Obituaries

Mark was born on October 25, 1953, in Litchfield to Willard and Marjorie Wood. He attended Litchfield High School, class of 1971, where he was involved in several activities and sports, which included football, baseball, and audio/visual club.

I have been informed by county residents of another scam circulating our area. Residents are being threatened through an email on their smartphone by someone who is telling the resident that they have installed spyware called “Pegasus” on their device and are watching them remotely.

Richard S. Pryor was born in Clay County, Missouri on December 20th, 1935, to Ted R. & Ruby S. Pryor. He grew up on the family farm with his two older brothers, Ted William “Bill” & Charles F. “Bud.” Richard attended Liberty public schools and graduated as president of his class in 1953. The death of his mother during his college years profoundly changed his life’s course. After two years at William Jewell College, Richard was offered a job at a local bank, which led to his lifelong career in banking. In 1957, following the family tradition of military service, he volunteered for the Army and spent most of his service in France on an Ordnance Depot. During this time, friends started calling him Dick, a name that stuck for life. Dick returned to First National Bank in Liberty in 1959. That fall, he met Linda, a new English and speech teacher at Liberty High School. They married on July 10th, 1960. Dick pursued further education, earning an AA Degree from Longview College, a business Degree from Columbia College, and graduating from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. He became a bank officer before 21 and joined the National Bank in North Kansas City in 1961. In 1969, at 33, he was offered the Presidency of the Thornton National Bank in Nevada, Missouri, where the family lived for four years. In 1973, Dick became CEO and part-owner of the Bank of Jacomo in Blue Springs, Missouri. Under his 20-year leadership, the bank and its holding company grew to two charters with six locations in five towns. Dick was actively involved in his communities. He served on city councils, chambers of commerce, school boards, and hospital boards in various cities. He was instrumental in founding St. Mary’s Hospital in Blue Springs and establishing a junior college branch campus there. He was named Citizen of the Year in 1980 and Business Person of the Year in 1992 in Blue Springs. Dick and Linda were staunch supporters of higher education. Dick serv

Joyce Marie (Haggard) Hon, 79, of Liberty, Miss ouri passed away peacefully surrounded by family and close friends in Kansas City Hospice House at North Kansas City Hospital on September 1st after having been hospitalized for two months following an acute illness. Joyce was born in Kansas City, Missouri on September 23, 1944, to John Haggard, Jr. and Jewel Rose (Claunch) Haggard. She was a life-long Kansas City northlander, graduating from Park Hill High School in 1962. She married her high school sweetheart Jerry Lee Hon on August 11, 1962. They recently celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary together. Alongside Jerry, Joyce carried on the legacy of her parents, working and co-owning the family business Haggard Hauling and Rigging, Inc., before retiring after 29 years of devoted service. She concluded her career at William Jewell College, working in the business office, Provost’s office, bookstore, and finally the alumni office, retiring in 2008. Joyce was a skilled craft enthusiast, especially talented in needlepoint, quilting, crocheting, and cardmaking.

Joellen Sue (Stokes) Gunsauley, formerly of Morrill, Kansas, finished her earthly course on Monday, August 26, 2024, surrounded by her family, at the mighty age of 83. Joellen was born on May 23, 1941, to Joseph Stokes and Emma (Toland) Stokes in Springfield, Ohio. After high school, Joellen married Frank Gunsauley on November 19, 1960, in Cedarville, Ohio. They moved to Chicago where Frank had already begun his career in ironworking. They were blessed with two daughters, Susan in 1962 and Lorie in 1963. After a short move to Indiana, Joellen and Frank moved their family to Morrill, Kansas in 1970. It was here that they built a home and put down their roots. Joellen and Frank proved to be loving, kind, and generous in their community by supporting local businesses and families. Frank and Joellen shared a wonderful life together and exemplified the true meaning of love and marriage, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in 2010. Joellen carried many titles throughout her life. The most important titles were “Wife, Mother, and Mom,” but she was also lovingly known as “Grandma, Nanna, and Wiley Coyote,” (mostly because her eldest grandchild saw how it never seemed to matter what happened to her, she always popped right back up). Joellen was preceded in death by her parents, and her husband, Frank, on March 12, 2014. Joellen is survived by her two daughters, Susan Brotz and Lorie (Michael) Sneed; her grandchildren, Ryann (Samantha) Sickel, Melissa (We know she’s, her favorite!) (Travis) Waltz, Cassandra Bowman and her partner, Cameron Wisdom, John (Nikki) Bowman, Jr., and Tyler Brotz and his partner, Claire Brinson; an impressive collection of great-grandchildren, Tori Sickel, Rylan Bowman, Hunter Feickert, Grayson Westbrook, Logan Bowman, John (Tripp) Bowman III, Milo Brotz, Charlie Dow, Weston Bowman, Zaydin Wisdom, Abby Waltz, and Kaylee Waltz; and her two sisters, Gail (Bill) Coulter and Nancy (Carl) Miller. A funeral service will be held on Thursday,

Colonel (Ret) Paul Edward Idol of Topeka, KS passed away on August 16, 2024. Paul was born May 19, 1932, in White Cloud KS, and was one of five children of Paul and Thelma (Taylor) Idol.

Billy “Bill” Earl Jacobs, 79 of Hiawatha died on Thursday, August 16, 2024, after a short battle with Alzheimer’s. Bill was born on January 22, 1945, in Kansas City, KS to Chester and Martha “Louise” (Laverentz) Jacobs. In 1949 the family moved to Hiawatha where he lived his entire life. Bill left Hiawatha to enlist in the United States Navy where he was stationed on the U.S.S. Midway during the Vietnam era. During his time in the Navy, he earned his GED as well as numerous awards and high praises from his Commanders.

Cynthia “Cyndi” Ann (Weaver) Reynolds (76) passed away on Thursday, August 8, 2024. Cyndi was born on August 30, 1947 in Stillwater, Oklahoma to Virginia Eileen (Kirkpatrick) and James Elbert Weaver.