Chase County Kansas Obituaries
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Gardner, Leona Okalla Pyles MRS. HOWARD GARDNER FUNERAL
Funeral services for Mrs. Howard
Gardner, who died in the St. Francis
Hospital in Wichita, Monday, April 10,
1944, were held at the Methodist
Church in Elmdale on Thursday after
noon at 1:30 with Rev. V. A. Nickel in
charge.
Mrs. Art Drummond, Mr. and
Mrs. Will. Schneider and Duncan Mc-
Alpine sang; accompanied by Miss
Elma Faye Drummond, The pall bearers were M. C. Ballew, John Duke, Or
ville Giger, Leroy Giger, Roy Park,
and Otto Frey with interment in the
Elrndale cemetery.
The following obituary was read
at the services.
Leona Okalla, eldest
daughter of William Thomas and
Florence May Pyles, was born near
Clements, Kansas on July 29, 1897 and
passed away after a lingering illness
of two years at St. Francis Hospital
in Wichita at the age of 46 years, 7
months and 12 days.
At the age of 13, she moved with
her parents to their home near Elmdale, where she grew to womanhood.
At an early age she proclaimed her
faith in God, with the Methodist
Church in Elmdale. This faith she
held until death.
On June 4, 1916 at Emporia, Kan
sas she was united in. marriage to
Howard Eugene Gardner of Elrndale.
To this union four children were born,
Francis Eugene, Velma Lucille, Thel
rna Maxine and Shirley Deane.
They made their home in Chase
county until 1936 when the family
moved to Wichita. Upon the advise of
the family physician last fall, she
and her husband went to Albuquer-
que, New Mexico for her health.
Showing no improvement she wished
to be near her children and grand
children, thus she and her husband
returned in January to Wichita.
When
her condition continued to grow worse
she entered the hospital, where she
underwent a major operation. She
improved for a short time, but suf
fered a relapse which lead to her
death.
She was preceded in death by
one daughter, Shirley Deane, and one
brother, Everett.
She leaves to mourn her passing,
her husband, Howard, one son, Fran
cis Eugene of Wichita, two daughters,
Mrs. Vern Wiltshire of Medicine
Lodge, Mrs. Roy Dunkle of Anthony,
Kansas; eight grandchildren, her par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. W. T, Pyles, four
sisters, Mrs. Evadna Byram of Clements, Mrs. Mildred King of Wichita,
Mrs. Cecile Clark of Elmdale and
Mrs. Velma Drummond of Cottonwood
Falls and two brothers, Nelson E.
Pyles of Hoxie and Thomas Pyles of
Elmdale, besides a host of other rela
tives and friends.
Chase County Leader-News, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, April 10,1944