JoVeta Karen (Ruth) Wescott

JoVeta Karen Ruth Wescott was born on October 24, 1940, and died on October 24, 2025. She died on her 85th birthday, a beautiful completion to a life lived in faith.

A convert to Catholicism, JoVeta was deeply influenced by the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, who sponsored St. Francis Hospital. She loved the Sisters and considered it a special honor to work alongside them for many years. She had been a devoted member of the Church of the Magdalen since 1967, when she and her husband, Jim, moved to east Wichita from St. Margaret Mary, where they were married in 1959.

JoVeta was a proud graduate of the St. Francis School of Nursing, later earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Webster University and a master’s degree in nursing administration from Trinity University. She loved being a nurse and cared for countless patients throughout her career. In her later years, she was instrumental in developing the Parish Nursing Program locally and nationally, even co-authoring a book on the topic.

Her Catholic faith was very important to her. She faithfully attended weekly adoration hours and supported causes that helped children in need as well as seminarians studying for the priesthood. She had a heart for the outsider and the underprivileged, often inviting those less fortunate to join her family for Thanksgiving dinner.

The family is deeply grateful to the staff of Harry Hynes Hospice and the dedicated staff of the Catholic Care Center, where she lived for the past three and a half years. Both organizations served her with dignity, kindness and compassion in her final years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Virginia Ruth. Survivors include sister, Sharon (Jerry) Guy of Wichita; sons, Mike (Therese) of Wichita, Danny (Deborah) of Manchaca, Texas; daughters, Sherry (Earl) Wescott of Rensselaer, New York, Cathy (Steve) Kramer of Naperville, Illinois, Robyn Colson of Wichita, and Stacey (David) Larson of Wichita; as well as 23 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at the Church of the Magdalen, 12626 E. 21st Street North, Wichita, Kansas, on Friday, October 31, 2025. The Rosary will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the Rite of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m.

A memorial has been established with: Wichita Children’s Home, 7271 E. 37^th St. N., Wichita, KS 67226.

Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.