Lela Grace Friesen
Brock Kappelmann - March 20, 2018 8:15 am
Lela Grace Friesen, 91, of Adams, Oklahoma passed away March 18, 2018 at Asbury Park long term care facility in Newton, Kansas.
Lela was born August 18, 1926, to Jacob B. and Anna (Wiebe) Friesen on the farm near Hooker, Oklahoma.
Lela grew up on the family homestead near the Adams community where she attended Adams Schools. On November 17, 1946, Lela was united in marriage to William Friesen at the Adams Mennonite Brethren Church. She and William settled on a farm north of Adams where they raised their children. In the early 1960’s, they moved to their home west of Adams.
As a young girl, Lela was baptized at the Adams Mennonite Brethren Church. She was active in the church most of her life and for a time played the organ and sang in the choir.
Lela loved tending to her roses, gardening and caring for her cattle. She was a long time active member of the Women’s Home Extension Club. She was on the original board of the Et Cetera Shop in Liberal, Kansas and enjoyed volunteering there. Highlights for her were attending family reunions. Her children and grandchildren will always remember Lela for the peppernuts she made at Christmas time and for keeping them supplied with sand plum jelly.
In 2011, Lela moved to an independent living facility in Newton, Kansas, to be near her daughters. She lived in a duplex for several years often helping with the residents in the nearby long-term care facility. As her health failed, she transitioned to assisted living and then just recently, to long term care.
Lela was preceded in death by her husband, William Friesen and her parents, Jacob and Anna Friesen.
She is survived by her four children: Roland Friesen and wife, Jone, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Anna Kilpatrick, Newton, Kansas; Luci Monares and husband Dany, Newton, Kansas; and Marlin Friesen and wife Glenda, Adams, Oklahoma.
Lela delighted in her five grandchildren: Gwen Friesen and husband Scott McDonald, Clifton Park, New York; Philip Friesen and wife Jennifer, Oklahoma City; Omar Monares and wife Ashley, Wichita, Kansas; Roman Monares, Newton, Kansas; and Kerry Friesen and wife Kelsey, Norman, Oklahoma.
Lela took a special interest in each one of her five great-grandchildren: Shelbie Fields, Maya and Layne McDonald, Duncan Monares, and Gabriel Friesen.
She is also survived by three brothers and one sister: Melvin Friesen and wife Doris, Hillsboro, Texas; Gerald Friesen and wife Judy, Las Vegas, Nevada; Willis Friesen and wife Pat, Frisco, Texas; and Karen Isaac and husband Harold, Hooker, Oklahoma and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
The family will be greeting visitors at the funeral home on Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Graveside services will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 26, 2018 at Mennonite Brethren Cemetery near Adams, Oklahoma. Memorial services will be at 11:00 a.m. Monday, March 26, 2018 at Mennonite Brethren Church in Adams, Oklahoma.
Memorials are suggested to Adams Mennonite Brethren Church or to the Good Shepherd Hospice of Newton, Kansas and may be left at Roberts Brothers Funeral Home, Box 745, Hooker, Oklahoma 73945.
Condolences may be left at www.robertsbrothersfuneralhome.com