Jill Schierling, 62, died June 21, 2020, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She was born February 22, 1958 in Phillipsburg, Kansas, to Jesse and Marietta (Cottrill) Westbrook. She married Duane Schierling February 23, 1980, in Quinter, Kansas.
Survivors include: son, Ryan
(Mellissa) Schierling of Lehigh; daughters, Megan (Nick) Hein of rural
Hillsboro, Melissa (Dustin) Enns of Lehigh; brother, Kerry Westbrook of
Canadian, Texas; sisters, Marcheta Kay Perkins of Lakewood, Colorado,
Doris Landree of Ironton, Minnesota, Patti Jo Elliott of Ozark,
Missouri; 7 grandchildren. Predeceased by: husband, Duane Schierling in
2009. Committal service 10:00 a.m. Friday, June 26, 2020 at Gnadenau
cemetery rural Hillsboro officiated by Pastor Gaylord Goertzen.
Memorials to Kansas Heart Association in care of Jost Funeral Home P.O.
Box 266 Hillsboro, Kansas 67063. Online condolences at
www.jostfuneralhome.com
Life Sketch Taken from the Funeral Bulletin
Jill Raye (Westbrook) Schierling was born in Phillipsburg, KS on
February 22, 1958 to Marietta (Cottrill) Westbrook and Jesse Eugene
Westbrook. She joined four older siblings at home, Marcheta Kaye, Doris
Jean, Kerry Lee, and Patti Jo. She was a happy and joyful child growing
up taking full advantage of the attention and love she received being
the baby of the family. She admired and looked up to her brother and
sisters. In 1962, her parents divorced while she was at the tender age
of 4. Through this difficult time she became even closer with her
siblings and especially her mom.
Jill moved many times while growing up, 14 to be exact. When
speaking about her childhood this is often something she would talk
about. In 1972, when in the 8th grade, Jill moved for a brief period to
Richland, Washington with her mom. She occasionally spoke about her
experience in the beautiful state and enjoyed visiting the ocean. She
has many fond memories of those days.
In 1976, Jill graduated from Phillipsburg High School, in
Phillipsburg, KS. She went on to attend Colby Community College and
studied nursing earning her degree as a Licensed Practical Nurse in
1977. She worked at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Hays, KS.
In 1979 Jill met the love of her life while at a dance. After a
short 3 month courtship, Jill married Duane Alan Schierling on February
23, 1980 in Quinter, KS at the Church of the Brethren. They settled in
their first home on the family farm in Quinter while Duane pursued his
dream of a large hog operation. While on the farm in 1981, she became a
mother for the first time- welcoming daughter Megan Marie. In 1982, Jill
and Duane moved to Newton, KS and Jill’s desire to be a stay-at-home
mom came to be. In 1984, she welcomed her second daughter, Melissa Kay,
on December 14, 1984. Throughout her years in Newton she was an active
member of the church and participated in many church activities,
including being a Sunday School Teacher and introducing her children to
the Lord’s Word.
In 1987, Jill suffered the loss of her father, Gene, and shortly
after the loss of her mother, Marietta, in 1988. This proved to be a
very challenging time in Jill’s life. She greatly missed her mom and
often spoke of her longing to be with her. In 1989 Jill was blessed with
her only son, Ryan Scott, on April 5. In 1991, Jill and Duane moved
their family to Hillsboro, KS to bring their children up in a small,
quiet rural town.
Jill enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom and keeping her home tidy, her
hobbies included gardening, cross stitch, embroidery, sewing,
crocheting, and fishing with the family. After her children were older,
she went back to work as a CMA to assist the elderly in care. She loved
sharing stories about her day at work and the joy it brought her.
In 2000, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and faced it bravely
while completing treatment. Her breast cancer treatment ultimately
caused her to have cardiomyopathy which resulted in congestive heart
failure. Despite the discouraging news, we still celebrated her recovery
as a breast cancer survivor! She remained an active part of her
children and grandchildren’s lives and enjoyed going to their sports
activities and programs. She brought a comical sense of humor to our
family and always was the first to make a light hearted joke during a
difficult time.
In 2009, her husband, Duane, predeceased her in death. This was
another challenging time in Jill’s life and left her with many
unanswered questions. But her faith and confidence in the Lord
ultimately helped her through.
On June 13, 2020 she was admitted to Wesley Hospital with trouble
breathing. She had struggled for the past year with maintaining her
heart health. In an unfortunate turn of events, she needed surgery and
her heart was not strong enough to withstand the stress if surgery
should take place. On June 21, 2020 with her three children and sister
Pat at her side holding her hand she took her last breath and left us to
be with the Lord to have eternal life.
Jill joins her husband-Duane, mom-Marietta, dad-Gene, nephew-Chad
and grandparents in eternity. Those left to carry on her memory include
Ryan (Mellissa) Schierling, Melissa (Dustin) Enns, Megan (Nick) Hein,
Marcheta (Verlyn) Perkins, Doris (Dave) Landree, Kerry (Jo) Westbrook,
Patti (John) Elliott, 7 cherished grandchildren, and many nieces and
nephews.