Wilma Jean Dickey

Wilma Dickey passed away peacefully in Hospice care in Ormond Beach. She was born April 13, 1931 in St. Louis, Missouri. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Walter H. Dickey. She is survived by her two children, Diane Owsley (Ronald Beeney) and Kirk Dickey, three grandchildren, Michelle Peckham (John), Justin Baxter (Meaghan) and Ryan Dickey, four great-grandchildren, Jaden Hutfles (Evan), Jace Peckham (Madison), Jenna Peckham (Sadie) and Brooks Baxter and three great-great-grandchildren, Maven and Price Hutfles and Judson Peckham and her niece, Christi Barnard (Bill),

Wilma grew up as the child of the late William and Eve Linneman. She had two sisters, Miriam Jurgens and Carole Creley, both deceased. She was graduated from high school in 1948. She and Walter were married May 28, 1949, and lived in St. Louis until 1958, when his job took them to Kansas City. They lived in the K.C. suburbs of Fairway and Mission, Kansas for the next 40 years. Their desire for a warm climate led them to winter in Daytona Beach, FL until they moved to the area permanently in 1999.

Wilma was a stay-at-home mother until her children were in high school. She was interested and involved in her children’s activities, but had always wished for a higher education, and so enrolled in the University of Missouri-Kansas City, on a part-time basis. Further studies were at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in Kansas, where she was graduated with an Associate of Science degree in 1974 In 1980 she enrolled at the University of Kansas and for five years took night classes, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in General Studies, with Highest Distinction, in 1985.

While enrolled at JCCC, Wilma began working in the college president’s office as his secretary, later as an aide in the public information office. Her interest in journalism led to a position as assistant editor at the Johnson County Herald, and was promoted to editor in 1975. A year later she obtained a position in the county government as a public information officer. In this role she created and published a newspaper geared to senior adults in the county, managed the county’s hearing impaired program, and information and referral office. In 1985 she began working for United Community Services (UCS) of Johnson County as assistant director, succeeding to the position of executive director in 1988. UCS is a non-profit planning agency affiliated with United Way. At UCS she worked with the board of directors to allocate United Way funding to services for county residents. Wilma retired in 1993.

Along the way of living her life as a devoted mother and wife, Wilma in 1993 discovered a long-held secret, which was to change the way she saw herself thereafter. She received a note from an elderly friend of her mother Eve which stated: “I must tell you this before I die: You were adopted at birth.” Shocked and disbelieving, she asked the state of Missouri for information and was told that indeed she was adopted, but that no further information would be available to her due to privacy laws.

Wilma had never suspected she was adopted, and no one had revealed it to her, even at her adoptive parents’ deaths. Her elder sister Miriam said she had known all along, and cousins also confirmed the story. She became intensely curious to find her birth parents, and hired a social worker, whose primary job was to find birth families, to locate them, if possible. This was in the period just before internet use became common, but the worker delved into a variety of records for eight months, which resulted in Wilma finding her sister, Carole Creley. They enjoyed a loving close relationship until Carole’s passing about ten years later.

There will be a private family memorial held at Baldwin-Fairchild Oaklawn Chapel & Oaklawn Cemetry in Sanford, FL on September 23, 2026 at 10:30 am.

In lieu of flowers, Wilma’s wishes were to provide donations to Florida Chapter PEO HZ where the monies will used to support education for young women. Checks can be made out to P.E.O. Chapter HZ and sent to Dale Danielle at 1204 Eggleston Dr., Deland, FL 32724.