EnglishSpanish

Karen Kaye Splitter

Karen Kaye Splitter, 84 died Wednesday April15, 2020 in her home surrounded by family in Gretna, Nebraska.  Kaye was born in Rapid City, South Dakota on March 23, 1936 to Frances and Eva (McCaine) Murray.

Kaye met Harold Wesley Splitter late in 1999, the two were married on February 9, 2000. This union blended two adult families, eight children all together. They navigated 14 wonderful years together until Harold passed away on January 31, 2015.

Kaye was a longtime resident of Holly, Colorado. She was an active member of the First Baptist Church. Kaye was always a teacher from the time she graduated until her last breath. She held a teaching job in the public-school system and after that was a dedicated director of CEF of Southeast Colorado before retiring. In August of 2018, Kaye moved from Holly, Colorado to Gretna, Nebraska. She was reluctant but willing to take that journey to be with family.

Kaye enjoyed reading, listening and discussing the Bible, which she knew well. She would recite many scriptures to all. Her favorite program on the radio was “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley”. She enjoyed watching Hallmark movies and working crossword puzzles. Kaye loved to travel and go for “Sunday drives”. One of her best times was when she and Harold took the ’89 Oldsmobile to Florida and up the east coast. Her joy was being a mother and getting to talk to her children, be with them and pray for them every day.

Kaye is survived by her sons, Gary and wife, Lori Willis of Lander, Wyoming, Quintin and wife, Stephanie Willis of Gretna, Nebraska, Darren of Las Animas, Colorado, and Shane and wife, Alicia Willis of Denver, Colorado, Steve and wife, Kelley Splitter of Orlando, Florida; daughters, Beverly and husband, Gary Medlock of Elkhart, Kansas, Linda Grayson of Columbia, Missouri, and Paula Martin of Rogers, Arkansas; one sibling, Dale Murray of Del Norte, Colorado. Kaye is also survived by 34 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren, 2 great great grandchildren, numerous other relatives and a host of friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Frances Murray and Eva (McCaine) Wellman; first husband, Charles Willis; second husband, Harold Splitter; and son-in-law, John Martin; sister, Gwen Voris; brothers, Mickey Murray and Wally Murray.

A private graveside service will be held at the Holly, Cemetery in Holly, Colorado.

For more information or to leave online condolences, please visit www.valleymemorialfc.com.

OBITUARIES

thumb

Larry John Heinz

 Larry John Heinz passed away after a brief illness on December 29th, 2025 in McPherson, Kansas.  He was 81 years old. Larry was born on August 24th, 1944 in Dodge City, Kansas to Milton and Sybil Heinz.  He was one of three children.  He was raised in Kinsley,... [More]

thumb

Mary Evelyn Drew

Mary Evelyn Drew October 8, 1924 – December 24, 2025 Mary Evelyn Libertus was born on October 8, 1924 to Ona and John Libertus in Hamilton County, Kansas. She joined four brothers—Mike, Ike, Allen, and Leroy. The family lived on a farm Ona and John purchased in... [More]

thumb

Jesse H. Melton

Jesse H. Melton passed away peacefully at his home in Granada, Colorado, on December 23, 2025, at the age of 91. He was born on April 19, 1934, in Holly, Colorado to Hershel and Dorothy (Davis) Melton. Jesse grew up in Granada, Colorado and was a proud graduate of Holly High... [More]

thumb

Gary Lee Hatcher

 Gary Lee Hatcher, a beloved father, grandfather, brother, and friend, passed away peacefully on December 22, 2025, in Syracuse, Kansas, at the age of 90. Born on March 26, 1935, in Dodge City, Kansas, to Elwyn and Hattie (Pittman) Hatcher, Gary was a man whose life was... [More]

thumb

Shirley Naulls

Shirley Nadine Naulls passed away peacefully on December 9, 2025 in Denver, Colorado, at the age of 90, in the company of her sister Marjorie Hurst and niece Tracey Hall. She was born December 13, 1934 in Syracuse Kansas, to Edna and Clyde Jones.  She is preceded in death... [More]

Maria Salud Garcia De Gonzalez

Maria Salud Garcia De Gonzalez passed away December 13, 2025 at the Via Christi St. Francis Hospital, in Wichita, Kansas. She was the daughter of Jose Garcia and Maria Gauadalupe Rivera. She was born December 27. 1949 in Urireo Guanajuato, Mexico. Maria grew up in Guanajuato,... [More]

thumb

William “Bill” Thomeczek

 William (Bill) Joseph Thomeczek, age 78, of Girard, Kansas, born on March 19, 1947, in Syracuse, Kansas, went home to be with the Lord on December 15, 2025, in Girard, Kansas. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Carl Joseph Thomeczek and Marie Lillian (Kerns) Thomeczek;... [More]

thumb

Jerry Seybert

 Recitation of the Rosary for Holly, Colorado resident, Gerald "Jerry" Seybert will be held at 10:00 a.m., followed by the Funeral Liturgy at 10:30 a.m. with Deacon Alan Medina officiating, at Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel in Holly, Colorado. Interment will follow in the... [More]

More Obituaries

View All Obituaries

SPORTS

thumb

HI-PLAINS ALL LEAGUE

The Hi-Plains League has announced recipients of all-league basketball honors. The selection process begins when individual coaches submit names. The players are then voted on by the other HPL coaches. However, coaches may not vote on their own players.   Syracuse High School... [More]

thumb

SHS CHEER TAKES SECOND

Small but Mighty! That is the name high school Head Cheerleading Coach, Marcos Valadez put on the 2024-2025 squad last summer, “We may not have the numbers, but our team has overcome adversity and is always stepping up to the challenge.”  Proving this, the Syracuse... [More]

thumb

BULLDOGS OPEN FALL SEASON WITH FIRST PLACE FINISH IN GOLF

The Syracuse Bulldogs Ladies Varsity Golf Team took first at their season opener in Stanton County on Tuesday afternoon. They shot a team score of 207 at the Prairie Pines Golf Course in Johnson. The varsity team  is Lanee Owens, Bronwyn Lewis, Sammy Schwieterman, Maddy... [More]

thumb

LEWIS HEADS TO STATE TRACK

Qualifying members of the high school track team traveled to Hill City Thursday, May 16 to compete in the 2-A regional meet against 15 teams, Ellinwood, Ellis, Hill City, Hoxie, Lincoln, Meade, Medicine Lodge, Oakley, Plainville, Smith Center, Stanton County, Sublette, Thomas... [More]

thumb

BULLDOGS TAKE SECOND AT REGIONALS - HEADED TO STATE

The Syracuse High School boys golf team battled breezy conditions on Monday May 13 competing in the 2-A Regional meet on their own Tamarisk Golf Course.  Adjusting to windy conditions and competing at home paid off for the Bulldogs Monday, placing second, qualifying... [More]

thumb

STATE GOLF RESULTS

State golf on Monday had the Varsity Bulldogs miss playing in the finals as a team by one stroke. They finished seventh out of twelve teams.  On Day 1, Brody Keller shot a 92 missing day two by two strokes. Ian Brummett shot a 95, Mason Scott  and Johnny TeVelde shot... [More]

thumb

JH BASKETBALL WINS

Junior High Boys Basketball A, B, and C teams travelled to Elkhart on Monday, November 21. The A team won 41-34, B team won 26-21, and  C team lost to Elkhart 13-20. Head Coach Vance Keller said, “Elkhart was a tough win for both the A and B teams but both grinded... [More]

thumb

LADY BULLDOGS BORDER WARS CHAMPIONS!!

The Lady Bulldogs were undefeated during the Border Wars, defeating Eads on Friday, 42-7 and Walsh on Saturday 62-5, bringing their record to 3-1. But the winner wasn’t announced until Tuesday evening. Syracuse Athletic Director Josh Johnson explained, “It came down... [More]

More Sports

NEWS

thumb

Former Syracusan Jessie Bee Writes Book

The Prophecy of Three; The Melanthia Chronicles, a story about a 17-year-old teenage heroine, named Summer, written by Jessie Bee.  What makes this book unique is that Jessie Bee has strong ties to Syracuse. Jessica (Nielsen) Blais wrote her book under a pen name,... [More]

thumb

Einspahr Lights Up The Stage As The Nutcracker

Months of hard work and collaboration came to fruition the first week of December at the Steps Dance School production of The Nutcracker, held at the Clifford Hope Auditorium in Garden City.  Director Ginny Duncan worked closely with prop and set designers, 14 choreographers... [More]

thumb

1999 Exchange Student Returns Reliving His Syracuse Days

Summer of August 1998, a young man from Germany set out on an adventure as an exchange student through the EF Foundation to Syracuse Kansas to attend high school for one year.  Georg Motzko wanted the experience of studying in another country to become more self-confident,... [More]

thumb

Veterans Day Thank You

US Major Andy Davis, call sign “CHAOS”, is a fourth-generation pilot in the Davis family of Syracuse and has flown several models of F-16 fighter jets in his 12 years in the Active-Duty Air Force. He has had several assignments and deployments across the globe, including... [More]

thumb

1991 SHS Grad Awarded Colorado Water Commissioner of the Year Division 2

Brandy Cole, 1991 SHS graduate, recently received the Water Commissioner of the Year Award, at the Annual Colorado Division 2 of Water Resources (DWR) meeting.  The award was presented by Jason Ullmann Colorado State Engineer and Rachel Lawhorn, DWR Division 2 Engineer.... [More]

thumb

30th Annual Classic and Antique Fly-In This Saturday

The 30th annual Classic and Antique Fly In will be held Saturday, October 11, at the Hamilton County Airport, hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EEA) Chapter 377.  Every year the annual Fly-In brings young and old to the local airport to look at vintage planes.... [More]

Important Information About City of Syracuse’s Drinking Water

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR DRINKING WATER SYRACUSE, CITY OF, Water System submitted the Initial Lead Service Line Inventory after October 16, 2024. This inventory identifies lead, non-lead, galvanized requiring replacement and unknown service lines between the water main... [More]

thumb

Urie Takes First at Rocky Mountain Race Week

Rocky Mountain Race Weekend, held at Pueblo Motorsports Park September 5-7, is a weekend of squalling tires, roaring engines, and hanging out with friends and family. Darrin, Kim, and children Ebben and Adalyn Urie travelled to Pueblo so the kids could compete, doing just... [More]

More News

OPINIONS

More love, less hate

Happy Thursday! I am writing this Wednesday morning . When this paper goes out, I need to start on next week’s, the final edition of the year. There won’t be a newspaper for January 1, 2026.  The calendar last year left zero room for a break and I am desperately... [More]

Purpose in the Pain

It’s November! It’s a beautiful cool, fall Wednesday morning as I write this. I took a walk with my dogs, chatted with my friend, and coughed. But the cough has been way better! Tuesday was Election Day. The contest for mayor of Coolidge was one many were watching.... [More]

Fruit of the Spirit

October is here! The cool mornings are lovely! Looking forward to cooler afternoons too! Thought I would share some quick updates. My respiratory junk is not wanting to exit this human. Got another round of antibiotics and more breathing treatments. Thankfully I am improving. ... [More]

Where Can God Use You Today?

A long haired shaggy white dog, likely a Great Pyrenees, showed up at our farm last week.  After a couple of days, we saw it wasn’t going anywhere. We started to feed it. He let us get closer.  What we found was a skinny, malnourished dog with a horrible case... [More]

How Vulnerable Are You?

Thanks for your patience last week. I am still recovering but have returned to the land of the living! I get frustrated with how slow it takes to recover sometimes when really I should focus on the fact that I am recovering.  I truly feel like I am getting stronger and then... [More]

Let God

It’s the first week of September. After I get the paper onto stands, we are headed to the state fair. They changed some of the stalling procedures this year for sheep which leaves some unknowns for us. But every year we go, we learn new things. After my irritation and frustration... [More]

thumb

Breathing Space

I slipped away for a quick getaway for back to school clothes shopping, visiting family, some good food, and a trip to Barnes and Noble.  We left Thursday afternoon and returned Sunday.  It was triple digit heat when we left our sheep in good hands to be taken care... [More]

Building Moments and Memories

Another week has passed after the fair but I am still not recovered. Monday is the start of school and I am hoping we get a quick getaway even for one night.  I was out of the office on Tuesday while we bred our lambs in Healy, Kansas. We rose early, hooked up the trailer,... [More]

More Opinions