Elizabeth Schlaefli

Etta "Elizabeth" Schaefli, the daughter of Emmit D. and Florence G. Coad Richardson, was born January 27, 1918 at Cawker City, Kansas, and departed this life on Wednesday, June 7, 2006 at the Mitchell County Hospital in Beloit, Kansas at the age of 88 years, 4 months, and 11 days.
Elizabeth grew up in Cawker City and attended school there, graduating from Cawker City High School in the class of 1936. She worked in the office at Richardson Manufacturing from the time she was a very small girl, and continued to work there in the summers when she was in college. She graduated from Kansas State University in 1940 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics. She taught Home-Ec during the war years at Downs High School and later at Cawker City High School. She quit teaching to raise her family and then taught again at Cawker City.
On August 10, 1945, she was united in marriage with John Louis Schlaefli at the Cawker City Baptist Church, and three sons, Richard, Kenneth, and Ronald, were born to this union. They lived on a farm west and south of Cawker City until 1965, when the lake construction took place, at which time they built their home and moved to town.
Elizabeth was a very active member of the United Methodist Church, where she served as Chairman of the Committee to build the Church and the parsonage, and served on the board and various other committees. She also served on the Cawker City Library Board, the Order of Eastern Star, Outlook Club, Kansas Teachers Association, the American Legion, and the VFW Auxiliary.
Elizabeth was a very special, kind, and loving person. She spent her whole life caring for others. Her family was very important to her, and her grandchildren and great granddaughters were her greatest joy.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband, John; her son, Kenneth, who was killed in an accident in 1963 along with a cousin, Jack Schlaefli, and a friend, Sondra Slaven; her parents; a daughter-in-law, Peggy Schlaefli; two sisters, Viola VanSickle and Martha Richardson; and four brothers, Paul, Raymond, Daniel, and Coad Leonard Richardson.
Elizabeth is survived by two sons, Richard and his wife Gloria, and Ron and his wife Toni; seven grandchildren, Kim and her husband Mark Viets, and William and his wife Brandi Schlaefli; Susan and her husband Tony Elting, Joshua Shlaefli, Cody Schlaefli and friend Amanda Lindsay, John E. Schlaefli, and Darin Garman; five great granddaughters, Ainsley Nicole Viets, Anne Renae Schlaefli, Maryssa Lyn Schlaefli, Reata Jean Elting, and Tyea Jade Elizabeth Schlaefli; one brother, Robert Richardson and his wife Jean; two sisters-in-law, Virginia and JoAnn Richardson; one brother-in-law, Jim VanSickle; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 AM Saturday, June 10, at the Cawker City United Methodist Church with burial in Prairie Grove Cemetery. Memorials may be given for the church. Visitation will be from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM Friday at the Waconda Funeral Home.