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Charles Eugene “Charlie” Payne, of Wellington, Kansas, passed away on May 2, 2023, in Wichita, Kansas, at the age of 63. Charlie was born the son of Charles and Alice (Heard) Payne on April 19, 1960, in Wellington, Kansas.

Paul Barber, the last surviving son of Howard and Grace Kufus Barber, went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on January 10, 2023, at 90 years of age. He had a faith-filled life that was rich in adventure and service to his country and a deep love for his family. He was a son, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother-inlaw, uncle, beloved husband and a loving dad. He was a farmer, pilot, veteran, professor, financial advisor, woodworker, art collector, poet and a published author. Paul was a founding partner of the Barber Farm Holdings, LLC, which continues to operate on the family homestead land in Kansas. He had a favorite saying....“Today is another day in which to excel”. Paul lived his life in that manner and encouraged each of us to do everything to the very best of our abilities. Colonel Paul Arland Barber, USAF, Retired, of Nacogdoches, Texas, was born September 14, 1932, in South Haven, Kansas. He was the fifth of six sons born to Howard and Grace Kufus Barber. Raised on a wheat farm during the Great Depression, his first seven years of schooling were in a one-room country schoolhouse. In 1941, at South Haven Baptist Church, Paul accepted Christ and was later baptized in the Chikaskia River. Paul graduated from South Haven High School in 1950 and from Kansas State University in 1954, where he received his Air Force commission. After graduating from Pilot Training, Paul’s twenty-eight year Air Force career paralleled the long Cold War with the Soviet Union. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he stood “Cockpit Alert”, prepared to launch his aircraft if President Kennedy ordered a retaliatory strike on the Soviet Union. During the Vietnam War he flew over two hundred combat support missions, air-refueling bomber and fighter aircraft. While commanding the 99th Air Refueling Squadron in Blytheville, Arkansas, his unit completed hundreds of additional missions, earning the Outstanding Unit Award. Paul was a Command Pilot wi

Derby - Charles “Charlie” McKinzie, 80, went to be with his Lord and Savior, Thursday, April 20th, 2023. He was born to Charles and Violet (Turley) McKinzie in Welch, OK. Charlie was a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he (to the chagrin of Ruthie and his mother) rode bulls and clowned on the rodeo team. Soon after Charlie and Ruthie got married, Charlie was drafted into the US Army, serving in the Vietnam conflict. Charlie spent most of his adult life managing COOP grain elevators in Mayfield, Wellington, and Clearwater as an employee of Farmland. During their 40 years in Wellington, Charlie and Ruthie built a community of friends who were more like family. For many years, this group met monthly to play “pitch” and share meals. They were all like family to the McKinzies. Charlie was a farmer at his core. Although he didn’t farm or ranch directly in his adult life, he was always attentive to the farmers and community and he saw beauty in the seasonal ebbs and flows. He loved to “car farm” and his kids remember the many quiet quips he made while driving on family vacations about how the corn was looking dry, or the wheat was sprouting too soon, or how “that field is so full of junk, they’ll be lucky to get 10 bushel an acre out of it!” After his retirement, Charlie devoted much time to his lifelong hobby of fishing (or at least collecting fishing gear). He also enjoyed going on cruises to Alaska, volunteering with his church, and in the last few years riding his stationary bike 55-75 miles a day. He was a devoted fan of his OSU Cowboys and the St. Louis Cardinals. But the farm never fully left the farmer and he still tended his small patch of earth with dedication and care. Whether it was a lawn pristinely mowed and edged, a garden, or even just plants and flowers in the flower beds. Charlie was an example of what stewardship of the earth looked like. He always believed that he was simply the care-taker for a time and that creation was o

Phyllis Jean (Biery) Anderson, age 94, of Wellington, Kansas, died Sunday morning, April 23, 2023, at Ascension Via-Christi St. Francis, Wichita, Kansas. She was hospitalized for complications that occurred during her rehabilitation from a stroke. She was born at the family farm outside Clyde, Kansas, October 1, 1928, to William E. Biery and Ruby Louise (Chartier) Biery. Growing up on the farm and later in the town of Clyde, she experienced the Dust Bowl storms as well as the impact of the Great Depression and World War II. The value of education was a central theme of her life. During World War II she received an emergency certification and taught at the Morgan Chapel school in Cloud County, Kansas. This small octagon shaped building had no running water, an oil heater and five students (four students and a cousin). Later she attended Kansas State University, majoring in English. She left in 1950 to marry Don R. Anderson. She always insisted that an education was something that could never be taken from you. Her values and support made it possible for all three of her children to complete college degrees. Phyllis was known affectionately to many USD 353 students as “Grandma Anderson”. She worked in the Wellington public schools for over 40 years, first as a substitute teacher and then as a paraprofessional. The students and staff at Eisenhower Elementary treated her to a surprise party for her 90th birthday. She continued to work through the worst of the Covid pandemic, retiring in the fall of 2022 as she turned 94. Survivors include her daughter, Jody Anderson (Jim McGovern) of Lawrence, Kansas; son, Dana Anderson (Beverly) of Wellington, Kansas; son, Dane Anderson of Andover, Kansas; grandchildren: Jenna Bedwell (Ryan), Jamie McGovern (Will Sharp), Laura Spencer (Drew), Danielle Beltz (Kyle); great-great grandchildren: Harrison and Camden Spencer, Lydia and Michaela Bedwell and Margot Sharp. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, Don Anderson; gran