Elenora Selenke, age 100, of Colby (formerly of Park), died Sunday, September 7, 2014 at Prairie Senior Living Complex, in Colby. She was born February 9, 1914, in Unity, Saskatchewan, Canada, the sixth child of John and Maryann (Wagner) Wildeman.
When Elenora was three years old, she moved from Canada to a farm three miles southeast of Park. She and her family remained in the Park area, building their lives with a pioneer spirit. She attended Fairview Rural Gove County School.
Elenora was united in marriage to Anton (Tony) Selenke on November 22, 1937. Elenora was 23 and Tony was 24 years old. The couple were joined in marriage at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Park by Reverend Peter Burhard.
Elenora was a homemaker and housewife. Before the death of her husband, they had farmed southeast of Park, where they both enjoyed gardening, raising cattle and hogs, or whatever farm animals her husband adopted on their farm. She moved into town when she became widowed. There, she worked as a cook for the Park Schools until it’s closing and then worked as a cleaning lady at the Gove County Medical Center Long Term Care. She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Altar Society of Park. Elenora became a resident of Prairie Senior Living Complex on March 12, 2007.
Survivors include two daughters, Kathleen Witt of Pueblo, Colorado and Cynthia Atkins of Colby; five grandchildren, Lisa Selenke, Tina Boone, Tony Selenke, Lance Atkins, and Lacy Henry; eleven great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two sons, Cletus and Thomas; one brother, Fred Wildeman; and five sisters, Otilia Benac, Magdalene Selenke, Genevieve Hartman, Mary Zimmerman, and Theresia Stefan.
Mass of Christian burial will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, September 12, 2014 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Park. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Visitation will be Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to service time at the church.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Sacred Heart Cemetery. Checks made to the cemetery may be sent in care of Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67752.
Condolences may be sent online at www.schmittfuneral.com.
