Longtime Abilene dentist and Episcopal priest Frank Holtz died on December 17 after a short illness while visiting in Houston, Texas.
Frank John Holtz was born in Minneapolis, Kansas on April 7, 1940. When he was about a year old, his family moved to Clay Center where grew up. Baptized Methodist, he began attending the Episcopal Church at an early age and became very involved in youth activities. He was confirmed by Bishop Fenner in 1949.
After graduating in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washburn University and a Doctorate of Dentistry degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, he moved to Abilene to begin his practice, retiring in 2011.
He joined St. John’s Episcopal Church Abilene immediately upon his arrival. He was a member of the Episcopal Cursillo Ministry and a graduate of the University of the South’s Education for Ministry program. Seeing a need in his home parish he answered the call to professional ministry and became ordained first a Deacon and then a Priest in 1996. He served as Priest-in-Charge of St. John’s for ten years. “All things are possible in God,” was his favorite Bible verse.
Frank Holtz was a member of the Elks Club. He was a Mason and a Shriner, especially enjoying his affiliation with the Royal Order of Jesters. He quietly supported many charitable causes in the Abilene area and beyond. He treasured his many friends from childhood and school, patients, professional acquaintances, brothers and sisters in Christ, and members of his community. He will be greatly missed by them all.
He is survived by a niece Katie Brooke Holtz and a nephew Jacob Bilbee Holtz (wife Hilary) and their mother Gloria; grandnephew Hudson Bilbee; grandnieces Layla Marie and Katilynn Brooke; and his longtime friend Patricia Sweeney. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Olive (Novak) Holtz and brother, Douglas Burton Holtz.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM on January 9 at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, 311 S. Buckeye in Abilene. Rev. Canon Torey Lightcap of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas will preside. After the service, the reception will be at the Elks Club, 417 NW 4th Street, Abilene. Friends may sign the register book daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the funeral home and until service time Saturday at the church.
An inurnment service and Holy Eucharist will be held at 10:00 AM on January 16 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, NE 6th Street and Buckeye Avenue, Abilene. Following the inurnment, a burial service will be held at the Greenwood Cemetery, North 6th Street in Clay Center at 11:45 AM.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and United Way of Dickinson County. Checks should be made to the organization and sent to Martin-Becker-Carlson Funeral Home, 414 NW 3rd Street, Abilene, KS 67410.

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Vernon O. Peterson, 65, of Beloit, passed away Friday, January 1, 2016. Survivors include his wife, Patricia, of the home; brothers, Jerry Petterson, of Atlanta, Iowa, and David Petterson of Clay Center; half brother, Rick Sutcliffe, of Hays; sisters, Gwynetha Petterson, of Ozark, Missouri, and Elizabeth Fleming, of Omaha, Nebraska. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, January 6, at McDonald Funeral Home, Beloit, with burial in Elmwood Cemetery. Visitation will be from 9:00A.M. to 8:00 P.M. Tuesday, January 5, at McDonald Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to VFW Post No. 6242.

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Lillian Fay Wilcox, 91, was born January 13, 1924 in Scotland, Arkansas, to Scott and Lou Ella Davidson Berry and died Friday, January, 1, 2016, in Beloit. She was preceded in death by her parents; six brothers; three sisters; and her husbands. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Beloit. Survivors: her son, Kenneth Sheppard, of Topeka; daughters, Vendis Murray (Roy), of Clarksville, Tennessee, Doris Driskill, of Fairfield, Texas, Anna Spero Norm), of Moore Haven, Florida, and Beth Wehner(Greg), of Lawrence; eleven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren with several en route. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, January 4, at Elmwood Cemetery, Beloit. Visitation will be from 4-8P.M. Monday at McDonald Funeral Home, Beloit. Memorials may be made to Solomon Valley Hospice.