Genevieve "Genny" Ganaden

Genevieve Fonseca Ganaden, who was 93 years old, passed away on March 13, 2022. She was known by her friends as Genny. She was born on Feb. 14, 1929, to Demetria Escarriola and Augustine Fonseca at the Gorgas Hospital in Ancon, Canal Zone (C.Z.) Panama, Republic of Panama. She attended elementary school in Ancon and graduated from Balboa High School in Balboa, C.Z. Genny worked for the U.S. government at the Quartermaster office in Corozal at the P.X. office in Fort Kobbe and the Inter-American Geodetic Survey in Curundú, C.Z.

She came to Kansas City, MO, in 1956 for her brother’s wedding. During her stay in Kansas City, she met her beloved husband, Morris (the next-door neighbor), while staying with her sister. They were happily married for 64 years. Morris and Genny have two daughters, Gina and Teresa.

Genny obtained a BA in education with a major in Spanish at UMKC. She was a Spanish translator at Black and Veatch for eight years before teaching Spanish for 15 years with the Kansas City Missouri School District at Lincoln College Prep. She taught the upper levels of Spanish and the International Baccalaureate program. Genny loved her students and teaching her native language. The students would keep in touch with Genny long after they graduated, even sending photographs of new additions to their families.

Along her path in life, Lindsey was born to Gina and Grant to Teresa. Genny’s grandchildren were the light of her life. Her husband, daughters, and grandchildren meant the world to her, and she meant the world to them. She loved to paint flowers in watercolors with Morris, cook Latin cuisine, and dance to the Latin beat. Genny would often blast reggaetón music at family gatherings, and she and Morris would attend many of her friends’ parties and dance to merengue and salsa until the late hours of the night. She was also famous for her cooking, particularly her empanadas and plantain chips. Genny’s favorite dishes to cook (and eat) were from her native country of Panama. Her delicious food and the loud music became a staple of holidays, birthdays, and other celebrations at the Ganaden household.

She is remembered by her children, Gina and Teresa, her son-in-law Stan, her granddaughter Lindsey and her partner Nathan, Grant and his wife Rachel, and her sister Gladys Brooks; many nieces and nephews, in-laws Mike, Lynda, and Phyllis; her dear friends from Panama and many other Latin countries, her friends at St. Mark’s Church, the Ganaden family in Kansas and Missouri, and so many other friends she knew in her life.