Obituary

Tonya Sue (Van Etten) Parish died peacefully in her sleep on Monday (June 21, 2010). She was born to Eldon and Dixie (Weiser) Van Etten in Springfield, Mo.

Tonya was a member of Liberty Baptist Church in Newton.
She worked for the Newton school district for 15 years, many of them as a paraprofessional. Prior to working in the Newton school system, she was a homemaker who stayed at home to care for her children. She enjoyed working in the yard and was an accomplished seamstress.

She is survived by her husband, Larry J. Parish; son, Jeffrey and Eva Parish of Newton; daughters, Stephanie and John Haviland of Newton, Julia Parish of Hutchinson, and Sara Parish of Newton; sisters, Deanna Geide of Hutchinson, Melody and Ed Bosley of Hutchinson, and Kimberly and Nodi Rayton of Lawrence; brother, Brian White of Lawrence; and her parents, Eldon and Dixie Van Etten.

Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Liberty Baptist Church in Newton. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Newton. Visitation will be from 1 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Petersen Funeral Home in Newton, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. A memorial fund has been set up for Liberty Baptist Church in care of Petersen Funeral Home.