Mildred Edna Page

Page, Mildred Edna, 92, September 27, 1916 - December 29, 2008. Service 11:00 A.M., Wednesday, December 31, Downing Lahey Mortuary East. Interment will follow in Sunset Lawn Cemetery, El Dorado, KS. Mildreds bright eyes and easy humor graced our planet for 92 years. She was born September 27, 1916 on the family farm in rural Butler County, Kansas. One of three children, she grew up to know a life of hard work, sacrifice and discipline, with plenty of teasing and pranks from her two older brothers. After attending Butler County Junior College, Mildred taught school in the same one room school house as her mother before her. When the depression hit, she was hired by the WPA project to grade papers. She married F.W. “Bill” Page of El Dorado, Kansas in 1940 in Wichita. Soon after they were married they moved to Pueblo, Colorado for a short time, but the war brought a change as Bill was called to work in a munitions plant, and they moved to Herkimer, New York. Mildred found her life there interesting and unique, but was definitely not a fan of the cold winters. After the war, with Bill pining for Kansas, they returned to Wichita. Bill was one of the early employees at the Coleman Company; he worked with the company for his entire career, with three generations of the Coleman family. Mildred became an avid homemaker and a dedicated mother. They had three children: Bob, John and Jane. Mildred was involved with all sorts of organizations; she was extremely active with the Extension Homemakers Unit (EHU), an association she continued for the remainder of her life. She was also a Camp Fire Girls leader for many years, and worked with several church related organizations. Mildred was at her happiest when she was outside. She was a passionate gardener, and would spend countless hours weeding, hoeing and harvesting her garden. When the children were growing up and someone found an injured bird or animal, Mildred was the unflappable nurse to all, so much so that the house was often being referred to as the “menagerie”. She was also an accomplished seamstress and an absolute perfectionist when it came to sewing; all of the clothes she made could be worn inside out as the hems and seams were always perfectly finished. Fearless and inventive when it came to home improvement projects, she could figure out just how to fix just about anything around the house. Mildred devoted several years to tracing the familys genealogy; she was relentless in her search for stories of her heritage and long-lost ancestors. As a result, she became a nationwide source for many family and friends. There is a belief in many cultures: as long as a persons name is spoken and their good deeds are remembered with love, their spirit lives. If this is true, Mildred Page, will live a very long time in our hearts and minds. Her footprint in the sand is enormous, her life will be celebrated and she will be dearly missed. Mildred is survived by her children Bob Page, Orlando FL, John Page, Custer, SD and Jane Page, Denver, CO; two granddaughters: Nikki Toon and Katie Nutt; and two great-grand children: Ryan and Paige Toon, all of Overland Park, KS. A memorial has been established with the Arthritis Foundation, 1999 N. Amidon, S-105, Wichita, KS, 67203. Interment will follow in Sunset Lawn Cemetery, El Dorado, KS.