Lolla Belle Shults

Lolla Belle (Lewis) Shults, 99, was born in Elk Falls, Kansas on June 29, 1924. She was the 8th child of Orwill and Gertrude Lewis. Sister to Mary Susan, Beulah Rose (Bea), Evalena Eudora, Maragaret Lucile, Adalaide May, Ethel Violet, Orwill Perin, Gertrude Ellen, and Nina Jane.

Most of her childhood was right on the Elk River, next to the falls, where “The Old Basin,” owned by Lolla’s dad, was a campground and swimming area on the Elk River. They sold pop, had a bath house for changing, and offered a basket for clothes. A rope swing and slide were also a part of the fun and all of her siblings swam in the river growing up, some were even brave enough to go over the falls.

She was closest in age to her only brother, Orwill Jr, and it was with him she got in the most trouble growing up. They sometimes got the idea to cross the “big road,” which they were not to, yet in reality there was probably only one or two cars going down that road on any given day, besides the mailman and for other fun, as the pair grew, they got into the family’s watermelon patch and decided to plug every melon, trying to find a ripe one. There was never a shortage of fun. After graduation, in 1942, Lolla went to live with her Aunt Esther. She got a job as a waitress, which she wasn’t very good at, and she was fired after her first week. On her behalf, she’d never been in a restaurant before. Later, she got a job at Boeing during WWII as one of the “Rosie the Riveter’s.”

After meeting the man who she’d wed, Clarence Shults, the pair became engaged while he was serving in the military in Germany. His sister picked out Lolla’s engagement ring and the pair married on June 16, 1945 upon his return from the war, where he was a POW (Prisoner of War). They were a great pair, spent a lot of time on the river and later, were blessed with two children, Marcia Lynn Shults and Marc Royal Shults.

Lolla was a lover of family, get-togethers, and she and Clarence were volunteers for the POW’s and at the VA Hospital. Once she retired, at the age of sixty, the pair took to traveling, once even back to Germany where he was captured during the war.

Lolla Belle passed on June 14, 2024, in Haysville, Kansas, 16 days from her 100th birthday. She made many memories during her lifetime. She and Clarence shared a great love story. She was an amazing daughter, mother, grand and great-grandmother, as well as friend. She had a great childhood followed by and equally happy life! There is nothing better than being able to say, “I had a great life!”

Preceded by her husband, Clarence; parents; and her nine siblings.

Those left to honor her memory are children, Marcia Lynn DeWine of Mannford, OK and Marc Royal Shults of Wichita, KS; grandchildren: Stephanie McCurley of Tulsa, OK, Stacy DeWine of Broken Arrow, OK, and Seth DeWine of Mannford, OK; great-grandchildren: Rebecca Dowda of Tulsa, OK, Lillian Rizwan of Tulsa, OK, Richard McCurley of Tulsa, OK, Gabriella Rozell of Broken Arrow, OK, and Leilani DeWine of Broken Arrow, OK; and great-great-grandchildren: Joseph, Matthew, Braxton, Kaylee, Natalya.