A memorial for our fellow artist that are with us in spirit.
Penny Lee Zeller Hasenkamp
December 13, 1956 - November 19, 2021 Penny Lee Zeller Hasenkamp of rural Baileyville, KS passed away at the age of 64 on Friday, November 19th, surrounded by family at the Onaga Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer. Penny was born December 13, 1956 in Manhattan, KS. She was one of 4 daughters born to William B. Evans and Anita (Ochs) Evans. She was raised in the St. George community and graduated from St. George High School in May of 1974. She attended Cloud County Community College and graduated in May of 1976 with a degree in journalism. While attending college she met her first husband Daniel Zeller of Paxico. They were married on June 12, 1976. Three children were born to this union. They later divorced. Labor Day weekend of 1991 she met her second husband, Glen Lee Hasenkamp. They were united in marriage on January 18, 2012. Penny offered years of child care services to many children in the Paxico area. She was later well known for her work with The Smoke Signal in Wamego, KS. After meeting her husband Glen Lee and moving to Baileyville, KS she worked for KANZA Land Radio for a number of years. Penny then worked for the Seneca Chamber of Commerce and Midland Hospice. Penny enjoyed being actively involved in all her children’s’ school activities and being able to attend all their events. Over the years Penny had many hobbies that she enjoyed. She was an avid camping, fishing, and outdoors woman, she enjoyed passing these activities along to her grandchildren. Penny had a passion for photography and enjoyed traveling with her husband and being able to capture all kinds of beautiful scenery. She was also a proud member of the Columbian Theater Art group in Wamego, KS where she had the opportunity to showcase her photography. Her all-time favorite hobby was spending time with her grandchildren and adopted grandchildren all of whom she dearly loved. Penny is survived by Glen Lee, her loving husband of 30 years of the home. Her children Amy (Kieron) Butler of Hartselle, AL; Amber (Anthony) Heigert of Paxico, KS; Andy (Shawn Hulsing) of St. George, KS. Her sisters Nancy Tobias of Overland Park, KS and Billie Anderson of Missoula, MT. As she affectionately called them her “Babies” Bryce (Jaden Kincaid) Schultz, Bradyn and Cierra Schultz, Zowie Butler, Henry and Madelyn Heigert, Jed and Kiptyn Zeller, Byren Hulsing, and her many surrogate children and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Sharlot Barr and brother-in-law Robert Barr. Penny will lie in state at Popkess Mortuary in Seneca, KS on Monday November 22, family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. She will then lie in state at Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home in Manhattan, KS on Tuesday November 23 family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home in Manhattan on Wednesday November 24, at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at the Westmoreland City Cemetery in Westmorland, KS. Maury Berggren
November 12, 1938 - January 2, 2021 Maurice Winston Berggren, age 82 of Manhattan, passed away Saturday, January 2, 2021, at Ascension Via Christi Hospital. He was born on November 12, 1938, in Leonardville, the son of Martin Luther and Agnes Cecilia (Nelson) Berggren. He was the youngest of seven children. He attended Leonardville Grade School and graduated from Leonardville Rural High School. He graduated from Bethany College, majoring in Commercial Art and Art Education and completed his Master’s Degree at Kansas State University. On December 31, 1960, he married Bonnie Jean Lundquist. She survives of the home. Maury taught in the Art Department at Manhattan High School for 29 years and owned Berggren’s Studio. He was a charter member of Peace Lutheran Church. He loved working with stained glass and fashioned many stained glass windows for churches and hospitals. Bonnie and he enjoyed traveling the country visiting their children and grandchildren. In addition to his wife, he is survived by one son, Bruce Berggren and wife Betty of North Richland Hills, Texas; one daughter, Janice Johnson and husband Paul of North Mankato, Minnesota; two sisters, Norma Coutermarsh and husband Bart of Leonardville and Lylas Schultz of Ellinwood; one sister-in-law, Jacky Berggren of Mitchell, South Dakota; seven grandchildren, Michelle Berggren, Scott Berggren, Kristianna Johnson, Makenna Johnson, Kjersten Johnson, Elizabeth Sawyers, and Alexander Sawyers and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers, Wendell (Betty) Berggren, Robert (Fern) Berggren, Kenneth (Elaine) Berggren, and Ralph Berggren. Bob Sinnett
November 14, 1926 - January 22, 2014 Manhattan, Kan.—Earl Robert (Bob) Sinnett was born to Muscatine natives Margaret and Frank Sinnett in California on Nov. 14, 1926. On January 22, 2014, he passed away due to complications from a fall on January 21. Margaret and her young son returned to Muscatine in 1928. Bob grew up in Muscatine and later attended the University of Iowa. He earned his PhD from the University of Michigan. He served in the Navy, and in the Army reserves. In 1962, he moved to Manhattan, Kan., where he worked as a psychologist and educator until his mid-eighties. Bob Sinnett was a direct descendant of Samuel Sinnett who, along with his brother Charles, built the Octagon House in Muscatine. Bob is survived by wife, Kay Sinnett; daughters Lucy Sinnett Schuler and Kate Sinnett, sons Brian and Dan, son-in-law, Steve Schuler; sister-in-law, Lucy Morgan; brother-in-law, Richard Morgan; grandchildren Frederick, Kathleen and Evan. F. Gene Ernst
November 26, 1929 - September 5th, 2013. F. Gene Ernst is a Manhattan KS native, educated at Kansas State University with a Bach. of Architecture in 1953 an a Master of Architecture from University of Washington in 1971. Practiced architecture in Louisiana and Kansas and taught architecture at KSU from 1967 to 1992, retiring as Professor Emeritus. Gene was a Corporate Member of the American Institute of Architects, now Emeritus. He is a founding member of the Columbian Artists; the Watercolor Stuldio of the Manhattan Arts Center; and a member of Mountain Aire Painters of Crested Butte – Gunnison Colorado, and the Kansas Watercolor Society. Gene paints en plein aire, as weather permits, and has traveled and painted in the Grenadines W.I., France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Austria, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Paraguay, and Guatemala. His watercolors have been shown at Kansas State University, Chang Gallery, Swogger Gallery, Gallery North, Poppyfield Gallery, the Gunnison CO Center for the Arts, Manhattan Arts Center, Mulvane Art Museum, and the Kauffman Museum. Lila Mae Hanson
July 4, 1933 - June 5, 2004 Lila died suddenly on June 5, 2004, at her home in Wamego, Kan. A time of remembrance, attended by many friends and family, was held at the Steward Funeral Home in Wamego. Lila was born July 4, 1933, in Davenport, to Rudolph and Amy Frutiger. She graduated from Davenport High School in 1951. She attended the University of Iowa for three years. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Education and a Master's Degree in Humanities from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Mo. Lila and Bernard Hanson were married at Englewood, Colo., on June 22, 1962. Mrs. Hanson worked at the Denver Research Institute as an office manager from 1960 to 1969. In 1969, the family moved to St. Charles, Mo. In 1978, she authored a cookbook called The Pot Belly Stove and wrote articles for the St. Louis papers. In May, 1994, she and her husband moved to Wamego. While in Wamego, she taught memoir writing classes and was known for her china painting and watercolor painting. She loved to paint and was a very talented artist. She was a certified teacher of porcelain art and was a member of the International Porcelain Artists Association, the Columbian Artists, the Manhattan Arts Center and a past member of the Wamego Study Club and the World Organization of China Painters. Survivors include her husband Bernard; her two daughters, Amelia Williams and her husband Roger, of Marthasville, Mo., and Susan Hanson, Greenbank, Wash.; a brother, Donald Frutiger, Davenport; a sister, Shirley Frutiger, Davenport; and seven grandchildren, Kyle, Cody, Caterina, Caleb and Tristan Williams, and Joey and Michael Sousa. |
Dennis L. Law
August 8, 1944 - November 2, 2021 Law grew up on the family farm south of Plainview, Texas. He attended and graduated from Petersburg (Texas) High School in 1962. Law was a member of the Kansas State University Landscape Architecture faculty for 38 years serving until he retired in 2009. Professor Law received his bachelor’s degree in Park Administration at Texas Tech University in 1967. After graduating, he worked in public and private practice until he earned a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at Kansas State University while at the rank of instructor. Upon graduating with an MLA in 1974, Law was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1976. He served as Professor and Department Head in the Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning. He became Dean of the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design in 1995. Among his many accomplishments as Dean, he marshaled the fundraising for a significant renovation of Seaton Hall, successfully advocated for and fostered limited enrollment in the College, and presided over the successful conversion of the professional programs offered in the College from baccalaureate to non-baccalaureate master graduate programs. Dean Law has seen his landscape architecture come to life across the nation. His projects have included city parks, theme parks, residences, landscape development, plazas and reclamation plan for the 43,000-acre site in western Wyoming. He has been an international speaker on global environmental issues, with more than 75 papers presented, including lectures to members of the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, he also presented in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Shanghai, China; Warsaw, Poland; Prague, Czech Republic, and San Jose, Costa Rica. In addition, he has written numerous books and other publications on planting design, reclamation of disturbed lands, environmental ethics, the design of a sustainable tropical farm using hydroponics systems in Costa Rica, and landscape architecture education. Dean Law was a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Sigma Lambda Alpha National Landscape Architecture Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He has been recognized numerous times as one of America’s Most Admired Educators in Design Intelligence Magazine. Dean Law was honored in 1991 by the Blue Key National Honor Society and the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority for outstanding teaching. Preceding him in death were his parents, Alvin and Daisy Wilson Law. Law is survived by his wife, Linda Hyman Law, they married on December 20, 1964, in Brownfield, Texas, he and Linda are members of the First United Methodist Church in Manhattan. They had three children including Dwight (Melissa), also a landscape architect in Shanghai, China; Andrea Law who teaches in the English Language Program at Kansas State University; and Brent Law (Jeanine) active Army Reserves, who resides in Frisco, Texas. Dennis and Linda have four grandchildren, Josh Law who resides in Hawaii; Jaxon Carey and Mari Carey from Manhattan, Kansas; and Isabella Law, Frisco, Texas; Sister Sylvia Kay Law Morris (Otis) of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dennis is known for paintings and drawings. He has years of experience in pen and ink drawings and acrylic paintings. In spite of having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015, Dennis continued to play racquetball with close friend Roger Allerheiligen, qualifying to compete in the Senior Olympics in 2015 and 2017 and won a silver and gold medal in the State of Kansas senior games. Dennis made a point of knowing the names of every student and speaking to them. He learned to say hello and goodbye in 35 languages so international students would feel welcome. At Christmas time Dennis and Linda would give each student two cookies. Jean Moore Ponte
1925 - October 28, 2019 Jean Moore Ponte of Manhattan, KS, passed away on October 28, 2019 at the age of 94 of complications from congestive heart failure. As a young adult, Jean was involved in the theater, performing in a traveling company and summer stock theaters in Connecticut and Long Island, NY. Later she worked as a copywriter at advertising agencies in Chicago and St. Paul. Jean attended Western Michigan College and graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts. She was an avid artist and writer. She published 4 works of fiction and completed numerous paintings, showing several times in local galleries. She was a longtime member of the Columbia Artist Group. Jean had a love of nature, particularly water. As both a child and adult, she spent many summers at the family cottage in Mackinaw City, Michigan. She loved walking along the shore, listening to nature and finding interesting pieces of driftwood and fossils that she used as inspiration for her art. Her family shares her love of Mackinaw and the surrounding area, and continues to vacation there. Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Bessie Moore, her brother John E. Moore, and her husband of 60 years, Joseph Ponte, Jr. She is survived by her children: Wendy Ponte of Minneapolis, MN, Mars de Ponte of Portland, OR, and Malcolm Ponte (Christine) of Springfield, VA. She is also survived by her granddaughter Adelaide Ponte Usdin of Minneapolis, MN. Eric Abraham
November 27th 1936 - September 7th, 2013. He was born on Nov. 27, 1936, in Harlem to parents who were Works Progress Administration artists and writers in New York. His parents illustrated children’s ’ books for the public schools of New York City, according to his website, www.ericabraham.net. He graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute with a bachelor’s degree in painting in 1964. Five years later, he received his master’s degree in ceramics from the University of Nebraska. Mr. Abraham then worked for a brief time for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City before moving to Santa Fe and Madrid, N.M. He taught for two years at Kansas State University and then moved to Vail, Colo., in 1974. He had a ceramics and pottery studio in Vail and later in Denver. He first gained national attention for his artwork when he created two large, fire-breathing dragons. One was featured on the NBC “Today” show. He has appeared on the Lynette Jennings Design Show on the Discovery Channel, according to his website. His artwork was shown most recently in Wichita at the Book and Art Fair in May and at the Smoky Hill River Festival at Salina in June. This next weekend, he was scheduled to exhibit in the Ponca City Art Center’s Art Festival. In 2004, he moved to Lucas, where he bought an old car dealership building and renovated it into the Flying Pig Studio and Gallery. One of his favorite mediums was porcelain because it allowed him to use bright colors. According to his website, Mr. Abraham is survived by a daughter, Sara Mercedes of California; a companion, Ruth DeOreo; and former wife Judy Love. George Evan Preuss
January 28, 1936 - July 23, 2009 73, of Wamego, passed away on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at his residence. He was born on January 28, 1936 in Queens, New York, the son of John and Genevive McDonnell Preuss. He graduated from La Salle Military Academy in 1954. George was an Army veteran, serving for 21 years (1954 - 1975). He had resided in the Wamego area since 1975. He was a notable artist, sculptor, and inventor. He was the creator of many public pieces of art throughout the state of Kansas, including sculpture in front of the Riley County Historical Building. His rests in the Kansas Veterans' Cemetery at Fort Riley. Eugene McGraw
May 22, 1931 - June 29, 2003 Eugene Thomas McGraw, 72, died Sunday, June 29, at Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan. He was a retired professor from the College of Architecture, Planning and Design at Kansas State University. He was born May 22, 1931, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Thomas Michael and Nora Catherine (Kilcoyne) McGraw. Mr. McGraw graduated in 1957 with the last graduating class from Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State University, with his Bachelor’s in Architecture and an Associate of Arts. He later earned his master’s from K-State in 1963. He joined the faculty at K-State in 1958 as an instructor, was promoted to assistant professor in 1964, associate professor in 1968, and professor in 1978. He served the College of Architecture, Planning and Design for 37 years. During his tenure at K-State, he became a founding member of the newly formed Department of Interior Architecture in 1971. Prior to that time, he served in the Departments of Architecture and Regional and Community Planning. Mr. McGraw’s students won many national and international design competitions. McGraw’s service and activities in the Department of Interior Architecture are distinguished by founding the German Foreign Studies Program in Trier, establishing and coordinating the 15-credit-hour internship program, the placement and securing of a significant number of scholarships and grants for graduating seniors to prominent graduate schools, and his classes’ participation in design competitions that allowed students in his studios to win a significant number of design awards. He also served seven years as a faculty senator, as well as seven years as a national representative on the AIA National Committee on Interiors (one year as national education chairperson) and five years as a founding committee member of the college’s CCOP committee. Mr. McGraw was an award-winning educator and received the Conoco Undergraduate Teaching Award given by Kansas State University for his outstanding and distinguished teaching career. He was a member of St. Isidore Catholic Student Center, Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Sigma Delta National Scholastic Societies, Columbian Art Society, and the 15th Air Force Historical Society. In his retirement he enjoyed genealogy and visiting Ireland. Survivors include his son, James T. “Tim” McGraw of Colorado Springs, CO; one sister, Mary Helen Corbett of Cleveland, OH; four brothers, John McGraw of Brooksville, FL, Joseph McGraw of College Station, TX, James McGraw of Paducah, KY, and Michael McGraw of Cleveland, OH. He loved his former wife Betty very much. He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, William and Thomas McGraw; and one sister, Ann Fox. Mass of Christian Burial was held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at St. Isidore Catholic Student Center with Father Keith Weber as Celebrant. Burial followed in Sunrise Cemetery in Manhattan. Pallbearers were Steve Murphy, Bob Bullock, Allan Hastings, Fayez Husseini, Al Keithley, and John Selfridge. Honorary pallbearers were Gene Ernst, Vernon Deines, Jack Durgan, Eugene Wendt and Ray Weisenburger. A Christian Wake service was held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Isidore Catholic Student Center, with the family receiving friends from 6 until 7 p.m. prior to the service. |