Jon Etta Upshaw was born March 9, 1931, in Canyon, Texas. When she was four, her parents, John and Loree Downing, moved to homestead on the Plains of San Augustin, New Mexico. Jon Etta and her younger brother, Earl Murphy, attended school there until the family moved to Magdalena so they would have access to a high school. After graduating as valedictorian of her class, Jon Etta began working as a telephone operator. She met Charles (Charlie) Upshaw, her future husband. They married on June 15, 1950. For a while they lived in Datil, running a filling station and living in a house Charlie had built. Since Charlie had served in WWII in the Navy, he was called back for the Korean War soon after marrying. While he was away, Jon Etta gave birth to Loretta Gail, their first child.
Upon Charlie’s return, they moved to Wichita, Kansas, to be closer to his family and roots. Sandra Jane was born in 1953 and Aileen Joyce three years later in 1956. While Jon Etta had her hands full with three little girls, she still managed to find time to fix well balanced meals that the family ate together. She sewed the girls’ clothes and those of their dolls. She walked them to swim lessons in the summers because she had never learned to swim. She was an assistant Camp Fire Girls leader. Her interests included crocheting, knitting, and other crafts, and her prized possession was her Bernina sewing machine. She was fond of games such as Forty-two, Mahjong, Scrabble, and all the childhood games she played with the children. For years, Jon Etta worked as a lunchroom aide at McCormick Elementary.
On Sundays, Jon Etta made sure she and the children attended church. For many years she taught Sunday School and was active in the United Methodist Women’s Society at Trinity United Methodist. After Trinity closed, Jon Etta and Charlie joined West Side United Methodist. Jon Etta will be remembered for always doing a daily devotional and saving clippings of inspirational sayings. She would try things for self-improvement like keeping a journal for listing blessings for each day.
Jon Etta was an exceptional grandmother as she was fortunate to have the opportunity to care for her first grandchild for four years as Gail worked part time. When the second grandchild was born, Gail quit working. Jon Etta always enjoyed spending time with the grandchildren and later, the great-grandchildren.
Jon Etta and Charlie were married 73 years before he passed in 2023. She continued to live in her home until the spring of 2025 when she moved to Via Christi Village Assisted Living McLean. Over the last year and a half, her health declined. She moved to Best Care Home Plus in June of 2026 for additional assistance. After a major stroke, she started hospice care with Interim. She passed away Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the age of 95. She’ll be missed but lovingly remembered.
Jon Etta was preceded in death by husband Charles Wray Upshaw; parents John Levi and Loree Lenora (Hill) Downing; daughter Aileen Joyce Upshaw; and brother Earl Murphy Downing.
She is survived by daughters Loretta Gail Rombeck (Mike) and Sandra Jane Upshaw; grandsons Terry Rombeck (Jana) and David Rombeck (Laura Herron); and two great-grandchildren Nolan and Carly Rombeck.
Visitation will be an hour prior to the service. Funeral service will be at 1 p.m., on Friday, September 18, 2026, both at Hillside Funeral Home West. Burial to follow at Resthaven Cemetery.
Contributions in Jon Etta’s memory may be made to West Side United Methodist Church, 1313 W. Lydia St., Wichita, KS 67213 and McCormick School Museum Inc., P.O. Box 12881, Wichita, KS 67277.
