Evelyn Louise Wade, 92, of Olathe, Kansas, formerly of Iola, Kansas, went home to Heaven on March 9, 2022.
Evelyn Louise (Miller) Wade was born to Loama Olan and Opal Lucille Miller (nee’ Lacy), on January 6, 1930, near Drexel, Missouri. She was the oldest of two daughters, with Wilma being the younger. The family lived in Amsterdam, Missouri and Pleasanton, Kansas, before moving to La Cygne, Kansas, in 1944. Evelyn was raised in a Christian home, attending church faithfully, and coming to faith in Christ as a young girl. Some of her fondest memories growing up were going to church and always having people over to their home after church on Sunday nights for fellowship.
She attended La Cygne Rural High School, graduating in 1948. She was united in marriage to Norman D Wade in Drexel, Missouri, on June 26th, 1948. To this union, four children were born: Greg Norman, Kevin Leon, Roxanne, and Mark Randall.
Evelyn enjoyed being a homemaker and raising their four children. They were very supportive parents during their children’s school years, and on into their adult years in all of their pursuits. She served as a room mother many times during those school years. She was gifted with a creative bent and could do just about anything she set her mind to doing. She enjoyed and thrived in using her creativity, which was evident in several areas. She was a skilled seamstress, whether it was making clothing, costumes, or home décor and window coverings for their home. She loved music and had a beautiful alto voice and enjoyed singing in ladies’ ensembles in her earlier years. She was also an accomplished pianist where she served as church pianist and eventually organist for decades in her church. Evelyn agreed to assume a friend’s cake decorating business in the mid to late sixties. She sat and learned all the intricate skills of decorating cakes. Evelyn’s ornate wedding cakes were her specialty, which were uniquely beautiful masterpieces in their own right, and highly sought-after by many in the community and surrounding areas. She also enjoyed taking ceramic classes for a brief time, and in her later years, she taught herself to paint pictures watching the Bob Ross show. In the late sixties and early seventies, she enjoyed leading the Girls Guild High School group at church. Several of the girls involved have expressed with deep appreciation how much of a blessing Evelyn was to them, and how God used her to make a positive impact in their lives and in their walk with the Lord.
Evelyn was always supportive of Norman’s entrepreneurial business ideas. They were self-employed for most of their lives with a few different successful businesses in La Cygne. They operated Wade Brothers Conoco Gas Station along with his brother and sister-in-law, Wilbur and Frances Wade during the fifties and early sixties. During that time, they also converted an old bus into a successful and thriving drive-up burger place next door to the gas station called the Dari-Kurl. They sold out in the sixties and eventually opened Evelyn’s Countryside Drive-In in 1970, with Broasted Chicken as their specialty. People would drive for miles around just to eat their chicken. They successfully operated that business until selling it in 1973, when they transitioned to their final business, Norel Homes Company. They expanded that business, moving it to Iola, KS in the early eighties and continued with it until their retirement. Due to their success in this business, they won several awards, were one of the top dealers in the state, and earned several trips abroad to various countries, as well as a few cruises.
She and Norman loved their family and enjoyed spending time with them whenever possible. They also enjoyed watching their children and eventually grandchildren in their sporting activities. They both loved sports, and especially enjoyed watching KU Jayhawks Basketball, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Kansas City Royals. Evelyn was also a competitive bowler, beginning in the early sixties and continued to be on teams off and on for the next 40 plus years. She always said that if she’d ever taken up another sport, it probably would have been golf, as watching it brought lots of enjoyment to her, especially in her later years. Evelyn loved to play cards, enjoyed crossword puzzles, and liked competing when watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. She was very thoughtful and faithful in remembering to always send cards for birthdays and anniversaries. She loved giving gifts and it brought her tremendous joy, no matter how great or small. As time allowed, she and Norman also enjoyed their many years of retreating to their lake property in Oklahoma, whether with family or by themselves.
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sister, son Greg (2002), and son Kevin (2021). She is survived by daughter Roxanne (David) Martin, Harrisonville, MO; and son Mark (Jenise) Wade, Grove, OK. She is also survived by two daughters-in-law, Daleine Wade, Anderson, SC; Vicki Wade, Abilene, KS. She also leaves behind fourteen grandchildren: Griff (Rebekah) Martin; Lacey (Chris) Fair; Abby (Brad) Bell; Tanner, Thatcher, and Molly Martin; Garrett and Sydney Wade; Stephanie (Jeremy) Brougher; Danae (Nathan) Sellers; Jenna Wade; Caleb Wade; Kevin (Amy) Wade; Katy Wade; twelve great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Evelyn was deeply loved by her family and her multitude of friends and will be greatly missed. They can rejoice that she is now Home and in the presence of the Lord, and they look forward to being reunited with her in Heaven one day. The family is also forever grateful to the caring staff at Nottingham Health and Rehabilitation who provided loving care to her these past several years, and also to Kansas City Hospice for their care and assistance the past few months. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contribution be made in Evelyn’s memory to: Tunnel to Towers Foundation (t2t.org); Gideons International | Let’s spread the good news; or Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care – Kansas City Hospice (kchospice.org).
Funeral service will be 11 am Wednesday, March 16, 2022 at the New Life Baptist Church, La Cygne, Kansas. Burial will be in the Oak Lawn Cemetery. Visitation will be from 10 am to service time at the Church. Online condolences can be left at www.schneiderfunerals.com.
