Robert Reed Graves Passes Away

      Robert Reed “Bob” Graves, 68, passed away on June 7, 2020, at home with his wife by his side.

      Bob was born January 19, 1952, in Manhattan to William R. and Phyllis M. (Lillard) Graves.  He was an only child and grew up in the Rossville community, where he graduated from high school.

      Bob was united in marriage to Joan (Freeby) Graves on November 28, 1970, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in St. Marys.  She survives of the home.

      Bob was preceded in death by both parents, three brothers-in-law, and a sister-in-law.

      His son Corey, daughter-in-law Stacy, four grandchildren, Kylie, Braden, Emily, and Derrick, all of Hoffman Estates, IL. survive.  Other survivors are six brothers-in-law, eleven sisters- in- law, numerous aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

      Bob retired from Shawnee County Public Works in March of 2011 after 37 years of service.

      Graveside memorial services will be at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, July 11, 2020, at the Rossville Cemetery   Memorial contributions may be made to the Helping Hands Humane Society and sent in care of Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple St., St. Marys, Kansas 66536.  To read a full obituary or leave online condolences, go to www.piperfuneralhome.com.

     Due to Covid 19 restrictions, everyone attending will need to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

KSU Spring Honors List

The following RHS graduates earned Spring Semester Honors from Kansas State University.

Kylle Badura

Perry Foster

Laurie Glotzbach

Stacey Keithline

Hannah Miller

Kyle Parr

Frederick Schuler

Kathleen Schuler

Rebecca Wagner

Cole Meier Gets BS From Washburn

Cole Meier of Rossville graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Washburn U.

Michael Flannigan Passes Away

Michael Flanigan, who grew up in and went to St. Marys schools has passed away.  His obituary can be read at:
https://www.piperfuneralhome.com/notices/Michael-Flannigan

Gary Dick Passes Away

Gary L. Dick, 72, Berryton KS. Passed June 27th 2020. Gary was born December 8th, 1947 in Topeka. He was the son of Bennie and Lorena Dick.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Bennie Dick Jr. His brother Wayne Dick, Rossville, survives. Gary graduated from Rossville High School. Gary married Sheryl Perry April 20th, 1968. He worked as a financial planner and retired in 2020. Gary leaves behind, his wife Sheryl, son Jeff Dick, (Heidi) and their children Sydney and Kaitlyn; daughter Jennifer (Dick) Hutton, (Justin) and their children Kelby,(Jessica), Paxton, Romyn, Max, and great-granddaughter Lillian. Funeral services will be held at Wannamaker Woods Church of The Nazarene on Thursday July 02, 2020 at 10:30 am. Memorial contributions may be made to Wanamaker Woods Church of The Nazarene and The Topeka Rescue Mission.

Nick McKenzie-- Support Staff Of Year

Nick McKenzie gets Support Staff of Year Award for Rossville High.
https://www.wevideo.com/view/1700456778

Cathy Copeland Is Teacher Of Year

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1700698053

Senior Celebration for Class of 2020

Here is a nice video of the 2020 seniors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90UBH_Dkqd4&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0KjDS7IEKS1MqS8FKFy3vsSgFeYfzwr9QqrQcHWZvEieBh6IngXKl9pDU

Brokamp Signs With KS Wesleyan

RHS senior Eddie Brockamp has signed to continue his baseball career with Kansas Wesleyan!

Archer Is Winter Athlete Of Year

From the Capital-Journal:It’s not unusual for wrestlers to face the challenge of trying to cut weight to reach their optimum competition level.

Rossville’s Zach Archer had the opposite problem, and it wasn’t until he piled on a few pounds that he really started piling up wins.

Archer, the Topeka Shawnee County winter male athlete of the year, finished his high school career as a two-time state champion, winning Class 3A-1A state crowns as a junior and senior while topping the 100-win mark for his career.

Archer never did get out of the lower weights, wrestling at 106 pounds as a junior and 113 as a senior, but as he got bigger, so did his accomplishments, with Archer posting an 80-5 record over his final two high school seasons and winning back-to-back titles.

“He wasn’t a bad wrestler as a freshman — he was actually still pretty tough — but he was probably 85 pounds, so he was JV that year,” Rossville coach Courtney Horgan said.

“His sophomore year he was 27-17 (qualifying for state), but he was still about 95 to 97 pounds, so he was still way under-sized. He had a decent year, but anybody that was a full 106 he had trouble with.”

But a slight change in his body type and a big change in his confidence made Archer a star over the remainder of his prep career.

“He wasn’t always winning, but he wrestled hard and then his junior year I think the momentum started rolling and his attitude changed and he just started believing a little bit more and was like, ‘You know what, I am pretty good,’ ” Horgan said.

“By the halfway point in his junior year, me and the other two assistants told him every single day, ‘You’re the best kid in the state.’ Every day we made it a point to tell him that and he just started believing it. It was really neat watching him kind of transform mentally into believing that.”

Archer won by major decisions in the state finals as both a junior and senior, taking an 11-3 win over Osage City’s Connor Collins as a senior to cap a 41-1 season.

“I make all of the wrestlers fill out a goal sheet every year and then they hang them in their locker and they see them every day,″ Horgan said. “Undefeated state champ was his goal for his senior year. He didn’t have any others. That was the one goal that he had and he darn near did it.”

Archer, who is headed to the University of Kansas as a student after compiling a 3.95 grade point average at Rossville, also got the rare opportunity to end his wrestling career with a championship.

Karen Lira (82) Passes Away

    Karen D. Lira, age 55, of Topeka, passed away Thursday, June 25, 2020 at her home in Topeka. 
    Karen was born July 26, 1964 in Topeka the daughter of Eugene (60) and Shirley (Bond) Irwin. She was raised by grandparents, Harold and Mildred Irwin. She graduated from Rossville High School in 1982. She attended cosmetology school in Topeka. Karen was a hard worker, helping whoever needed her help. She enjoyed being a beautician and would come to people’s homes to care for them. Karen had attended Fellowship Bible Church in Topeka. Karen enjoyed gardening, baking and crafts, but she enjoyed being with her family as much as she could. 
    She is survived by a son, Philip (Chelsea) Olson of Topeka; four daughters, Tiffany Burns of North Pole, Alaska, Kristen Simpson of Rossville, Kelly (Tyler) Shobney of Delia and Madilyn Lira of Delia; five sisters, Kimberly Dick of Delia, Debbie Irwin of Topeka, Kelly Irwin of Topeka, Angel Day of Rossville and Tracy Woosley of Paris, Kentucky and 14 grandchildren, Israel, Olivia, CiAnna, Kaden, Ireland, Paisley, Faith, Lukas, Aspen, Gavin, Emma, Chloe, Charlotte and Zamira.
    Memorial services are pending with Davidson Funeral Home. Contributions may be made to the Davidson Funeral Home to assist the family with expenses. Private inurnment will be at the Rossville Cemetery. davidsonfuneral.com.

Judith (Cowan) Darting Passes Away

Rossville—Judith Dianne Cowan Darting 73, passed away Sunday, June 28, 2020, at her home in Rossville.

 She was born July 24, 1946, the daughter of Reece and Virgie Hoffman Cowan at Ft. Lewis, Washington.  Judy was the daughter of a career Army man and had lived in many cities across the US and overseas.  In the early ’60s, her father retired, and they moved to Topeka.  She graduated from Highland Park High School in 1964.  Judy attended Washburn University.

 Judy worked as an administrative assistant for the State of Kansas for many years.  She lived in the Silver Lake and Rossville communities.  Judy was a member of the First Baptist Church in Silver Lake.  She enjoyed reading and was a member of the Rossville Library Book Club.  She loved her family and her dogs.

Judith Cowan and Gerry Darting were united in marriage in Topeka.  They were married 23 years and divorced, but remained friends and neighbors, he survives in Rossville.

 She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Jack Cowan, and her son, Jeffrey Darnell Darting.

 Survivors include two daughters, Jennifer Lee Darting and Sarah Ann (Bryant) Presley, all of Rossville; six grandchildren.

Memorial services will be at 4:00 P.M. Monday, July 6, 2020, at the First Baptist Church in Silver Lake.  The family will receive friends on Sunday, July 5, 2020, from 2:00 until 4:00 P.M. at Piper Funeral Home, St. Marys.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Silver Lake First Baptist Church and sent in care of Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple St., St. Marys, Kansas 66536.

Bulldawgs Up For Athlete of Year (updated)

Like virtually everything else in the sports world, the 2020 Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards banquet was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.  The Topeka Capital-Journal made the difficult decision in early May to cancel this year’s event which honors the top senior student-athletes from within the county.  Though the banquet has been pushed back for a few months,  the awards will be announced.

Rossville students nominated for awards are:

Kody Davoren--Fall Male
Davoren, an offensive and defensive lineman, was a two-time All-Mid-East League selection, a two-time All-Class 2A honoree and was selected to play in the Kansas Shrine Bowl after helping lead the Bulldawgs to a 7-3 record and the second round of the 2A playoffs. Davoren finished second in the 3A-1A state wrestling tournament as a senior after finishing third as a junior.

Taylor Morelli--Fall Female
Morelli earned All-East League honors for the Bulldawgs last fall, recording 367 kills, 200 digs, 30 aces and 22 stuff blocks.  She will attend Emporia State.

Zach Archer--Winter Male
Archer was 80-5 in his last two years and was two time 321A State Champ in the 113 pound class.

Kinlyn Lundin--Most inspirational Female
Lundin was a standout throughout her career for Rossville, including being a three-time All-Mid-East League selection in softball. Lundin also earned All-State recognition in 3A for the Bulldawgs during her career. GPA: 3.48.

For more details,  go to:    https://www.cjonline.com/sports/20200627/rick-peterson-local-prep-awards-tradition-too-good-to-stop

Be ALERT

Someone is stealing catalytic converters from cars around Rossville, even in broad daylight. 
Park where your car can be seen.  Report suspicious people lurking around vehicles.