Area Obituaries

Lester (Les) Leroy Hickman, age 86 of Mt. Ayr, Iowa, passed away Thursday, February 26,2026 at the Mount Ayr Health Care Center. Les was born on August 17, 1939, in Indianola, Iowa, the son of Murrel and Mary (Hamilton) Hickman. He graduated from Indianola in 1955 and received a BS of pharmacy at Drake University…

Sharon “Gayle” Giles, age 85, passed away peacefully on February 3 in Littleton, Colorado. She was born April 30, 1940, in Denver (Worth County), Missouri, to Claude and Deloris Geraldine Stephenson and was raised in Ellston, Iowa. During her childhood on the family farm, Gayle developed exceptional skill as a seamstress. She created clothing for…

Phillip James Richmond (Phil) of Kansas City, MO passed away peacefully at his home Wednesday, February 25, 2026, with his wife and son at his side following a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Phil was born November 22,1940 in Leon, IA to James B.W. Richmond & Florence Irene (Jarvis) Richmond. Phil grew up in Ringgold…

Ruth “Joan” Rinehart, daughter of Glenn and Mabel (Butler) Lesan, was born October 13, 1929, in a beautiful farm home in the area that is known as “Lesanville”, near Mount Ayr, Iowa. She was welcomed home by two doting brothers, Robert “Bob” and Rex Lesan. Joan died on Monday, February 23 at Clearview Home at…

Nancy Ellen Stephens was born April 2, 1946, in Creston, Iowa to Roy and Helen Reece Blunck. She was one of nine children raised in their home in Benton, Iowa. Nancy was an avid 6 on 6 basketball player, earning four years of letters, while attending Mt. Ayr Community Schools. She was an Iowa All-State…

Shelby Duaine Bullock was born in Carthage, Missouri on March 21, 1943, to Gaylen and Shelby Marie (Floyd) Bullock. He grew up with his brothers Gene and Douglas and sister Carol. Shelby served in the US Army from 1964 to 1966, with time spent in Vietnam. He was honorably discharged and went to work for…

Geraldine Beth Caldwell was born May 17, 1947, to Jack Keith Caldwell and Rebecca Beth Montgomery Caldwell in Independence, Missouri. At one year of age, Jack, Becky and Gerri moved to Houston, Texas and then relocated to Pasadena, Texas. Gerri eventually became the big sister with the birth of Steven Keith in 1949, Mary Lynn…

Ed Jones, 84, of Mt. Pleasant, IA, died Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at Park Place in Mt. Pleasant. James Edgar “Ed” Jones was born September 9, 1941 in Leon, Decatur County, Iowa. He was the son of James Everett and Margaret Ellen (Poush) Jones. He graduated from Mt. Ayr High School in Mt. Ayr as…

Dean Pettit was born on March 8, 1947, to Earl and Esther Pettit in Greenfield, Iowa. He attended school in Menlo and grew up alongside his siblings, brothers Donnie, Bill, and sister Bonnie. Dean graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri, where he earned a degree in education. He began his teaching career…

Lola Mae Hoffman, age 94, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her daughters at Azria Health in Winterset on February 1, 2026. A celebration of life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4, at the Shannon City Community Church, with burial at Harmony Cemetery near Shannon City, Iowa. An open visitation will be held…