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OBITUARIES Updated 7/1/09 Anderson Richard C. “Rick” Anderson, 55, Topeka, died June 26, 2009, at a Salt Lake City, Utah, hospital. He was born April 11, 1954, in Garnett, the son of Claude C. and Martha M. Cherry Anderson. He attended Garnett High School. Mr. Anderson served in the National Guard. He worked for Cross Ambulance and Hospital Ambulance, both in Topeka, Anderson County Ambulance, Jackson County EMS, Brown County EMS and Leavenworth EMS. He also worked for Frontier Airline from 2004 until his death. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Hoyt Fire Department from 1984 to 1986. He married Donna Kramer on March 6, 1976, in Topeka. They divorced. Survivors include two daughters, Jennifer Anderson and Kristen Anderson, both of Topeka; a son, Joshua Anderson and wife Sarah, Topeka; two brothers, Robert “Andy” Anderson and wife Carolyn, Topeka, and Sonny Anderson, Garnett; a sister, Laurie Anderson, Garnett; his stepmother, Marie Anderson, Garnett; and six grandchildren, Kayla, Marshall, Alyssa, Abygail, Chastin and Alexander, all of Topeka. He was preceded in death by a sister, Jeannie Taylor. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. July 3 at First Church of the Nazarene in Topeka. Committal service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday in Garnett Cemetery at Garnett. Family will greet friends from 9 a.m. until service time July 3 at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, sent in care of Mercer Funeral Home, P.O. Box 270, Holton, KS  66436. Online condolences may be sent to www.mercerfuneralhomes.com Kennedy Robert V. “Bob” Kennedy, 91, Soldier, died June 29, 2009, at a Topeka hospital. He was born Oct. 9, 1917, at Soldier, the son of Charles and Cathryn Walsh Kennedy. He graduated from Holton High School in 1936. Mr. Kennedy served in the U.S. Army National Guard and later in the Army Air Corp as a pilot during World War II. He was a farmer and a stockman. He was a member of St. Dominic Catholic Church in Holton. He married Hazel K. Bock on June 20, 1942, in San Diego, Calif. She survives. Other survivors include three sons, Tom Kennedy and wife Bev, Silver Lake, Pat Kennedy and wife, Cathy, Circleville, and Mike Kennedy and wife Mary, Soldier; three daughters, Sue Kennedy, Topeka, Jeanne Long and husband Denzel, Plano, Texas, and Karen Othmer and husband, Treve, Topeka; 13 grandchildren, Kevin Long, Jeff Long, Tiffany Vazquez, Dustin Kennedy, Michael Kennedy, Jeremy Kennedy, Eric Blackwood, Brock Blackwood, Jared Blackwood, Chris Kennedy, Michelle Dallas, Katlin Othmer and Carly Othmer; and 17 great-grandchildren. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. July 2 at St. Dominic Catholic Church. Burial with military honors will follow in Olive Hill Cemetery. Mr. Kennedy will lie in state at Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Holton, where a rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. July 1, followed by visitation. Memorial contributions may be made to the Down’s Syndrome Guild or St. Dominic Catholic Church, sent in care of Chapel Oaks Funeral Home, P.O. Box 1034, Holton, KS 66436. Online condolences may be sent to chapeloaksfuneralhome.com Kerwin Kenneth “Kenny” S. Kerwin, 84, Delia, died June 28, 2009, at a Rossville care center. He was born Jan. 19, 1925, at Delia, the son of Robert E. and Mary A. Hanrahan Kerwin. He grew up in the Delia community and graduated from both the Delia grade and high schools. Mr. Kerwin farmed for many years around the Delia area and was also a rancher. He received the 1967 Bankers Award for conservation practices. In 2002 he received the Outstanding Conservationist Award for continuing maintenance of his conservation practices. After retiring from farming and ranching in 1985, he went to work for Kaw Valley USD 321, retiring in 1994. He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Delia, where he served as a parish council member for several years. He was a member of the Nights of Columbus, St. Marys Council 657, and was a Fourth Degree member of the Thomas A. McNeive Assembly of the Knights of Columbus. He served on the Farmers Union Co-op Board for many years and was a past member of the Delia Lions Club. He was instrumental in the formation of the Cross Creek Watershed Joint District 42 and served as its president for 42 years, retiring in April 2004. He married Donna J. Hards on October 3, 1945 at Assumption Catholic Church in Topeka. She survives. Other survivors include two brothers, Clinton Kerwin and wife Winnie, Rossville, and Leo Kerwin and wife Virginia, Wellsville; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by an infant son, Larry Stephen; his parents, Robert E. and Mary A. Kerwin; an infant brother, Aloysius; and a brother, Robert A. Kerwin. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. July 2 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in St. Marys. Interment will be in Mount Calvary Cemetery, St. Marys. Mr. Kerwin will lie in state after 2 p.m. July 1 at Piper Funeral Home in St. Marys, where a rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Delia or Heart of America Hospice and sent in care of Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple St., St. Marys, KS 66536. Online condolences may be sent to www.piperfuneralhome.com. 6/29/09 Dahlstrom Doris E. Dahlstrom, 78, died June 27, 2009, at a Topeka hospital. She was born Dec. 3, 1930, in Harold, S.D., the daughter of Charles “Reece” and Audrey Ammon Gunselman. Mrs. Dahlstrom was employed by Prudential Insurance and Finney & Turnipseed early in her working career. She founded “Knit With Doris” and ran the business for 30 years. She was a member of the Delta Theta Chi sorority. She married Floyd Dahlstrom in 1952. He died in 2000. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. July 1 at Highland Park United Methodist Church, 29th and Michigan, Topeka. Internment will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Netawaka Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 30 at Penwell-Gabel Southeast Chapel at 29th and Minnesota in Topeka. Memorial contributions may be made to the Capper Foundation, 3500 S.W. 10th St., Topeka, KS 66606. Online condolences may be sent to www.PenwellGabel.com Eddy Steven Kent Eddy, 74, Topeka, died June 24, 2009, at a Topeka care center. He was born Feb. 8, 1935, on the family farm in Savannah, the son of Galen Coates and Edith Carnahan Eddy. He attended public school in Havensville and college at Kansas State University in Manhattan, where he obtained a degree in mathematics in 1959. Mr. Eddy spent several years in the U.S. Army Reserves. He worked for a short time at IBM in Topeka, then worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Kansas City, Mo., for the remainder of his working years. He had lived in Junction City from 1993 to 2009 and recently moved to Countryside Health Center in Topeka. Survivors include three sisters, Mary Stewart and husband Lawrence, Marshalltown, Iowa, Nora Smith, Tucson, Ariz., and Gail Stern and husband Dan, Manhattan Beach, Calif.; and several nieces and nephews and their families. He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother-in-law, Jack Smith; and a nephew. Graveside services were held June 27 in Havensville Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Havensville Rural High School, sent in care of Tessendorf-Chapel Oaks Funeral Home, P.O. Box 300, Onaga, KS 66521. Online condolences may be sent to chapeloaksfuneralhome.com Kennedy Robert V. "Bob" Kennedy, 91, Soldier, died June 29, 2009, at a Topeka hospital. Funeral arrangements are pending with Chapel Oaks Funeral Home in Holton. Online condolences may be sent to chapeloaksfuneralhome.com Paxton Sharolyn Kay Paxton, 66, Holton, died June 24, 2009, at Holton Community Hospital. She was born Dec. 8, 1942, in Holton, the daughter of Francis “Everett” and Selma Rannebeck Jones. She graduated from Holton High School in 1960. Ms. Paxton was a cook at Jackson County Nursing Home in Holton for more than 30 years, retiring in December 2007. She was a lifelong member of the Holton community and a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church. She married Cecil Ray Paxton on Jan. 28, 1961, in Lehigh, Okla. They divorced. Survivors include a son, Kevin Jay Paxton and wife Jennifer, Holton; two daughters, Shelly Kay Robinson and husband Dan, Circleville, and Shelby Ray Brey and husband Tony, Whiting; her stepmother, Lila Jones, Holton; a sister, LouAnn Porter and husband David, Mayetta; a brother, Larry Jones and wife Kathy, Holton; three stepsisters, Duranna Crouch, Auburn, Debbie Richmond, Lyndon, and Dianne Mosier, St. Marys; a stepbrother, Dennis Rannebeck, Lawrence; grandchildren, Kyle and Zachary Amon, Colette, Whitney and Michael Robinson, Peyton and Paige Paxton and Adam and Abby Brey; four nieces; and three nephews. She was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Nicole Rae Amon, in 1994. Funeral services were held June 29 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Holton. Burial was in Netawaka Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church or Holton Community Hospital, sent in care of Mercer Funeral Home, P.O. Box 270, Holton, KS 66436. Online condolences may be sent to www.mercerfuneralhomes.com 6/24/09 Hart Margaret Ellen Hart, 77, Augusta, formerly of Holton, died June 22, 2009 at a Wichita hospital. She was born Nov. 30, 1931, in Holton, the daughter of Lozelle and Grace Bergin Kunkler. She was a graduate of Holton High School, a housewife and homemaker and had attended St. James Catholic Church in Augusta. She married Raymond Lyle Hart Jr. on Aug. 31, 1950, in Wetmore. He died Aug. 30, 2005. Survivors include a son, Bill Hart and wife Julie, Columbia, Mo.; two grandchildren, Michael and Ashlee Hart, Columbia, Mo.; a sister, Suzanne Biggs and husband Gale, Boulder, Colo.; a niece, Roxanne Bennis, Stratford-upon-Avon, England; and a nephew, Bruce Gregory-Biggs, Centennial, Colo. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. June 24 at Mercer Funeral Home in Holton. Burial will be in Wetmore Cemetery. The family will greet friends from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 23 at the funeral home. Memorials may be given to the Wetmore American Legion, sent in care of Mercer Funeral Home, Box 270, Holton, KS 66436. Online condolences may be sent to www.mercerfuneralhomes.com. Thornton Hilda Freda Thornton, 83, died June 29, 2009 at a Horton hospital. She was born March 22, 1926, at home in Franklin Township near Holton, the daughter of William and Freda Schumaker. She grew up in the Sabetha area and moved to the Whiting area when she was about 17. She graduated from Whiting High School in 1945. Hilda and her cousin Rose then went to Topeka together to attend Washburn University to get teaching certificates. Hilda first taught in a one-room school house west of Whiting called the Banks School. Then she taught south of Whiting at the Parallel School. She was a member of the Whiting United Methodist Church. On April 24, 1948, she married Kenneth Dale Thornton in Hiawatha. He survives of the home. Other survivors include her son Larry and wife Cindy Thornton of Whiting; brother, Fred Schumaker of Whiting; four grandchildren, Rebekah Savage and husband Chet of Murphysboro, Ill.; Brett Oxandale and wife Jenny of Topeka; Adam Thornton and wife Erin of Wamego; and Brent Oxandale and wife Stephanie of Olathe; five great-grandchildren, Bailey, Kendall, Brady and Reese Thornton and Keith Savage. She was preceded in death by her parents, a daughter, Cindy Kay Oxandale on May 1, 1993 and a brother, Willie Schumaker. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Dishon-Maple-Chaney Mortuary in Horton, where the family will greet friends on Wednesday evening from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Burial will be at the Springhill Cemetery, Whiting. Memorials may be sent to the Whiting United Methodist Church in care of the mortuary. A special message may be sent to the family at www.dishon-maple-chaney.com