The funeral for former Emporian Verla Winifred (Hawkins) Ham of Kansas City, Mo, will be at 4 p.m. Monday, April 30 at White Chapel Funeral Home in Gladstone, MO. A private family burial will be held May 1 in Emporia at Maplewood Cemetery.
Mrs. Ham died Sunday, April 22, 2018 at New Mark Care Center in Kansas City, MO. She was 95.
Mrs. Ham lived in Emporia from 1962 to 1986. She briefly worked at Hopkins Manufacturing and then at New Process Cleaners doing alterations. She also keep the books for Ham Construction, the family concrete and foundation repair business.
The daughter of Glen and Ethel (Calhoun) Hawkins, she was born near Marysville, Kansas on July 19, 1922. She graduated from Marysville High School and then attended Beatrice Beauty School in Beatrice, Nebraska.
She married Leslie E. Ham on Dec. 25, 1943, at Marysville. He preceded her in death in November 2006.
Mrs. Ham was a member of the First United Church in Marysville and a former member of the First United Methodist Church in Emporia. She was a former member of the Round Robin Round Dancers, Bluestem Swingers Square Dancers and Thunderbird Twirlers Square Dancers, all of Emporia; the EMPS Emporia Chapter of the National Campers and Hikers Association; and the Garden Club of Marysville.
She is survived by one son, Roger (Debra) Ham of Lebanon, OR; two daughters, Wanda (Eddie) Fisher of Basehor, KS, and Diana (Jerry) Yost of San Antonio, TX; granddaughters, Pamala Ham of Kansas City, KS; Lisa (Max) McCool of Kansas City, MO; Shelley Brooks of Osage City, KS; Jessica (Trey) Kalmus of Dallas, TX; and Jena Yost of Chicago, IL; grandsons Kent Ham of Olathe, KS, and Eric (Misty) Fisher of Belton, MO; sixteen great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. Other survivors include sister-in-law, Verda Ham of Topeka, KS; brother-in-law, Lloyd Link of Marysville, KS and numerous nieces and nephews. Two brothers, Victor Wayne Hawkins and Randall Hawkins and one sister, Laura Schreiber died earlier. Condolences may be sent to daughter Wanda Fisher at 15101 Lake Side Drive; Basehor, KS 66007.
