Obituaries

Virginia (Ginny) L. Sherman passed away at the age of 69 on Oct. 2, 2023, at the age of at Avita Family Health and Rehab under the care of Phoenix Hospice.

Ginny was born in Wichita on Nov. 21, 1954, the daughter of Ernestine V. Sherman and George A. Sherman. She grew up in Haysville, where she was involved in Girl Scouts, and was an active choir and Sunday school member at Haysville United Methodist Church. She enjoyed helping her mom with many activities there.

Stephen "Steve" Manford Bronston, 77, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. 
He was born on June 29, 1946, to Jack and Pauline Hope (Hughes) Bronston. Steve served four years in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam era. Professionally, he worked for Disney Animation, Xerox and in tooling for the first space shuttle and two of the Apollo missions. He retired from Cessna Aircraft after 25 years as a tooling engineer.

Connie (Shobe) Hartman passed away at the age of 93 on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

The visitation will be held at Shinkle Mortuary, Haysville, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, with family present. Rosary will follow at 6:30 p.m. at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Haysville. Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, Oct. 5, at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Haysville.

Judith M. "Judy" Thimesch, 80, died peacefully on Sept. 27, 2023, at Villa Maria Nursing Home in Mulvane, after dealing with the lifetime effects of getting polio when she was 14 years old.

She was born on Oct. 17, 1942, in Cheney to Joe and Olga Thimesch.

Judy was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Robert; nephew, Mike Thimesch; sister-in-law, Kathy; and brother-in-law, Alvin Merrill. She is survived by her siblings, Dan (Ruth) Thimesch, Irene Merrill, Carolyn (Duane) Bergkamp and Janice May.

A celebration of life for Kenneth Edward Lunak, age 62, of Enid, Okla.,, will be 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 30, at Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home with the Rev. Jim Edmison officiating. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home and Crematory.

Ken was born on June 3, 1961, to Frank and Audrey (Trethewey) Lunak in Milwaukee, Wisc., and passed away suddenly on Sept. 23, 2023, in Enid.

Anita F. (Tyson) Patterson, age 95, farmwife, of Wichita and formerly from Clearwater, passed away on Sunday Sept. 24, 2023.

Service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at Webb-Shinkle Mortuary Chapel, Clearwater.

Anita was born on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 1927, in Wichita to her parents, Harold E. and Lucille R. (Carter) Tyson. She was united in marriage to W.S. “Pat” Patterson on Dec. 16, 1956, in Clearwater.

Dale W. Atkeson, 86, of Wichita, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. He was born Dec. 25, 1936, to Jesse and Adella Atkeson in Ashland, Kan.

Dale was a retired music teacher for 39 years in the Chase, Garfield, Macksville and Haysville school systems. Mr. A's students expressed that when they had no place in life, he gave them a place in the band.

Dale is survived by his wife, Donna; children, Dee Anne Proctor (Dan), Darise Fillmore (Mark), Daniel Atkeson (Wendy), and Donelle Rey (Del); 14 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Olena Maxine (Penland) Holden, 90, passed away Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at her residence near Argonia.

She is survived by her husband of 72 years, Bill Holden; her children, Vicki Dudley of Mulvane, Randy Holden of Wichita, Davy Holden of Price, Utah, Debbie Plagmann of Derby, and Daniel Holden of Argonia; 16 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

A private family interment was in the Holden Family Cemetery, Argonia. A memorial Mass will be held at a later date.

Lauren B. (Branson) Johnson, age 72, born on Sept. 14, 1951, in Wichita, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Clearwater.

Visitation will be noon-7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, with family present, 5:30-7 p.m., at Webb-Shinkle Mortuary. Graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept 26, at Clearwater Cemetery.

Lauren earned her degree from Wichita State University in elementary education. She married John on Aug. 1, 1981.

She was preceded in death by husband, John H. Johnson; parents, Robert E. and Jean (Kufus) Branson; and son-in-law, J. Finney.