Donna Kay (Schmidtberger) Albrecht

 

Donna Kay (Schmidtberger) Albrecht, age 75, of  Russell, Kansas, died Thursday, February 11, 2021 at Hays Medical Center.

Donna was born March 22, 1945, in Russell, Kansas to Luetta May (Turner) and Herman Francis Schmidtberger. Donna grew up in the Fairport and Paradise area. Her family moved to Gorham, Kansas her Junior year where she graduated from Gorham High School in 1963. She was married to her high school sweetheart, and the love of her life Dennis Albrecht on July 7, 1963 in Paradise, Kansas. They made their home in Russell and moved into their current home in 1969. They celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2013. This union was blessed with two daughters, Debra and Tamera.

Donna worked many different jobs including cooking at Gutierrez Mexican Restaurant in Russell, Yost Oil Operations, Russell County Appraiser’s Office, State Farm Insurance and then retiring from Dr. Donald Kuehn and Dr. Paul Llampert’s Optometric Office. She was member of St John Lutheran Church, Russell.

Family was the most important thing in her life! She was at every volleyball match, baseball game, wrestling match, tennis match and motorcycle race possible. The family took many trips together, most recently to Hawaii in early 2020. They enjoyed camping on their many different camping trips as well as Lake Wilson.

Donna loved to cook! She is famous for her bierocks and bread, and for knowing the recipes of Gutierrez’s favorites. She was a very active member of the RRH Auxiliary and loved to sew anything and everything and made multiple masks for the hospital to use for patients. Her biggest role was acting as President and organize the Annual Soup Supper for the past several years. She also helped with multiple blood drives as a member of the Auxiliary.

She collected cookie jars, salt and pepper shakers, and anything else that caught her eye. Donna and Dennis were also avid motorcycle riders and took many trips on their Goldwing during their younger years. They also loved to go rendezvous with any muzzle loader club around. They were very active in the Russell Muzzle Loader club and helped to organize the annual shoot. Donna and Dennis also traveled on many Vosh trips to Panama delivering eyeglasses to the needy. Other hobbies were antiquing, auctions, and thrift shopping.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Dennis, of the home; daughters Debra Morris (Case) of Russell, Kansas and Tamera Krause (Richard) of Russell, Kansas; four grandchildren, Coady Morris, Kale (Elizabeth) Morris, Nathan Krause and Ryan Krause; one great grandchild Noah Morris, with another one on the way. She is preceded in death by her parents, and two brothers, Charles Schmidtberger and Larry Schmidtberger.

Celebration of Donna’s Life will be held at 10:00 AM, Friday, February 19, 2021 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell.  Burial will follow at Mt. Hermon Cemetery in Paradise, Kansas.  Visitation will be held from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Thursday, February 18, 2021 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, with the family present to greet friends from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  Memorials have been established with the Russell Regional Hospital Auxiliary or Russell Muzzleloader’s Club. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.

BETTY M. (JENNRICH) SOUKUP (Class 1950)

 

Betty M. (Jennrich) Soukup passed away on Friday, January 29, 2021 at the Ellsworth County Medical Center in Ellsworth, Kansas, at the age of 89.

She was born on August 26, 1931 in Russell, Kansas to Frank Sr. and Violet (Heard) Jennrich. She was united in marriage to Henry Soukup in Russell, Kansas on August 6, 1958. They were blessed with 3 children, Marcia, Twila and Lawrence. They lived on the family farm near Wilson and in 1976 they moved to Wilson where she spent the remainder of her life.

Betty was raised in the Russell area and graduated from Paradise High School where she played basketball. She never gave up the love for sports as she watched basketball and football whenever she could. Following high school, she moved to Salina with her sister and worked as a Nurses Aide at the Asbury Hospital in Salina. Later after raising her children she became a Certified Nurses Aide. She really enjoyed visiting and assisting the elderly. Betty was a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Dorrance, Kansas, the Altar Society, and D. of I. Betty enjoyed bowling; the highlight of her bowling career was when she earned the KWBA Grand Duchess Award at the Kansas State Bowling Tournament in Topeka, Kansas. She also enjoyed traveling around the area to play bingo.

Left to cherish Betty’s memory are her children, Twila (Roger) Angell of Medicine Lodge, KS; son, Lawrence of Wilson; sister, Doris Dolezal of Kanopolis, KS; four granddaughters, Marcie (Kyle) Borwick of Riverside, CA, Mindy (Cory) Willis of Platte City, MO, Lisa (Clinton) Kershner of Rush Center, KS, and Kimberly Angell of Platte City, MO; and six great-grandchildren, Nysa Price, Lillian Savala, Hazel Willis, Jack Borwick, Nash Kershner, and Henry Willis.

Betty is preceded in death by her parents, Frank Sr. and Violet Jennrich; husband, Henry Soukup; daughter, Marcia; and three brothers, Frank Jennrich Jr., Robert, and Wiliam Dean.

Betty was a woman of love and faith. She knew how to serve God, her family and enjoy life along the way. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, but the celebration of her life and memories will never be forgotten.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at 10:30 AM at the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Wilson. Visitation will be held on Monday 4 PM to 8 PM with a D of I Rosary at 7 PM at the funeral home in Wilson.

Memorials are suggested to D of I or St. Joseph’s Altar Society and may be sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, PO Box 533, Wilson, KS 67490.