Edith Gilkey, 87, of rural Emporia (Grandview Community), formerly of Chanute, died Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, at the Golden Living Center of Chase County, in Cottonwood Falls. The daughter of William and Loreen Atteberry Daniels, Edith was born May 18, 1928, in Savonburg. She was the eldest of seven children and grew up on the farm near Elsmore. She graduated from Elsmore High School in 1946 and taught grades 1 through 8, in Old Elsmore Grade School for one year. She and Melvin Ard were married and four children were born to this union prior to their divorce. She and Melvin owned and operated a trailer park in Chanute for many years. She enjoyed people and was always there to help others. Most Sundays, the family gathered at the home of her parents and spent many cherished times together. This was a time that everyone looked forward to and this closeness still remains today. She cherished her family.
She and Robert Gilkey were married and later divorced.
Edith worked in the health care system at Neosho Memorial Hospital as a radiology assistant for 10 years. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Chanute. She loved to square dance and Christmas was her favorite holiday.
She is survived by a son, Alan Ard, Iola; three daughters, Gail Nurnberg (Ron), rural Emporia (Grandview Community), Barbara Brittingham (Bassett), San Diego, and Lori Blackwood (Tim), Louisburg; two brothers, Paul Daniels (Helen), Tampa, Fla., and Jim Daniels (Liz), Ottawa; one sister, Sandra Robertson, Wichita; 11 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Melvin Ard and Robert Gilkey; one sister, Shirley Price; two brothers, Don Daniels and William Daniels, Jr., a great-grandson, Matt Nurnberg; and a great-granddaughter, Sierra Pinkston.
At her request, there will be a private family gathering to celebrate her life, at a later date. Inurnment will be in Elsmore Cemetery. Memorials to the Golden Living Center of Chase County’s Christmas Fund, to provide gifts for the residents, may be sent in care of Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home, P.O. Box 220, Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845. Condolences for the family may be left at www.brown-bennett-alexander.com.
Edith Gilkey
