Margaret "Marge" Fairchild of St. Marys, 76, passed away July 13, 2022 at Stormont Vail.
Her obituay can be read at: Margaret Fairchild obituary
This blog is for posting all news of Rossville residents and Rossville High alumni. Bookmark this page and send any appropriate news (births, deaths, engagements, marriages, anniversaries, job changes, honors, etc.) items to: Frank.Ruff@juno.com . Feel free to add comments to any of the articles. Check this site often because I sometimes delete items. There are SEARCH (top left of page) and LINK (bottom of page) features. For photos, see link at bottom.
Margaret "Marge" Fairchild of St. Marys, 76, passed away July 13, 2022 at Stormont Vail.
Her obituay can be read at: Margaret Fairchild obituary
Patricia A. Pflum, 79, of St. Marys, passed away Monday, July 4, 2022 at Stormont Vail Hospital.
Her obituary can be read at: https://www.piperfuneralhome.com/obituaries/patricia-pflum
Mary Cecile Elizabeth Fifer, 62, of St. Marys, passed away Sunday, July 3, 2022, at Stormont Vail.
Her obituary can be read at: https://www.piperfuneralhome.com/obituaries/mary-fifer
SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022 4:30 PM
"Joe" Conley 's funeral was July 8. There were many tribute photos on the Piper Funeral Home website. To see them, click on the ink below and scroll down to just below the large picture of Joe.
Joe;s obituary can be read on the Piper web site, or at: https://rossvilleksalumninews.blogspot.com/2022/06/joseph-conley-51-passes-away.html
Since the first Kansas Shrine Bowl in 1974, nearly 3,500 players have represented 343 schools across the state. With that many players, it comes as no surprise that there have been several families with multiple appearances in the event. In 2022, there are two players set to become the third member of their family to play in the Kansas Shrine Bowl, as Torrey's path was blazed by Thatcher (2015 East) and Tucker (2016 East).
"It's an amazing feeling to be selected to the Kansas Shrine Bowl,"
said Horak. "It's an honor to be selected to play in such an iconic game
that's put on for these kids! Both of my brothers told me to soak in every
second of the experience. It's one that neither of them will ever forget."
And while earning a Shrine Bowl roster spot is worthy of celebration by itself,
the similarities among the Horak brothers run deeper than even family ties.
Each of the Horak brothers comes to the Kansas Shrine Bowl after helping
Rossville High School to undefeated KSHSAA championships. Torrey lifted the
Class 2A trophy in both 2020 and 2021, quarterbacking the Bulldawgs to
consecutive 13-0 records. He passed for 1,347 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021,
throwing only one interception for a QB rating of 124.2 and added 1,009 yards
and 14 touchdowns on the ground.
Tucker also closed out his high school career with back-to-back undefeated seasons, leading the 2014 Rossville squad with 2,070 yards passing and 2,859 yards rushing as a senior.
Mark J. Lamberson, 45, passed away Saturday, July 2, 2022, near St. Marys.
He was born April 27, 1977 in Weinheim, Germany, the son of David A. and Britta Hildenbrand Lamberson. As a son of an Army Sergeant Major, he lived in many different cities. He graduated from Manhattan High School in 1996, and attended Kansas State University.
Mark had worked for the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Office for eight years before becoming a police officer for the City of St. Marys in 2013. Mark was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police. He was a huge Star Wars fan growing up watching all the movies and analyzing the story lines for each of them. Mark enjoyed spending time with his family and their two dogs, Charlie and Whiskey.
He was preceded in death by his grandmother, Margaret Lamberson.
On May 21, 2007, Mark and Sarah Bittenbender were married in Topeka. She survives at their home.
Other survivors include a son, Alex; a daughter, Willow; and his parents, David and Britta Lamberson; father-in-law, William (Donna) Bittenbender.
Funeral services will be at 10:00 A.M. Tuesday, July 12, 2022, at the St. Marys High School gymnasium. Interment will be in Valley View Cemetery, St. Marys. Mark will lie in state, and the family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 P.M. Monday, July 11, 2022, at Piper Funeral Home in St. Marys. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made for the family at Community First Bank, 215 S. Seth Child Road, Manhattan, Kansas: C/O: FOP Lodge 17, or sent to Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple Street, St. Marys, Kansas 66536.
Visitation: Mon July 11, 2022, 5-7 PM, at Piper Funeral Home
Funeral: Tue. Jyly 12, 2022, 10-11 AM, at St. Marys High School
Burial: Private, Tue. July 12, 2022 at 10:45- 11:45, at Valley View Cemetery
Joseph M “Joe” Conley passed from life into eternity on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the St. Marys Manor in St. Marys, Kansas. He was 88 years old. Joe spent most of his life farming north of Delia in southwest Jackson County.
Joe was born to James Lewis and Bess (Mercer) Conley on December 21, 1933. He was their only child. He grew up in Rossville and on a farm near Sandy Hook along the Kansas River southwest of Rossville where he attended school and graduated in 1951. He was a 4-H member taking projects to county, state, and the national level. He attended Kansas State University for two years. Mr. Conley served in the United States Army for two years being stationed in Germany.
On March 12, 1958, Joe married Pauline Marie Timmons at Manhattan Christian College Chapel in Manhattan. After a whirlwind honeymoon, Joe and Pauline settled into farming with his dad north of Delia. He continued to remain active on the farm into his eighties. Joe served on several board of directors including St. Marys Farmers Union Coop, Federal Land Bank Association, and Kaw Valley Electric for forty-nine years this led to a position on the Kansas Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees. Mr. Conley was a member of Rossville United Methodist Church serving as a church trustee and the pastoral relations committee, he started an annual ski trip to Colorado and later built and operated a train as a church fundraiser at various parades and local events. He was a member of Delia Masonic Lodge, having served in each of the chairs and as Lodge Treasurer for many years. Through the Masons, Joe became a member of the Topeka Scottish Rite, the Shriners, and the Eastern Star. He was instrumental in starting the Delia Volunteer Fire District and founding member of the board. Joe also served on the Cross Creek Watershed board and served as a 4-H project leader in electricity.
In addition to farming, Mr. Conley was active as a certified electrician and called on to wire new and remodeled homes as well as shops, sheds, and various other projects into his eighties. Joe wired in his own home and the home of his son on the farm, rewired a few of his children’s homes, and worked on most of the neighbors’ places around the area. He worked hard to be licensed as an insurance agent for Town & Country Insurance and also sold hail insurance for several years. Joe had many interests owning antique autos, experimental aircraft, motorcycles, bicycle riding and going coyote hunting on New Year’s Day several times. Pauline and Joe were able to travel throughout much of their marriage around the nation and to Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, and Ireland.
Joe Conley is survived by Pauline, his wife of 64 years, his children, Patricia (Dennis) Peterson of Belvue, Kansas, James (Vicki) Conley of Austin, Colorado, and Bill (Tricia) Conley of Delia, Kansas. Additionally, the family includes nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Family visitation is set for Tuesday, July 5 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Piper Funeral Home in St. Marys. Services will be held at Rossville United Methodist Church on Wednesday, July 6 at 10:30 am. Donations may be given to Rossville United Methodist Church, St. Marys Manor, or to Elara Caring Hospice of Topeka and sent in care of Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple Street, St. Marys, Kansas 66536. To leave online condolences go to www.piperfuneralhome.com.
The 2022 Northeast Kansas High School Sports Awards weere presented on June 28. No Bulldawgs were on the list of winners. The complete lis of winners can be seen at: https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/06/29/northeast-kansas-high-school-sports-awards-caps-off-2021-22-season-topeka-area/7766969001/
The list of nominees from Rossville can be reviewed at: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5791439278755503689/2736732751521967944
Last year: 28 catches for 510 yards, 18.2 yards per catch, 1 touchdown
Rossville has always run the ball well since Derick Hammes took over in 2013, and while the run game has always been a focal point, it's consistently complemented by a good passing game.
Perine had 510 of the team's 1,876 receiving yards this year and the best yards per catch average on the team of receivers with more than one catch (quarterback Torrey Horak had 1 catch for 21 yards).
That's after having no catches as a sophomore, mainly playing running back with a crowded wide receiver room before stepping into the role this year.
"The kid's got kind of a mentality that, you know, he doesn't like to lose," Horak said. "Wherever Coach Hammes decides to put him this year, he's gonna go compete and he'll compete at a high level. I'm really excited to watch that."
Tegan Kippes (26) and Perine (28) were the only two receivers on the team with more than 20 catches and Kippes has now graduated.
Why Perine? Next year, a new quarterback will be under center for Rossville. The team will be replacing the majority of its offensive production with the graduation of quarterback Torrey Horak and running back Corey Catron.
While the signal-caller and running back are two key pieces to the type of offense Rossville runs, senior-to-be Perine will be "the guy" when it comes to experience.
"He's always open," Horak said. "He's a really good route runner. He sticks to a lot of details that are big in the route running and he finds ways to get open. When you have that receiver, you know he's going to be where you throw the ball, it makes things really easy.
"We had some pass plays that specifically were looking to find him, maybe not as much as we should have, because everybody kind of saw what he could do with the ball in his hands. He's a special athlete."
Perine led the team with 28 catches and 510 yards last year as a junior. Kippes (26-380), Kaden Brown (18-254), Catron (15-230) and Raphael Cooney (10-184) were the next four receivers in terms of catches and yards and all were seniors.
Redshirt senior Dawson Hammes of Rossville will be one of the captains of the Emporia State football team for the 2022 seaspon. The 212 pound linebacker is the son of Rossville football coach Derrick Hammes.