Joann Little Albright, 82, of La Cygne, Kan., passed on to her eternal home on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. Visitation will be held Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 5-7 p.m. at Schneider Funeral Home, La Cygne. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at Joann’s church, Fontana Christian Church, Fontana.
(Mary) Joann Little was born in Delaware, Okla., Jan. 2, 1934, to Floyd and Sue (Reeves) Little. Joann is survived by her brother and his wife, Sidney and Deanie Little of Delaware, and their three children and families; her sisters-in-law, Delores Albright and Juanita Albright; and one aunt, Betty Whorten.
Joann Little married Oakley Albright on Oct. 10, 1954. He preceded her in death in 2008.
In 1973, Oakley and Joann moved to La Cygne from Grandview, Mo. She worked as a cook at Prairie View High School for many years before retiring to work on china painting, crocheting and playing with grandchildren. Prior to that she was a homemaker and also provided daycare.
Joann is also survived by her six beloved daughters, Shirley Kinder and husband Stan of Paola, Judy Albright, Peggy Noel and husband Fred, Mary Shelton and husband Robert, all of LaCygne, Sherry Holmes and husband Todd of Paola, and Kathy Lewis and husband Ted of La Cygne; grandchildren Kevin Kinder, Kelly Childress, Sara Sweptson, Kenny Shelton, Gracie Shelton, Michelle Dawson, Nick Holmes, Tara Oliphant and Amanda Stanfill; and 11 great-grandchildren and another one due in December.
Community involvement and service was a cornerstone throughout Joann’s life. She became involved in Royal Neighbors of America while living in Grandview and continued her involvement after moving to La Cygne. With the RNA Neighbor Helping Neighbor program she held many leadership roles and donated thousands of hours of volunteer time helping others, especially children.
She enjoyed helping with the ham and bean dinner in conjunction with the Firefighters Auxiliary Community Care Program. It was held to raise money so local area children could have a better Christmas. It is this Community Care Program that her daughters have chosen for her memorial. Please direct memorials in Joann’s name to Community Care Program; donations will be handled by Schneider Funeral Homes, La Cygne, KS 66040.
In a cookbook recently authored by her oldest daughter, Joann’s final quote reads as follows: “Oakley … retired in 1991. We bought a fifth wheel and traveled to Texas every winter. We enjoyed our 10 years on the road. I am still in our home. I’ve enjoyed my life and seen a lot of places. My daughters are my life. They all live within 20 miles of me and you can’t beat that.”
OBITUARIES
Rick “Rockin Rick” Nash ~ 11-13-1958 to 02-23-2026
Linn County News Published March 11, 2026 Rick "Rockin' Rick" Nash, 67, of Lawrence, Kan., passed away on Feb. 23, 2026, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Lawrence, Kan. Rick was born to parents Joe Victor Nash and Janice Maline Heitman on Nov. 13, 1958,... [More]
Bernard Thomas “Tom” Brownback ~ 10-06-1938 to 02-27-2026
Linn County News Published March 4, 2026 Bernard Thomas "Tom" Brownback was born on a farm in Centerville, Kan., the fifth child born to William Earl and Kezia Ellen (Reynolds) Brownback on Oct. 6, 1938. He passed away on his farm in rural Blue Mound,... [More]
Bernard E. “Gene” Post ~ 05-02-1934 to 12-15-2025
Linn County News Published March 4, 2026 Bernard E. “Gene” Post, 91, of Mound City, Kan., passed away peacefully on Dec. 15, 2025. Born on May 2, 1934, in Mound City, Kan., he lived a life marked by generosity, quiet strength, and unwavering... [More]
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- Katherine Paulette Curry ~ 02-27-1945 to 01-31-2026
- Terry Dean Crump ~ 02-03-1942 to 01-27-2026
- Viola May “Budd” Ralston ~ 02-04-1933 to 01-21-2026
NEWS
Commissioners hear from appraiser on valuations report from KPI
During the meeting on March 2, the Linn County Commissioners heard from County Appraiser Lisa Kellstadt who stated that in response to the KPI (Kansas Policy Institute) report on valuations she had sent documents to each commissioner and would like to report on those. Kellstadt... [More]
2025 data is in: Four straight years of unaffordable assessed valuation hikes. Where’s the relief?
Assessed valuation changes for 2025, released this morning, reiterate the need for a constitutional amendment to limit the increases. The average increase for existing residential property (not counting new construction) of 5.9% is more than double the inflation rate, and that’s... [More]
USD 346 potential $10 million bond issue discussed
The USD 346 Board of Education held a special meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 25, to discuss options for renovating the science suite at Jayhawk Linn along with several other items. The meeting began with discussing a timeline, with HVAC and plumbing kicking things off and a pre-construction... [More]
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SPORTS
Pleasanton boys advance in Sub-State tournament, girls end season
The Pleasanton boys’ and girls’ basketball teams began their Sub-State tournament action this past week. Pleasanton is in the Madison 1A Div. 1 Sub-State and the boys entered the tournament as the 1 seed with a 20-1 record while the girls were the 11 seed with an... [More]
Jayhawk wrestling has four wrestlers place in the top four at State
The Jayhawk boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams traveled to Hays on Feb. 27-28 to compete in the 3-1A State tournament. The Hawks brought a total of 11 wrestlers to the event, six girls and five boys. The boys’ team earned three State medals while the girls’... [More]
Prairie View boys’ wrestling sends two to State
The Prairie View boys’ wrestling team traveled to Paola on Feb. 21 to compete in a 4A Regional to determine who would make the 4A State tournament in Salina on Feb. 27-28. The Buffalos took eight wrestlers and two emerged as qualifiers for the State tournament, Bentlee... [More]
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