Edna Marie Hall, age 107, died on Saturday, January 18th, 2020 at the Kansas Masonic Home, Wichita, Kansas.
She was born January 31st, 1912 at her home in McPherson County, near Conway, Kansas in the middle of a snowstorm. She was the daughter of George Schmalzried and Mary (Geiman) Schmalzried.
When Edna was 5 years old, her family moved to a farm near Dighton, Kansas. Edna grew up milking the cows before going to school in town. She made the 5 mile trip by horse and buggy every day. She loved school and graduated from Dighton High School in 1931.
After graduation, she worked as a night telephone operator and was on the phones the night a huge dust storm took out the lines in Lane County. When Edna married Freeman Charles Hall in 1935, they moved to Pendennis, Kansas and the farm that had been in Freeman’s family since the 1880’s. They moved several times within Lane County but finally moved in to a home on Lane Street in Dighton in 1957. She lived there until 2018, when she moved to Wichita.
In Dighton, Edna worked for Dr. George as a receptionist, the Dighton Herald newspaper and the flower shop. She finally retired when she was 90 years young.
Edna was a lifelong member of the First Christian Church and taught Sunday school for many years. She also was a Cub Scout leader when her sons were in Scouts. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Dighton Kansas Chapter 241 and had served as a Worthy Matron. Edna loved to bowl and belonged to a Dighton bowling league, bowling 2 nights a week. She bowled until she was 104, even competing in the 2014 Kansas State Championship in Wichita.
Edna was preceded in death her husband, Freeman; her parents, George and Mary; her son, LeVaun; 4 brothers, Carl, Dayton, Fred and Byron; 2 sisters, Clara Owen and Oral Owen; grandson, John Brooks. She is survived by her sons, Neal (Karen) Hall of Wichita, KS, and Elden (Joyce) Hall of Dighton, KS; daughter-in-law, Frances Hall of Austin Texas; grandchildren, Stephanie Hollingsworth, Ashley(Aaron) Mayes, Becky (Scott) Stoddard, and Branden Hall; great grandchildren, Paige, Carson, Abbie, Emalie, Ayden, Deliza, Colby, Luke, Brielle, Blake and Brynn.
Funeral will be at 2:00 PM on Saturday at the First Christian church in Dighton with Rev Aerii Smith officiating. Burial will be in Dighton Memorial Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to First Christian Church or Lane County Historical Society in care of Boomhower Funeral Home. Friends may call from Noon to 8:00 PM Friday and 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM Saturday at Boomhower Funeral Home in Dighton. Condolences may be posted at garnandfuneralhomes.com