Berniece 'Bea' Elizabeth Edmonds
Berniece 'Bea' Elizabeth Edmonds, 88, of Overland
Park, passed away Tuesday (March 24, 2009) in Kansas City, Mo.
She was born on Nov. 28, 1920, in Hanston, the
daughter of Jacob and Susanna Kathryn Lingenfelder.
During her childhood, she was surrounded by numerous
aunts and uncles who exemplified a strong sense of family, community values and
religious beliefs, and who also surrounded her with an intense love of music
and the arts.
After graduating from Hanston High School, she
pursued a career in music education at Bethel College in North Newton. Her
studies soon were interrupted when she left college to take care of her ailing
mother. She met her true love and husband-to-be, H. Vincent Edmonds, who was
home on leave from the service, in Halstead where she began her teaching
career. It was love at first sight - an eternal love that was a model of
married love to the hundreds of people who knew them during their lifetimes.
They were married on March 8, 1945, at Bethel
College Mennonite Church in North Newton. Their early married life led them
from the Midwest to cities in New York, New Hampshire and California as they
pursued a career in music, and then finally back to the Midwest where they
raised three children.
Berniece had a keen interest in people, especially
children, and she loved the art of conversation. Her smile and laugh were
infectious. She loved to bake cookies and sweet rolls similar to the way her
German Mennonite mother and aunts made them. She was a woman who was not only proud
of her Mennonite heritage but also of the successes of her immediate family.
She loved to read biographies and was an avid fan of old black-and-white
movies.
During her lifetime, she was an accomplished
pianist, a special-education teacher and artist. She was involved in the
introduction of the Head Start program in Kansas, where she assisted
underprivileged children and their families. Most precious to her, though, were
her husband and children, to whom she was devoted. She will be greatly missed
by her three children, whose lives were forever touched by the beauty of her
spirit and passions, and by her grace and style.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband on
July 6, 2005. She leaves behind a daughter, Kathryn A. Ballou of Leawood; two
sons, Alan R. of Lenexa and Kent L. of Lomita, Calif.; a sister, Malinda Rose
Regier Brown of Newton; and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life for Berniece will be at 11
a.m. Monday at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church, 9300 Nall Ave. in Overland
Park.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 5 p.m. on
Sunday at Belden-Larkin Funeral Home, 707 S. Sixth St. in Leavenworth.
Committal services will be at noon Tuesday at
Greenwood Cemetery in Newton.
The family suggests memorials to Rolling Hills
Presbyterian Church in Overland Park or Kansas University Choral Music
Department, sent in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be sent and
memories may be shared at www.beldenlarkin.com.
