Dorothy A. McConnell

Dorothy A. McConnell, 89, of Medford, OR, formerly of Wichita, died Sunday, July 3, 2016, at her home at Avamere Waterford Assisted Living Center. A graveside memorial service for family and friends will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 15, 2016, at White Chapel Memorial Cemetery in Wichita, with Reverend Jo Mead officiating. Dorothy was born August 20, 1926 in Cambridge, KS, to Charles and Hattie May Hendrickson. She grew up in Cambridge and graduated from Cambridge High School in 1944. After high school, she moved to Wichita, where she met her future husband, James F. McConnell, who had recently returned from WWII. They were married on January 5, 1947. Jim and Dorothy settled in Wichita, where they raised two children, Marilynn and Jim. After her youngest reached high school age, Dorothy began a 25-year-career at Wichita State University (WSU), eventually managing her own department at the Campus Activity Center. Dorothys greatest joy was being a mother and grandmother. After her own kids moved away, she filled her empty nest by “mothering” the WSU student-employees who worked at her candy counter. Her love of WSU basketball was legendary, and even though she left Wichita in 2010, she continued to cheer for her beloved Shockers the rest of her life. While her heart never left Wichita, Dorothy spent two years near her daughter and family in Tulsa, OK and the last three years near her son and family in Oregon. She loved taking long drives in the mountains, and never tired of looking at the trees and flowers in Oregon. Despite her near-constant pain the last three years, she never lost her cheerful, optimistic spirit. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, 10 siblings, and her husband, James F. McConnell, who died in 2001. Survivors: daughter and son-in-law, Marilynn and Terry Ely of Glenpool, OK; son and daughter-in-law, Jim McConnell and Linda Bowman of Medford, OR; granddaughters, Ashle Hollander (Wes), Annie McConnell and Emma McConnell; grandsons, Brian Shipley (Ashley Gaddy) and Logan McConnell; great-grandsons, Cade Mattke, Kylen Hollander, Sam Shipley and Jonah Shipley; and a multitude of nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimers Association, Central and Western Kansas Chapter, at www.alz.org