Obituaries in Kansas Newspapers (arranged by city)
Janice A. Lamping
Janice A. Lamping, 74, of Seneca, Kansas, died Monday, January 29, at the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in Seneca. She had been in ill health for several years.
She was born October 11, 1926, at Seneca, the daughter of C. Herbert and Gladys Donaldson Walker. She grew up in Seneca and graduated from the Seneca Public High School in 1944. She attended Washburn University in Topeka for two years.
On November 1, 1946, she married
Harold D. Lamping at Seneca. They lived in Lawrence while her husband went to the University of Kansas, and moved to Oakland, New Jersey in 1948. Her husband, Harold, died April 29, 1979.
Mrs. Lamping returned to live in Seneca July 31, 1979. She was a member of the United Methodist Church at Seneca. She was a very generous person who had given donations to the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital, the Seneca Free Library, her church, the Seneca E.M.T's, the Fire Department, other organizations and friends in need. Her most recent contribution was for bullet-proof vests for the Seneca Police Department. She loved going to bingo with her friends. A special project of hers was feeding neighborhood cats.
Survivors include a cousin, Ramona Murk of Concordia.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her father, Herbert "Fat" Walker on December 23, 1985, and her mother, Gladys Walker on March 6, 1992.
Funeral services will be 1 P.M. Friday, February 2, 2001, at the Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca. The burial will be in the Seneca City Cemetery. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 7 to 8 P.M. Thursday. Mrs. Lamping will lie in state at the funeral home after 3 P.M. Wednesday.
Memorial contributions may be given for the Seneca E.M.T. Association.
Mildred M. Lanning
Mildred M. Lanning, 98, of Seneca died early Sunday morning March 6, 2005 at the Life Care Center in Seneca.
She was born October 15, 1906, at Seneca, the daughter of Henry L. and Sarah Jane Stevens Carpenter. Mildred grew up in Seneca and graduated from the Seneca Public High School in 1925. Following graduation Charles Story, the county clerk, employed her at the Nemaha County Clerk’s office. This is where she met her husband to be, Nemaha County Attorney Harry Lanning. She also played the piano at the Seneca Theater for silent movies along with Charles Jermane on the bass and her brother, Herb Carpenter.
She married
Harry Lanning on June 19, 1929. They lived in Seneca, and she worked at her husband's law office. During the 1950s she was employed in the Nemaha County Register of Deeds office for Mildred Firstenberger. Her husband, Harry, preceded her in death on August 23, 1981. She continued to live in her home until her health required nursing care. She first entered the Apostolic Home at Sabetha and later entered Life Care Center in Seneca.
She was a member of the United Methodist Church, the Eastern Star for over 75 years, the G.F.W.C. Seneca Woman’s Club, and the P.E.O., all in Seneca. She was active in Seneca community activities and liked playing bridge. Mildred came from a musical family and enjoyed music and playing the piano all her life.
Survivors are two sons, Judd A. Lanning of Norman, OK and Albert B. “Bruce” Lanning of Topeka; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by five brothers, Roy, Floyd, Dewey, Herbert, an infant, and Fray Carpenter; and a sister, Betsy Carpenter.
Funeral services will be 1:30 P.M. Wednesday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca. The burial will be in the Seneca City Cemetery. The family will meet with friends on Tuesday from 7 to 8 PM at the Lauer Funeral Home, where she will lie in state after 8:30 A.M. Tuesday.
Memorials may be given for the United Methodist Church or Life Care Center both at Seneca and sent in care of the family.
Ronald O. Larkin
Ronald O. Larkin, 60, of Axtell, Kansas, died Saturday, December 21, 2002, at his home in Axtell. He bravely fought cancer for three years.
He was born June 15, 1942, at Axtell Kansas, the son of Francis and Elizabeth Lierz Larkin. He grew up on the family farm east of Baileyville, KS and graduated from B & B High School in 1960.
On February 23, 1963, he married
Janice Heiman at Sacred Heart Church at Baileyville. She survives of the home in Axtell.
He attended Highland Community College, Benedictine College at Atchison, and Clayton University at St. Louis, Missouri. He received a degree in business administration. Ron worked for the Mobil Oil Corporation for 32 years in transportation and distribution. He spent 18 years living and working in the Kansas City area before being transferred with the company to their chemical and fertilizer division in Princeton, Illinois for nine years. Ron's next move was to Mobil Mining and Minerals in Lakeland, Florida for 10 years. He was also the owner of BeeLine Signs in Lakeland, Florida. Ron retired in 1997, and he and his wife moved back to the Axtell area in 1998.
He was a member of St. Michael's Church where he was a lector and a CCD teacher, the Knights of Columbus, and served on the Axtell city council. He was a member of the Lion's Club in Illinois, served on the United Way Board in Florida, served on school boards, parish councils, and found time to devote to youth in all the communities he lived. Ron loved all sports from the K.C. WYCO Little League to Florida Junior Olympics Volleyball. He chaired many athletic organizations as well as coached in various sports over 35 different teams through the years. As a history buff, he loved to read, and he collected replicas of World War II fighter planes.
Survivors besides his wife Janice, are a son; Randall Larkin of Lawrence, Kansas; three daughters, Lisa Coultas of Valrico, Florida, Jana Gudenkauf of Axtell, Kansas, and Joy Lohmeyer of Lone Tree, Colorado; his mother, Elizabeth Larkin of Seneca, Kansas; a brother, Bruce Larkin of Baileyville; a sister, Mary Heiman of Olathe, Kansas; and eight grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his father on December 15, 1995; his brother, Russell Larkin on February 29, 2000; and two infant brothers, James Michael Larkin on December 12, 1959 and Bruce Albert Larkin on September 24, 1945.
The mass of Christian burial will be 10 A.M. Tuesday at St. Michael's Church at Axtell. The burial will be in Sacred HeartCemeteryat Baileyville, Kansas. The rosary will be prayed at 2 and 7 P.M. Monday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.
Memorials may be given for St. Michael's School at Axtell and sent in care of the family.
Anna M. (Wempe) Lauer
Anna M. Lauer, 92, of Seneca, KS, died on Monday, November 11, 1974 at the Marysville Community Hospital. She had been a resident at the Mary Marshall Manor care home in Marysville for the past few years.
She was born on April 13, 1882, in Fidelity, KS, to Anton and Barbara Meunch Wempe. Her father was the first storekeeper and postmaster in Fidelity. The family moved to a farm west of Seneca in 1892, and Anna attended school there.
On May 17, 1904, she married
Philip J. Lauer at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Seneca. She assisted her husband in the funeral business that he had started in 1901, what was later to become Lauer Funeral Home. Her husband Phil preceded her in death on January 10, 1933.
Anna, or "Grandma Lauer" as she was known to her extensive family, who considered her a matriarch, remained in good health and lived in Seneca until only four years ago, when her health started failing and she entered nursing home care.
She was a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Church and St. Ann's Altar Society at the church in Seneca. She was a charter member of the local LCBA, and held office of the guard for the VFW Ladies Auxiliary Post #7458 for many years since its beginning.
Though her husband died in 1933, she remained an active person and a matriarch in her family for more than 40 years after that. She loved to challenge her great-grandchildren to competitive games, especially gin rummy, and enjoyed every minute of it, while never letting them win!
Survivors include three sons, Anthony of Phoenix, AZ, Damian of Aurora, CO, and Leonard "Grinny" of Leavenworth; two daughters, Margaret B. Lauer of Leavenworth and Jenny (Ray) Guth of Topeka; a brother, Anthony J. Wempe of Seneca; two sisters, Mary J. Wempe of Seneca, and Sister Maurus Wempe O.S.B of Atchison; 12 grandchildren; and 41 great-grandchildren.
Rosaries were prayed by the LCBA at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca. Funeral mass was offered at 10:30 AM on Thursday at Sts. Peter & Paul Church. Burial was in the church cemetery.
Christopher David "Chris" Lauer
Christopher David Lauer died at 6:02 PM PST on September 3, 2013 at the age of 50 in Los Angeles, California after a 6 year courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Malit, sister Andrea, brothers Mike and Tim, and his mother Sally.
One of the first things Chris Lauer told me when I met him nearly thirty years ago was that he was a Liberal Arts major. "I mean that in the modern sense, " he growled. "A REAL liberal arts major." That modern sense, circa 1985, was explained as follows: that technology had become the language of educated people, engineering was our art, and computers enabled the sciences. Tech had become so prevalent, he argued, that any university student calling himself a liberal arts major and not taking advanced calculus was either a hypocrite or a fool.
Chris was neither. True to his word, he studied these subjects and more at the University of Michigan where we met. But more importantly, he self-schooled, building one of the most impressive and eclectic personal libraries I have encountered. The spirit of that library lives in those of us who borrowed from it and lent to it over the years. The physical thing may turn up in his effects -- or maybe not -- likely now scattered from Kansas to Los Angeles to East Asia.
Chris lived his early life in the Midwest. I visited his family 25 or so years ago when his father, David, was still alive. His home was also the Lauer Funeral Home, the largest funeral home on Earth in my limited experience. The home was positioned in the center of Seneca, Kansas, without question one of the smallest towns I have ever visited. A picturesque town surrounded by the agricultural fields that support the community. The Main Street strip is well preserved with beautiful brick buildings and lively businesses. We walked downtown one day to get 25 cent beers, an absurdly charming price even for the late 80s. Though he spent a tremendous amount of energy in those days articulating how he wanted to travel to far away lands, he enjoyed showing off the cheap beer, and knowing everybody he met in the street. He was proud of his family and his home. Like his father, Chris knew the history of Seneca, and how to bring it to life. And he showed me everything, from the room he shared with his brothers upstairs to the inner workings of the funeral home’s basement facilities.
But to no surprise, cheap beer and a respected family business couldn't hold Chris, and he did venture to Los Angeles and then further west until west became east....Asia! He worked on various consulting assignments throughout Asia including a stint with the Korean Tourism Board in Seoul, Korea and also founded an ecommerce business. He enjoyed building websites and was the webmaster for Lauer Funeral Home until last week.
In 2010 he married
the love of his life, Malit, in Bangkok, Thailand. Malit is a native of Cambodia and provided the spice and energy to Chris in his fight with cancer. Unfortunately USA visa issues kept Malit from making it to Los Angeles during his last weeks. Malit: you were in his thoughts to the end. His last words to you, and the heart he drew around them, are on their way to you in the mail.
For me, the words that come to mind when thinking of Chris' life are kindness, respect, candor, and personal discipline. Chris was a thoughtful correspondent, avid reader, fearless commentator, enthusiastic bicyclist, fantastic listener, lively host and generous friend - whatever the situation called for. And to the end, he battled cancer on his own terms, designed his own treatments that kept him alive for six years, and when the treatments came to an end, his strengths kept on going.
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very very brightly." -- Dr. Tyrell, Bladerunner. Chris really liked that movie.
Cyril J. Lauer
Cyril J. Lauer, 59, of Seneca, KS, died Friday October 13, 1967 at the Seneca Hospital. He had been ill for many years with mouth and throat cancer that spread to his brain.
Cyril was born on February 7, 1908, son of Philip J. and Anna M. (Wempe) Lauer in Seneca. After becoming interested in the undertaking business that his dad had begun in 1901, he graduated from the Williams Institute of Embalming in Kansas City, MO in 1927.
He married
Geneva Severin on September 12, 1929 at St. Michael's Church in Axtell. Cyril and Geneva lived in Seneca all their lives, building Lauer Funeral Home into one of the town's preeminent local institutions. The business was founded at its present location in 1927 by Cyril and his father Phil. Previously families had always held visitations and services in their own homes. Lauer Funeral Home was the first modern funeral home in Nemaha County, offering a central meeting place and dedicated facilities for families and friends in their time of grief.
Cyril and Geneva took great pride in the many remodeling projects at the Victorian-style funeral home to improve the business facilities as well as the living comforts for themselves. The house had originally been the home of C.C.K. Scoville, a banker responsible for much of Seneca's growth in the late 1800s. When Cyril and Geneva acquired the house it had been sitting largely vacant for many years and required a lot of work to transform it into a business and home.
Cyril was known by all as an accommodating, gracious man. He was a member of the Sts. Peter & Paul Church, 4th degree member of Knights of Columbus, and a charter member of the Seneca Rotary Club. He served on the Seneca City Council and was a scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts. He loved gardening and handicrafts, especially involving remodeling of the house.
In recent years as his health failed, Cyril's son David returned to Seneca to take over operation of the funeral home. Sale of the funeral home to his son David and wife Sally, the third generation of Lauers to operate Lauer Funeral Home, was completed in March of 1966.
Survivors are his wife Geneva of the home; his children, Jeanann Colle of Rapid City, SD, David Lauer of Seneca, Donald Lauer of Boulder, CO, and James Lauer of Kansas City MO; his mother, Anna Lauer of Seneca; three brothers, Anthony Lauer of Phoenix, AZ, Damian Lauer of Aurora, CO, and Leonard Lauer of Leavenworth; two sisters, Margaret Lauer of Leavenworth and Jenny Guth of Topeka; and 13 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his father Phil on January 10, 1933.
Mass of Christian burial was offered at 10 AM on Monday, October 16, at Sts. Peter & Paul Church. Burial was in the church cemetery. Rosaries were prayed Saturday and Sunday evenings at Lauer Funeral Home, and at the church before mass on Monday.
Paul bearers were E.S. Dekat, Emmett Mealy, William Strathman, Mat Rochel, William Murphy and Andrew Haverkamp.
