Gloria Ellen Chard passed away on November 1, 2021, at the Hays Medical
Center in Hays, Kansas at the age of 84. She was born on May 22, 1937,
to George and Lillian (Novotny) Stalnaker in Rooks County, Kansas. She
was united in marriage to Vernon Dean Chard on June 15, 1953, in
Stockton, Kansas. The couple was blessed with six children: Larry, Gary,
Randy, Dave, Rodney, and Jan.
Gloria grew up in Rooks County where she attended Plainville High
School for a few years before completing her GED. She continued her
education at NCK Nursing School and graduated with a nursing degree in
1977. She worked at several facilities in the surrounding area before
moving away in 1992. Gloria then pursued a career with the VA and
retired in 2016. The couple moved to Hays and spent the rest of their
days at Homestead of Hays.
Gloria was an animal lover, especially birds and horses. She loved
barrel racing and was a part of the Plainville Saddle Club for many
years. She enjoyed being outside watching the birds eat from her many
bird feeders, gardening, tending to her rose bushes or taking her family
to Webster Lake to camp. Gloria was a big sports fan, she avidly
watched the Chicago Bulls basketball team and Husker football. In her
earlier years she traveled to watch the Huskers and even went to the
Honolulu Bowl in Hawaii. Basketball was arguably her favorite sport, she
even put on basketball tournaments for the Cancer Society for many
years. Aside from her love of animals and sports, she always made the
effort to attend her grandkids’ events until her health didn’t allow her
to travel as much. Gloria was a member of the First Baptist Church of
Plainville.
Gloria is survived by her children, Gary (Sandra) Chard of Zurich,
KS, Randy (Lynnie) Chard of Palco, KS, Dave (Sally) Chard of Wichita,
KS, Rodney (Carrie) Chard of Plainville, and Jan Ward of Kansas City,
MO; siblings, Carolyn Balderson of Tucson, AZ, Madge Mock of Tucson, AZ,
Alan Stalnaker of West Valley, UT, Dianne Conway of Manhattan, KS, and
Patty Foltz of Las Vegas, NV: fourteen grandchildren, Cynthia Finnesy,
Jeremy Chard, Chanelle Chard, Billie Covington, Shawna Scates, Andrea
McDonald, Angela DeQuasey, Jay Chard, Bradey Chard, Noah Chard, Chandler
Yost, Dakota Yost, Christian Chard, and Lillian Ward; twenty-nine
great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.
She is preceded in death by her parents, George and Lillian
Stalnaker; husband, Vernon Chard; son, Larry Chard; and siblings, Betty
Vogts, Robert Stalnaker, Eve Miller, and Shirley Stinemetz.
A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, November 6, 2021, at the
United Methodist Church in Plainville at 10 AM. Visitation will be held
at the funeral home on Friday from 10 AM until 5 PM.
Memorials are suggested to the Plainville Saddle Club or Hays
Hospice and may be sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 320 SW
2nd St., Plainville, KS 67663.