Sarah Eugenia Wesner Eckles, 83, passed away peacefully in her home on January 22, 2023. Sally was born November 23, 1939, to Ermal and Hulon Albright Wesner in Ida, Louisiana. She attended college at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where she was a member of Phi Mu sorority, the Honor Society, and met her husband-to-be, Robert Lee Eckles. At LSU, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics and had a long career as a social worker in New Orleans.
Sally and Bob were married September 4, 1960, at the Church of the Covenant, New Orleans. They celebrated 62 years of marriage in September, 2022. She was a devoted wife, mother, friend and member of the First Presbyterian Church. Bob and Sally arrived in Fort Scott from Pittsburg, Kansas in the early seventies to raise their three young daughters. For 33 years she worked for Bourbon County SRS (now CFS) as a caseworker and supervisor. There she built true and lasting friendships with her co-workers. Her concern for those in need was a primary concern for her in both her public and private life.
Her parents preceded her in death. Sally is survived by her devoted husband, Bob, their daughters, Margaret (Harvie Jordan), Mobile, Alabama; Alice Eckles (Ross Conrad), Middlebury, Vermont; and Ruth Eckles (Joe Rizzolo), Bahama, North Carolina, as well as five grandchildren: Kate Jordan, the Rev. Sarah Jordan, Violet Eckles-Jordan (Rose’ Hernandez), Thea Price-Eckles and Ana Price-Eckles, and her brother Jim Wesner (George Ann Wesner), Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sally will be remembered by many who love her as a kind and wise friend, a devoted mother, and a gifted vocalist who gave so richly of her talents in the choir at First Presbyterian Church as well as community choirs for many years. She performed with the Madrigals, a dinner-theater style presentation through Fort Scott Community College and played Mother Superior in a local theater production of “Sound of Music,” among other roles over the years.
Among her many sources of pleasure were her memberships in a birthday club lunch group and a women’s supper club, Second Shift, in Chapter CA of the PEO Sisterhood and in Presbyterian Women.
She loved nature, adventures, travel, and took her family on many vacations over the years – from the Grand Canyon to Yellowstone National Park to a cruise on the Mediterranean Sea. One of the special joys of her life was that she and Bob were able to take each grandchild on a graduation trip of their choice, this included excursions to Paris, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland.
In 2010, she received the Presbyterian Women’s annual Life Membership for Faithful Service. She was an ordained Elder in the church, and over the years served as a mentor to confirmands, worked with the Logos program, and hosted the Monday Lunch for Senior High students.
She was thankful for her church community and noted many times over the course of her illness how their prayers gave her peace, comfort, and held her up in her time of need.
Rev. Dr. Jared Witt will officiate funeral services at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at the First Presbyterian Church under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. Visitation is at 10:00 a.m., prior to service time. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to First Presbyterian Church and The Beacon and may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, Kansas, 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.
