Maybelle Ilene Bales

Bales, Maybelle Ilene (Ruby), passed away May 13, 2013, in Andover, Kansas. She was born near Burdett, Kansas on April 19, 1921, to Glen Carrol Ruby and Mary Alma (Buckman) Ruby. Maybelle was a 1939 graduate of Wichita High School North, and attended Wichita Business College. She married Harold J. Bales on May 31, 1942, in Wichita. A devoted mother and home-maker, she was also active in the community. She served as a director at the Wichita YWCA and was also active in the Hypatia Beta Club for over 60 years, serving as its president multiple times. She left her mark as she spearheaded their successful effort to have the Hypatia Clubhouse on North Broadway declared a Historic Landmark. Her true love, beside her family, was sewing and hats. An award-winning seamstress, she also taught millinery and made presentations to groups across the state on the subject. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, her parents, her brother, George Henry Ruby, and sister, Helen Elaine (Ruby) Miller. She leaves two sons, Harold Jackson Bales, Jr., of Council Grove, KS, and Roger Glen Bales (Sandy), of Saddlebrooke, AZ; grandchildren, Jackie Anne Jones of Wichita, Glenn Bales (children Corbin and Camden) of Atlanta, GA., Sherri Barrett (children Tanner, Jess, Brody) of Prairie Village, KS, Robin Goode of St. Louis, MO, Megan Sanders (children Kaleb and Elise) of St. Charles, MO, Cody Bales of Kansas City, MO, and Casey Bales, of Midwest City, OK. She will be missed but not forgotten by her family and friends. Memorial service will be held Monday, May 20, at 11 a.m. at Downing Lahey East Funeral Home, with interment following at White Chapel Gardens in Wichita. A memorial to Wichita Botanica Gardens, 701 N. Amidon Ave., Wichita, KS 67203, has been established in her name, in lieu of flowers.