Birthday reunion
Virginia Suddock was the guest of honor at a dinner held July 22 at the Presbyterian Church annex in Americus to celebrate her 90th birthday.
Those attending were her daughter and son-in-law, Bill and Carolyn Shomber; grandson and wife, Tom and Mary Shomber and daughter, Tia, all of Mission; granddaughter, Belinda Woods and daughters, Lucy and Lena of Merriam; Wendy Woods McMahon and sons, Seamus and Cian of Kansas City, Kan.; granddaughter and husband, Nita and Paul Illian and son, William, and Andy Orth of Olathe.
Her nieces and nephews were: Roberta and Wiletta Lewis of Dunlap; Clayton and Pat Finney and granddaughter, Kelsy Bosch and John and Heather Finney of Council Grove; Bruce and Marie Piper, Brian, Susie and Travis Finney, and Erma Piper, all of Americus; Gene and Eleanor Hickman of Axtel; J.D. and Wilma Jeanne Dawes, Nick Ramos and Tiana Ramos, Bill and Carrie Finney and Bill and Wilma Finney, all of Emporia, and Darlene Huerter of Seneca.
Those attending from out of state were nieces and nephews, Loyette McDuffie and Scott and Melanie McDuffie of Albuquerque, N.M., and Alvin and Pat Winters of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Kehres Family Reunion
Ninety descendants of Sebastian and Theresa Yocklin Kehres, formerly of the Maydale community located southeast of Olpe, gathered together recently for a family reunion. The event was held June 30 and July 1 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Olpe.
The patriotic-themed event was opened by Gerald Kehres leading all in the Pledge of Allegiance. A moment of silence was observed in remembrance of family members deceased and those unable to attend. Family members then sang “God Bless America.”
Bo Kehres provided the audience with a video compilation of vintage photographs, family movies and personal interviews highlighting the history of the Kehres family. At the conclusion of the movie, the meal catered by the Olpe Chicken House was blessed by the Rev. Tim Haberkorn.
The afternoon was spent taking generational photographs, watching the young Kehreses playing different games and selling the Kehres Family Cookbook.
The family attended Mass at St. Joseph Church in Olpe, after which they visited St. Joseph Cemetery, St. Mary’s Cemetery in the Maydale community and the homestead of Sebastian and Theresa Kehres, owned by Bernadine Kehres and occupied by Larry and Cindy Kehres. The group returned to the K of C hall for a dinner where framed Kehres family crests were given to attendees.
A brunch was served Sunday before family members left for their homes. Thirty-five family members from Ohio chartered a bus for the occasion, while others attended from Illinois, Texas, North Carolina and Nevada. Kehres families attending from Kansas came from Lawrence, Olathe, Topeka, Buhler, Wichita, El Dorado, Emporia and Olpe.
The next scheduled reunion for the family will be in two years in Illinois.