Vinetta L. Chickadonz

Vinetta L. Chickadonz, 89, a lifelong Parsons area resident, died at 4:28 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009, at Labette Health, where she entered Friday.

She was born Aug. 24, 1919, in Parsons to Ralph and Reba (Russell) Brown. Her father was fatally injured in an accident when she was 4 years old, and she was raised by her mother and stepfather, Oran V. Mathis.

She attended Parsons and rural elementary schools, graduating from Galesburg High School in 1937 and from Parsons Junior College in 1939.

On Feb. 1, 1941, she married Charles Leo Chickadonz at Erie. After their marriage, they lived in Galesburg briefly and then moved to Dennis. He preceded her in death on April 29, 1982, a year after their 40th anniversary.

She cared for her family and was a homemaker in the early years. Later she was employed at Hallmark Card Co. and other manufacturing companies. For 12 years, she worked as a church secretary and also was secretary to the district superintendent of the United Methodist Church.

She was a member of Dennis United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women and was church pianist for over 40 years. She was a member of the Big D Senior Citizens group and the GNO Club of Dennis. She loved her church and her friends and enjoyed playing piano, reading and playing card games. She especially liked watching the birds from her kitchen window. She loved her family and was especially proud of her grandchildren. She enjoyed living near her daughter, Judy, and visiting her daughter, LaVon, in California.

Survivors include two daughters, LaVon Walker and her husband, Larry, of San Gabriel, Calif., and Judy Thompson and her husband, Roy "Sonny," of rural Parsons; three grandchildren, Brenda Risner and her husband, Jeff, of Ruckersville, Va., Becky Thompson of Overland Park and Brad Thompson of Lemoore, Calif.; five great-grandchildren, Mason, Naomi, Anya and Emma Risner of Ruckersville, Va., and Elena Thompson of Overland Park; two brothers, Marvin Mathis of Newton and Russell Mathis and his wife, Beverly, of Parsons; two sisters, Freida Conrad and Nadine Stevenson, both of Parsons; and a brother-in-law, David Kimrey of McCune.

She also was preceded in death by a sister, Patty Kimrey; and two stepbrothers, Homer Mathis and Howard Mathis.

The service will be at 10:30 a.m. today at Dennis United Methodist Church with the Revs. Kris Brinlee and Jim Dillow officiating. Burial will be in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, near Dennis.

Memorials are suggested to Dennis United Methodist Church and may be left at or sent to Carson-Wall Funeral Home, Box 942, Parsons, 67357.