Melva Lou Kloefkorn

Melva Lou Elliott was born on January 19, 1930, to Benjamin F. and Florence Elliott. Sometimes, January 19th falls on Martin Luther King day, which Melva Lou Kloefkorn’s initials matched -- a coincidence that she loved, later in life. Melva Lou grew up with 8 siblings: Butler, Jayne, Benjamin Jr., Esther, Mansel, Robert “Bob,” Richard “Dick,” and Bertha. Together, the family of 11 lived in a two bedroom, one bathroom house. Her father, Benjamin Sr., took work wherever he could find it, delivering coal and pre-cut ice blocks from a nearby pond to local homes, any odd job he could procure. Florence stayed at home raising her 9 children and sometimes took in ironing and washing as a side-job when extra funds were needed. Melva Lou Elliott met Chester “Chet” Eudoris Kloefkorn at the church her family attended -- First Assembly of God in Hutchinson, Kansas. On February 22nd, 1947, Chet proposed to Melva Lou, and on June 1st, 1947, Melva & Chester got married after Sunday church service. In Hutchinson, Kansas, the newlyweds began their life together. Chet had a job at Krause Plow, making farm implements. After they married, Melva Lou attended her first day as a senior in high school, but, by the end of the day, decided that she had better things to do as a new housewife than sit in class all day. When Melva was 18 years old, she became pregnant with her first child, Beverly. Four years later, on the same month and day as Beverly, Gary was born. Soon after, the Kloefkorns had a new opportunity. Chet always dreamed of farming, so when he saw a Grade A dairy farm for rent in a tiny town in the Clay Center area (Idana, Kansas) he jumped at the opportunity and leased the farm land. During that time, another farmer (Cecil Cole) approached Chet because he needed someone to run his farm due to his old age and he admired the way Chet worked the land. Chet turned him down three times before accepting, and only did so under the condition that Melva Lou agreed (farm life was not in Melva Lou’s blood like it was in Chet’s). Chet and Melva Lou ran the farm until he was able to buy it from Mr. Cole. On his newly expanded farm, Chet raised livestock and crops, with the support of Melva Lou. They were regular attendees at First Assembly of God in town. While in Clay Center, eight years after Gary’s birth, Chet and Melva welcomed another son, Alan. Two years later, their final child, Larry, was born. As many farm kids do, all of the children were very involved in and worked on the farm. However, farm work was not Melva Lou’s passion. While she was an incredible cook and kept her family well-fed, she typically refused to do farm work. Faith was a pillar in the Kloefkorn household. Every offered church service was attended by the whole family. Melva Lou played the piano for the church, even though she never had a piano lesson. She played piano by ear. Music was a huge part of Melva’s life; a passion she shared with her son Gary, her grandson Brian, and her granddaughter Paige, in particular. Involvement in church and their personal faith influenced how Melva Lou and Chet lived their lives more than anything else, and their children were taught to raise families in the same mold. As her family expanded, so did Melva Lou’s heart. Melva Lou was a mother to everyone she met and had many “adopted” children and grandchildren. Without hesitation, she took in and cared for her granddaughter, Stephanie, when she was a pre-teen; raised her as her own. Her home was always open to her children and grandchildren -- whatever they needed for however long they needed it. She worked at Clay Center High School’s cafeteria as a lunch lady, where she enjoyed interacting with the local kids every day and keeping a strict, close eye on her children who attended the school. During this time, Melva Lou was a very active member of the Clay Center Livewire club, where she could connect and socialize with other farmers’ wives in the area and participate actively in the community. Melva Lou was nothing, if not a social butterfly. She loved to entertain family and friends, hosting simple get-togethers and organized events, like baby showers, birthday parties, anniversaries, etc. She was adored by her nieces and nephews, who called her “Aunt Lou” or “Aunt Sissy.” She was always incredibly close with her baby sister, Bertha or “Bert” (deceased); the two were inseparable well into their adult lives. When meeting a suitor of Bert’s child, Marsha, she said, “You can call me Sissy, because I am Bert’s big sissy and the most important aunt!” Melva Lou had a fantastic, silly sense of humor, always able to make the people around her laugh; sometimes she didn’t even realize she was being funny. Bert, Melva Lou, and their sister in-law Alfreda (Mansel) formed a tight-knit friendship that never waned. They were together whenever possible and phoned each other regularly when they weren’t able to be together, physically. Every so often, they would get together and leave for the day to go “bumming,” (meaning shop, have lunch, run errands, visit the family plot, etc), enjoying an adventure in each other’s company. Melva Lou was, naturally, thrilled and proud to be a grandmother. Melva Lou had 9 grandchildren and loved spending time with her family. She enjoyed teaching her grandchildren to recite the books of the Bible (both testaments, in order) and to recite their ABCs backwards. She would play games and sing with them, make them giggle, and bake dozens of cookies for her grandchildren to decorate at Christmas time. As long as they lived in the area, Melva Lou never missed a grandchild’s birthday, dance recital, school concert, sporting event, or church program; she was in the audience smiling and clapping, blowing kisses to her beloved grandchildren. She was even known to bribe her grandchildren by exchanging tee ball home runs for a dollar. She especially loved watching Lawrence Welk with them on Saturday nights while eating popcorn. Melva Lou was always tickled to see a smile on her grandchildren’s faces or see them laugh. She never hesitated to shower them with hugs, kisses, and love. The Kloefkorns lived on their farm near Clay Center, Kansas, until Chet retired and they sold the farm. In 1991, the couple moved to Hesston, Kansas, which Melva Lou preferred, being a “city girl” not a “country girl.” Chet and Melva Lou lived in Hesston for about ten years before following their son, Larry, his wife Mary, and their three children, Paige, Brooke, and Halle, to Wichita, Kansas, settling in a retirement home called Country Acres (2001). When they moved to Wichita, Kansas, they started attending Evangel Assembly of God with Larry’s family. Melva Lou would not settle down in church until she had been greeted with an enormous hug from her grandchildren. She would then offer them their favorite flavors of gum, which she kept stashed in her purse. She loved to show them off to her church friends and brag about their recent accomplishments, no matter how small. Chester passed away in 2013, after 66 years of marriage. Melva Lou continued to live in the Country Acres Retirement Community for many years. Every couple of years, she was able to go visit her son Alan’s family (Genevive, Alanda & Andrew) in Tennessee. When her granddaughter, Alanda, had a life-altering car accident, she sat in the corner of her hospital room for days and wrote down everything the doctors and surgeons said. At Country Acres, she enjoyed the company of fellow retirees and had quite a clique of friends in the home. She and a group of friends would get together to watch Shocker basketball when the games were televised. She looked forward to her visits every single Saturday from Larry, Mary, Paige, Brooke, and Halle (a tradition that began when they moved to Wichita). When her dementia became severe, she moved to Memory Haven Assisted Living and then ultimately to Meadowlark Adult Care Home, where Larry’s family continued to care for her until her passing. In her final years, she enjoyed singing/humming, listening to music (preferably hymns), visits from family, and sitting in her red reclining chair. Melva Lou Kloefkorn, aged 93, died on Monday, December 11, 2023 in her sleep. Melva Lou is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Chester Eudoris Kloefkorn, her daughter Beverly J. Beckoff, her son Gary Kloefkorn, her daughter in-law Sherri Kloefkorn, and grandchild Kevin Kloefkorn. She is survived by her sons, Alan (Genevieve) Kloefkorn of Harriman, TN, and Larry (Mary) Kloefkorn of Wichita, KS. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Stephanie Borst, Larry Ginechese, Brian Kloefkorn, Alanda Adams, Andrew Kloefkorn, Paige Kloefkorn, Brooke Goff, and Halle Kloefkorn. She is survived by nine great-grandchildren: Kaje Adams, Savannah and Sophia Borst, Ella-Reese Kloefkorn, Ava Ginechese, Carys Genechese, Kynley Adams, Holden Chet Kloefkorn, and Annie-Lou Kloefkorn (the last two listed are named after their great-grandparents). Visitation will be from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Sunday, December 17, 2023, at Downing & Lahey West Mortuary. Graveside Service will be at 1:00 pm, Monday, December 18, 2023, at Memorial Park Cemetery in Hutchinson, KS. A memorial has been established with Evangel Assembly of God, 11444 West 21st Street North, Wichita, KS 67205. Services in care of Downing & Lahey Mortuary - West Chapel. Rest in peace, Melva Lou; friend, sister, aunt, wife, mother, and grandmother. We love you dearly! The following is a poem written by daughter in-law Genevive Kloefkorn (Alan) for Chet & Melva Lou’s 40th anniversary. Melva Lou loved the poem and requested it be shared at her funeral. “In Celebration of 40 Years” Though trials and hardshipsoften came our way,The love we share togetherwill be with us to stay. No trying times will everdrive us apart, But will bring us even closerto make one beating heart. In forty years of marriagewe’ve come a long way, and the album of memoriesget fuller each day. So as we celebrate this timewe’ve been together,we’re anxiously looking forward to being together forever.