Poche’.  He grew up in Russell, Kansas and Gramercy, Louisiana and graduated from Russell High School in 1997.  He then attended the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver receiving his BFA. Outside of Russell, Kansas Dustin lived in Gramercy, Louisiana, New York City, New York and Denver, Colorado.  Dustin and lifelong partner, Matthew Driscoll, lived together until Matt’s

Allen Arthur Finkbeiner, 78, passed away February 21, 2023, at the Wheatland Nursing Center in Russell, Kansas, surrounded by his family. Allen was born June 2, 1944, in Wilson, Kansas to Reverend Arthur A. and Ellnor (Schoenberger) Finkbeiner. He grew up in Wilson, Gaylord, Rush Center, and Smith Center – graduating with the Smith Center class of 1962. He also graduated from the Wichita Technical Institute in the years following. Allen met and married Margaret Hulstine on June 4, 1977. They were blessed with and raised three children, Tim from Allen’s first marriage to Wynona Koker, and Amiee and Holly

Floyd Dennis “Denny” Cornwell, 64, of Luray, Kansas, died on Friday, February 17, 2023, at the Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kansas. Denny was born on December 06, 1958, in Osborne, Kansas, the son of Keith B. and Eleanor R. (Walls) Cornwell.  He grew up in rural Luray, Kansas on the family farm and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School in the class of 1978.  He lived in the Luray area all his life and worked as a farm laborer on a local farm and also worked for many years at Heartland Hay.  He was a longtime member of the Luray

Kay Lyn Dumler Dinkel, 67, passed away Wednesday February 15, 2023 at her home in rural Russell, Kansas surrounded by her family. Kay was born March 12, 1955 in Russell to Carl A Dumler and Florence E (Keil) Dumler. She lived her entire life in Russell and graduated from Russell High School in the Class of 1973. She married her forever best friend and love, Bryan on August 10, 1974. They were very proud parents of Brent and Todd. They were the absolute pride and joy of their lives. Kay and Bryan were involved in all of the activities that

LoAnn Carolyn Sechtem, 81, of Russell, Kansas, died on Tuesday, February 07, 2023, at the Russell Regional Hospital. LoAnn was born on March 09, 1941, in rural Hoisington, Kansas, as the first child of Homer and Alvina (Karst) Eurich.  When her father died in an explosion, LoAnn was only a year old.  Her mother then moved LoAnn and her sister Marjorie to the family farm with Alvina’s parents, William and Lydia Karst.  The family’s language of choice was German until Alvina met and married Calvin Templeton, a soldier from West Virginia who had been stationed at Walker Air Force Base

Martin Lloyd Schneider, 64, of Russell, Kansas, died on Tuesday, February 07, 2023, at the Russell Regional Hospital emergency room. Martin was born on June 06, 1958, in Russell, Kansas, the son of Lloyd Raymond and Marjorie Louise (Hoopes) Schneider.  Martin grew up in Russell and graduated from Russell High School in the class of 1977.  Martin met, fell in love and was united in marriage to Deborah Ann Sipes on June 06, 1991 in Gorham, Kansas.  He worked as a custodian at Bickerdyke Elementary in Russell for 12 years and was a clerk for 22 years at the Russell

Marvel June Mitchell Castor, 87, of Russell, Kansas, passed away peacefully Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at Russell Regional Hospital with her children by her side. Marvel was born March 28, 1935 on the family homestead near Covert, Kansas, the only daughter of Albert Lyle and Helen Lorene (Orr) Mitchell. She lived her early years on the family farm with her parents and older brother, Doyle and younger brother, Gerald. Marvel enjoyed her life on the farm. She loved to ride horses and was known for doing trick riding on her pony. Marvel also helped with her father’s cattle herd and