Obituary of Evelyn Strayer

IN LOVING MEMORY OF EVELYN (SKRDLANT) STRAYER Evelyn Barbara (Skrdlant) Strayer passed away peacefully on February 8, 2018, at the Good Samaritan Society in Atwood, KS. She was born March 1, 1922, at the family farm home in rural Norton County, KS to Charles and Molly (Vosika) Skrdlant. She passed away at the age of 95. On December 9, 1945, she was united in marriage to the love of her life, Ralph Ward Strayer, in Norton, KS. To this union three daughters were born: Joyce, Janice and Carla. In the early 1940's she was a clerk and bookkeeper at Duckwalls in Norton. After her marriage to Ralph, the family lived in Norton, KS, and Frederick and Arriba, CO before being transferred to Atwood, KS where Ralph was the manager of the Foster Lumber Yard. They later bought the lumber yard and renamed it Home Lumber. After operating Home Lumber for 19 years, they retired in 1985. As well as working at Williams Bros. Department Store and grocery, Evelyn worked with Ralph in the family business and was a Tupperware dealer for many years. She was a Brownie Scout Leader and a volunteer for countless school projects involving her three girls. Evelyn had many varied interests. Family meant everything to her and her family always came first. She sewed clothes for her little girls and always dressed them up for all occasions. Pictures were always taken to record every event throughout her family's lives. Evelyn also spent years researching and cataloging family history on both sides of her family. She was organized to a fault and kept records of everything and wrote daily in diaries for almost eight decades. She was an avid reader and enjoyed stamp collecting and scrapbooking. She took great pride in her beautiful flower beds and extensive garden and loved working outside where she enjoyed nature and especially the birds. She was always busy in the summer canning and freezing fruits and vegetables. An excellent cook, she could put together a great meal at the drop of a hat and loved entertaining family and friends. She had also compiled an extensive collection of recipes and cookbooks. Evelyn was a devoted parishioner of the Atwood United Methodist Church where she was a member of Sarah Circle and United Methodist Women. For almost 50 years she attended a weekly coffee club with many dear friends. Evelyn and Ralph enjoyed their many travels in the United States and seven countries in Europe. She made huge scrapbooks of their travels and they stayed in touch with many of the friends they made while traveling throughout the years. Evelyn and Ralph had 63 wonderful years together before Ralph's death in early 2009. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Ralph; brothers Charles, Emil, Robert, Vernon and James; sister, Barbara Booth; five sister-in-laws and one brother-in-law. Survivors include: daughters, Joyce Hicks and Janice Strayer of Denver, CO and Carla (Larry) Chvatal of San Diego, CA; grandson, Mark Hicks (Stephanie) and great-grandson, Kyle of Fort Carson, CO; brothers, Orval (Norton KS) and Garold (Chandler, OK); sister-in-law, Vivian (Emil) Skrdlant (Norton KS); numerous nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life will be held March 2, at 10:30 a.m. at the Atwood United Methodist Church with Rev. Fay Balch Hubbard officiating. Lunch will be served at the church following the service. Interment will be in Norton, KS Cemetery at 2:30 p.m. Enfield Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be made to the Rawlins County Health Center, Good Samaritan Society (Atwood) or charity of donor's choice c/o Enfield Funeral Home, 215 Main, Norton KS 67654. Condolences may be left at www.enfieldfh.com