|
| |
Bessie Lorraine Hawkins was born to John and Lola Hawkins on January 18, 1919, in Norborne, Missouri.
She lived most of her life on a farm south of Helena with her two brothers and five sisters, as well as her parents.
She graduated from Helena High School in 1934, at the age of 15, and went to McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas, for one year, studying business.
In 1935, Bessie married Basil Veley and to this marriage a daughter was born, Rosetta Rochelle.
In 1938, Bessie married Walter (Wally) Kline. They had two children, Leslie Lee and Mary Elizabeth.
Bessie put her business training to work, becoming the co-owner of a drug store in Helena. After selling this business, Bessie worked as a business woman for many years.
She worked for Electrolux, sold Federal crop insurance, worked for the ASCS office in Cherokee, and worked alongside Wally in the Cimarron Insurance Agency and Kline Implement business. Wally and Bessie also farmed.
After selling Kline Implement, she began working for NODA, where she was a caregiver to the elderly for the Helena community, helping them with their doctor's appointments, medicines, household chores, grocery shopping. She was a home healthcare worker for the elderly at the very inception of that business.
After Wally's death, Bessie married Victor Welch in 1984, and they were married until his death in 2007.
Bessie's life was one lived for the Lord, serving and loving people. She was a hard worker all her life until she became blind in 2010. She continued (even in her circumstances of becoming blind, moving to a new state, and being forced into a dependent situation) to praise the Lord and count her blessings.
Bessie was a teacher, although she never had teaching credentials and never taught in a classroom, except a Sunday school classroom. She taught her children to stand on their own, to be responsible, to work hard, to love others and to be lifelong learners, as she was. She also taught her Christianity by example in her everyday life.
Bessie's life on this earth ended on November 29, 2018. A memorial service celebrating her life is 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 8, 2018, at the Helena Church of Christ, with visitation 5:00-7:00 p.m. Friday evening, December 7, 2018, at Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. in Helena. www.LanmanMemorials.com Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.
Preceding her in death are her husbands, Wally Kline (1978) and Vic Welch (2007); her daughter, Rochelle Lunday (2009); grandson, Greg Lunday (1978); and great-grandson, Raysen Frech (2014); her parents, John and Lola Hawkins; her brothers and their wives, Clarence and Ruth Hawkins, Henry and Hazel Hawkins; her sisters and their husbands, Dorothy and Weir Troyer, Goldie and Virgil Shepard, Grace and Kenneth Thralls; and J.N. Gibble; Mava and Luther "Bart" Barton; Ruth and Don McCollum.
She is survived by her children, John Lunday (Rochelle's husband) of Moore, Oklahoma; Les (and wife, Chris) Kline of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Mary (and husband, Ron) Frech of New Braunfels, Texas; daughter-in-law, Louise LaBounty (and husband, Jerry); grandchildren, Doug (and wife, Christina) Geis; Patricia Lunday; Lance Lunday; Lesley Kline; Lynn (and husband Rob) Boyd; Olivia Kline; Angela (and husband, Trey) Nessler; Danielle (and husband, Ruben) Esqueda; and Ryan (and wife, Rishanne) Frech; and her French granddaughter, Pascale Bourdin; 15 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren; many nieces; nephews; cousins and friends.
Memorials may be made to the Living for Raysen Foundation, c/o New Braunfels Area Community Foundation, 801 W. San Antonio St., New Braunfels, Texas 78130, or to the charity of your choice.
This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2024 Oklahoma CemeteriesThe information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.