Roe Randall Johnson
Roe Randall Johnson, 84, passed away on Friday, July 25, 2025 at his home in Pratt surrounded by family.
Roe was born in Syracuse on March 26, 1941 to Paul and Bernice Johnson. He grew up in rural Greeley County and graduated from Greeley County High School in 1959. He went on to attend Garden City Junior College.
He married Janet Garvert on April 28, 1962 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Garden City. The majority of his life was spent farming in Greeley County. He enjoyed and was skilled at construction, carpentry and building things. He was always quick to offer assistance to those facing hardships. While he was able, he enjoyed golf and had volunteered a lot of his time in the beginning construction of the Prairie Ridge Golf Course in Tribune and enjoyed playing there with his friends and family.
Roe was a board member for Wheatland Electric for 19 years. He was also on the Soil Conservation Board, ASCS Office Board, and Housing Committee in Greeley County.
He and Janet moved to Pratt in 2020 to be closer to family.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Janet Johnson, Pratt; two brothers, Dale Johnson, Sharon Springs; and Roy Johnson, Garden City; daughter and son-in-law Kori and Aaron Walker, Pratt; son and daughter-in-law Kris and Lisa Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo.; grandchildren Javin Johnson, McKinney, Texas; Kaitlyn Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Peyton and Parker Walker, Pratt.
He is preceded in death by his parents Paul and Bernice Johnson, a son Kevin Johnson, a daughter-in-law Meredith Johnson, and a grandson Garrett Johnson.
Visitation will be Thursday, August 7, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Larrison Mortuary, 300 Country Club Road, Pratt. Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. CST, Friday, August 8, 2025 at Larrison Mortuary, Pratt.
A private burial will follow in the subsequent days at the Greeley County Cemetery in Tribune. Memorials can be made to Greeley County Historical Society in care of Larrison Mortuary. Online condolences may be made at www.larrisonmortuary.com.
OBITUARIES
Jacqueline “Jackie” Marie Hutchins
Jacqueline “Jackie” Marie Hutchins, age 92, passed away on Monday, August 18, 2025, at Hope Springs Care Center in Sharon Springs She was born on January 8, 1933, in Mountain View, Missouri, the daughter of Jack Tranbarger and Olive (Gibson) Fecht. Jackie moved... [More]
Richard Marion Martin
Richard Marion Martin, age 77, passed away August 16, 2025, at his home in Tribune. He was born May 15, 1948, in Ashley County, Arkansas to Omer C. and Lena Mae (Linder) Lewis. The family moved to Tribune in his childhood years where he attended Greeley County Schools.... [More]
Joan Ray Smith
Joan Ray Smith, age 96, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at the Hope Springs Nursing Home in Sharon Springs. She was born on March 28, 1929, in Doon, Iowa, to Ralph and Alice Kloek Ray. Joan graduated in 1947 from Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, Tennessee,... [More]
Don Henry Stephenson
Don Henry Stephenson, 79, of Oakley passed away August 15, 2025 at The Kansas City Hospice House after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Don was born August 26, 1945 in Syracuse. He always liked to say he waited for WWII to be over before he would make his appearance.... [More]
Betty Marie (Chilson) Osborn
Betty Marie (Chilson) Osborn passed away August 7, 2025 at the Greeley County Long Term Care, in Tribune. She was the daughter of William Francis Chilson and Anna Kathleen (Herr) Chilson. She was born on September 17, 1936 in Horace. Betty grew up in Horace and... [More]
Paul Julius Fankhauser
Paul Julius Fankhauser passed away on July 18, 2025 in Boise, Idaho surrounded by his family. He was 88. Born and raised in Kansas, it was in high school in Tribune where he met Venita, his wife of nearly 70 years. They married on July 31, 1955 and went on to have four... [More]
Margaret Yvonne Kuder
Margaret Yvonne Kuder was born near Seward, Kansas on July 9, 1930 to Clifton and Helen Walter in their home south of Great Bend. She was delivered by her grandmother Lucy Lacey Walter. She passed on July 22, 2025 at home, in Weskan. She had just celebrated her 95th birthday... [More]
Oleta M. Berquist
Oleta M. Bergquist, age 95, passed away on Monday, July 14, 2025, at the Greeley County Hospital in Tribune. She was born to Charles Hugo and Mary Elizabeth Swilley Thon on December 13, 1929, in Manning of Scott County. She was a lifelong resident of the community. She was... [More]
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SPORTS
Prairie Ridge Golf Club Names 2025 Club Champions
Photo caption: From left to right, Kevin Govert, Monica Slattery, and A.J. Govert were the 2025 Prairie Ridge Golf Course Club Champions. Kevin won the seniors’ division with an 82-90; Monica claimed the women’s title with a 91-95; and A.J. shot a pair of 73s to claim... [More]
Practice underway
Kaine Chavez tackles the single-man sled at Monday afternoon’s high school football practice. The team’s first outing is a jamboree this Friday night at 5:30 p.m. in Minneola.
Shafer hits hole-in-one
Photo caption: Lincoln Shafer, a recent graduate of Greeley County Schools, hit a hole-in-one at Bear Creek Golf Course in Denver last week. Photo by Kyle Shafer. Lincoln Shafer, a 2025 graduate of Greeley County High School, accomplished a rare feat last week when he... [More]
Brandl, Moser win cornhole tournament
Bud Brandl and Charles Moser, left, won Greeley County Recreation Foundation’s Cornhole Tournament held Saturday, August 2. Heather and Brian Baker came in second. Courtesy photo.
Greeley County Fair Run/Walk welcomes 44 participants
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Mangan gets hole in one
Cade Mangan, Greeley County Schools graduate and current K-State student, got a hole-in-one on Hole #2, a 176-yard par 3 at Stagg Hill Golf Club in Manhattan on Sunday, July 13, 2025. Courtesy photo.
Adult softball champs named
The team generally identified as the “high school team,” though it’s made up of a mixture of Greeley County graduates, high schoolers, and other friends, were named the champions of the 2025 Adult Softball League after three and half innings of play in the championship... [More]
Junior Golf Camp held at Prairie Ridge Golf Course
Third through ninth grade students were invited to take part in a free Junior Golf Camp hosted by High School Golf Coach Keith Slattery at Prairie Ridge Golf Course last week. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are Journey Langdon, Tripp Berggren, Kasen Myers, Ryleigh... [More]
More Sports
- Trap shooting team competes at National Tournament
- Lady Bowlers compete at State Bowling
- Brandl named to All-State Track Team
- Adult softball has two weeks left
- Greeley County Basketball All-Time Records - Career & Season
- High School boys compete in Lakin
- Lady Jackrabbits play in Colby League
- Mangan, Shafer earn All-State Golf Honors
NEWS
New wheat hybrids are on the horizon and Kansas farmers are among the first to test them
Photo caption: A farmer holds up a hybrid wheat kernel (left) compared to a regular wheat kernel (right) in an irrigated plot near Garden City. Photo courtesy of Corteva. Kansas is an important “breadbasket” state because of its massive wheat production, but in... [More]
Board of Supervisors meeting notes
Regular Meeting August 25, 2025 Notes by Sheryl Crotinger Supervisors present: Scott Steele, Monty Moritz, Alan Waggoner, and Stan Shafer Others present were: County Clerk Jerri Young, Unified Administrator Jeff Crockett, Utility Administrator Stephanie Elliott, Marylin... [More]
Western Kansas Community Foundation awards $66,343 in grants to 19 area nonprofits
Garden City, Kan. – Western Kansas Community Foundation (WKCF) is awarding 19 area nonprofit organizations with grants totaling $66,343 from the Community Betterment Fund, the Kansas Health Foundation Children’s Fund, and various Field of Interest and Unrestricted... [More]
SEED Grants Available for Rural Quality-of-Life Initiatives
TOPEKA – Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced a new round of funding totaling $341,000 is available through the Strategic Economic Expansion and Development (SEED) grant program. Now entering its fourth round, the SEED initiative continues... [More]
County experiences cool down in third week of August
Photo caption: This field of sunflowers, located south of Towner, Colo., provided a bright spot of color Sunday afternoon. After a toasty start to the week, temperatures moderated out to the 80s and low 90s over the past seven days. The week’s high of 96... [More]
Ramos, Gibson repaint wind vane ahead of Greeley County Fair
Ray Ramos and Howard Gibson (not pictured) decided they wanted to paint the wind vane at the Greeley County Airport ahead of the Greeley County Fair. The two former colleagues had a great time working together again, Howard said. Courtesy photo.
Halstead to host Big Kansas Road Trip Pop Up
Halstead, in Harvey County, will play host to the Kansas Sampler Foundation’s second Big Kansas Road Trip Pop Up of the year on Saturday, September 6. The public is invited. A project of the non-profit Kansas Sampler Foundation, the purpose of the Pop Up event is to provide... [More]
Grant Applications Open to Help Expand Apprenticeship Programs in Kansas
TOPEKA – Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced $550,000 in grant funding is available to support the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs across Kansas. The Kansas Office of Registered Apprenticeship grant will be divided... [More]
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- Water history exhibit grand opening at El Quartelejo Museum in Scott City
- Locally-owned cooperative partners with rural foundation to offer community grant opportunity
- Sen. Moran Applauds Court Ruling to Remove Lesser Prairie-Chicken from Endangered Status
OPINIONS
From the Editor’s desk: Reflecting on the Symphony in the Flint Hills
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Letter to the Editor: With Trump and Musk driving U.S. policy, Kansas farmers have been played for suckers
By Ben Palen Also published in the Kansas Reflector Back in November, I wrote a column for Kansas Reflector that discussed the likely adverse effects of President Trump’s proposed tariffs on U.S. farmers. The piece noted that 398 million acres of cropland has been... [More]
Letter to the Editor: Donald Trump is not our king
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Open letter to Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall
On March 1 at Oakley in western Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall held a town hall meeting for area constitutents wanting to know more about activities in Washington DC that have impacts on them. The following written questions were submitted by Louise Ehmke. Unfortunately they were... [More]
Letter to the Editor - School bond issue
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Insight: Your vote counts
In about two weeks or so, it will be Election Day. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I cannot wait for it to be over. I will not say another word about the campaigns because my mother told me, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at... [More]
Volunteers are the heart of our community
As we celebrate National 4-H Week this week, 4-H Members across the country are celebrating this wonderful youth organization with Friends, Family, and the Communities that support this youth development program. In addition to celebrating the hard-work and dedication of... [More]
A tribute to Tribune and her friendly residents
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More Opinions
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