All Obituaries

  Herbert Gene Uhles was born in Qulin, MO to John and Amy Greer. Gene held may jobs throughout his life, including farming, butchering, carpentering Gas station owner, maintenance; but the job reflected back on was his time as custodian and bus driver at Maricopa Unified School District where he formed many life long relationships with the students, parents, teachers and many, many others. He was a long-time member of Lakeview Southern Baptist Church which later merged with...

Twenty-Third Psalm The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want… He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters… He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake… Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my...

Edwin Warren Hardt 1948-2019   Edwin Warren Hardt peacefully passed away on August 23, 2019, surrounded by friends and family and his loving wife of 46 years Brenda Hardt.   A Military Funeral Service has been scheduled Friday, August 30, 2019 at 10:45 AM at the Bakersfield National Cemetery, 30338 E Bear Mountain Boulevard, Arvin, CA 93203 Family and Friends can meet at Erickson & Brown Funeral Home, 501 Lucard St., Taft, CA. 93268 for Freedom Riders escort to the...

                                 A message from Joy I’m Free Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free I’m following the path God has laid you see. I took His hand when I heard him call I turned my back and left it all. I could not stay another day To laugh, to love, to work, to play. Tasks left undone must stay...

Nancy Jacqueline Mathews   Born August 12, 1928 Died July 16, 2019   Born in Fort Smith Arkansas, Nancy moved to Taft, CA in 1930 and lived there until her 87th year at which time she moved to Bakersfield. She graduated from Taft High School in 1946 and attended vocational nursing school in Long Beach CA where she met her future husband William H Mathews of Wharton, Texas. They were married in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1948.  They bore 3 children...

Hazel Ruth Davis 1928 - 2019 Hazel Ruth Casparis was born February 7, 1928 and passed away July 15, 2019. A native of Taft, Hazel lived most of her life in town, only moving to the Los Angeles area in her later years to be near her daughter, Joan.  At the age of 19, Hazel married fellow Taft native Charles Davis. Their union lasted 36 happy years until Charles's untimely death. Never one to slow down, Hazel remained active in the community as a volunteer at Taft's West Side...

Della Mae Bench August 10, 1937 - June 26, 2019 A Memorial Service will be held at Erickson & Brown Funeral Home, Taft on Wednesday, July 3rd 2019 at 10:00 am for former Taft resident Della Mae Bench, 81. Rev. Mark Roberts, Pastor of the Celebration Church of the Northwest, will officiate the service. Della Mae was born in Fellows, California, on August 10th, 1937 to Boyd William and Opal Bethell, and passed away in her home on June 26th, 2019. Della and Donald Bench owned and...

Paul Fredrick Cook February 15, 1940 - June 22, 2019 Paul Fredrick Cook was born on February 15, 1940 in Viane Oklahoma. He passed away peacefully in his home in Fellows, Ca on June 22, 2019. He is survived by his wife Loretta (Sutton) Cook, Son Mike Cook and wife Mary, Daughter Paula Glendening and husband Greg, Sisters Frita Barnett, Ruby Cox, Brother Kenny Cook, six step-children, 14 grand children, 17 great-grandchildren. He is proceeded in death by his son David Cook, his three...

Hope Rae-Lynn Phillips May 11, 2015-June 3, 2019   Hope Rae-Lynn Phillips was born to parents Rich and Teffoni (Moor) Phillips in Bakersfield, CA on May 11, 2015 and was tragically taken from this world on June 3, 2019 in Midland, TX. She was her parent’s miracle, her older sister’s answered prayer and cheer partner, and her younger brother’s boss, I mean protector. From the moment she entered the Earth, she truly stole the show. Whether it was her screaming until...

John Ray Lippert Sr. 1918 - 2019 John Ray Lippert Sr was born July 14, 1918, in Fellows, CA, and went home to be with the Lord on April 15, 2019 at his home in Taft, CA, just 3 months shy of his 101 st birthday. John was born on a lease near Fellows, CA to Peter and Bessie Lippert and attended elementary school in Fellows, graduated from Taft Union High School in 1937, and attended Taft College where he ran track. He married Charlotte Patricia Varley of Maricopa, CA on May 4, 1947. John...