Willetta Sprenkel, age 96, of Quinter, passed away, Thursday, November 1, 2018 in Levittown, PA.

(Obituary from Willetta’s daughter, Kathy’s perspective)

Mom will be known for her beautiful smile and the way she made people feel… her smile making a lasting impression, especially these last few years. As one of her Quinter friends recently wrote, she was “… one of a kind and a light that shone every day on someone.” I’ll remember her as my mother, and I feel very fortunate to have had her in my life for so long—long enough to have developed a close, supportive relationship.

Willetta Mae was born on July 30, 1922, to Vernon and Daisy Blickenstaff. She was one of five children, and she spent her first eighteen years living on a farm near Quinter, Kansas. She met the man who would become her husband in first grade—if not before. His name was Marvin Sprenkel, and they went through school together in the same class until they graduated in 1940. They married shortly after they graduated from high school, and then Daddy enlisted in the service. He was gone for three years.

After he returned, they eventually started a business in Quinter called Sprenkel Home and Auto Supply. It was located on Main Street, and they lived in a small house behind the store. They had two children… Kathy (that’s me) and my sister Libby. Mom was a homemaker who was involved in the church and in a few local clubs. Her family—both near and far away– was always most important to her. She organized our family reunions, couldn’t wait for everyone to arrive, and cried when it was time to say good-bye. We moved to a bigger house in 1954, and that’s where they lived until Daddy died in 2014.

My mother continued to be involved In the Methodist Church for the rest of her life. She was committed to the Mexican American Ministries in Garden City, the Clothes Like New store that supported the golf course and then the library, and she volunteered in the elementary school. She was known for her organizational skills, for her good nature, and for her wit and sense of humor. She was also known as a great cook—especially her skill at baking pies. Mom was fiercely proud of Quinter and all it stood for, never really understanding why anyone (including me) would want to live any place else.

My parents suffered a tremendous loss on June 16, 1964, when their daughter Libby died in a freak accident at the pool. Their strong faith helped them survive this tragedy, and even though their hearts had broken, they chose life. Eventually, both would come to say that they’d lived very good lives.

I write about both Mom and Daddy, even though this is Mom’s obituary. I do that intentionally, because their marriage was so close that at times it was hard to know them separately. They were married for 72 good years, and they truly adored each other. They had three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren—Mindy and Andy Sloaf with children, Daisy, Torin and Lila; David and Katey Frankel with children Reilly Marvin and Wyatt Quinter; and Susan and Jon Schimpf with children Addison, Carter and Jonathan. My parents loved and developed close relationships with each and everyone of them!

Mom lived the last four years of her life in Yardley, Pennsylvania, even though she often thought she was in Quinter, and we certainly never told her differently. She was content and happy, and her smile made all of us feel better for having seen it. During the last few hours of her life, one of her caregivers came in to see her, saying, “My heart is breaking. I really loved your Mama. She was my favorite. I could be having a rough day coming to work, but I knew as soon as I’d see Miss Willetta, and she’d smile, I’d know everything was going to be okay. Her smile just made us all feel good.” Her words made me cry, but also made me feel incredibly proud. We are going to miss Mom, but she made the world a better place, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing her, is richer for the experience.

Funeral service will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, November 15, 2018, at Quinter United Methodist Church. Burial will be in the Baker Township Cemetery, Quinter.
There will be a short visitation at church from 9:00 to service time, Thursday.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her memory to the United Methodist Church or the Jay Johnson Library of Quinter, or to Girls Unlimited, 102 W. Maple Ave., Langhorne, PA 19047. Donations made to the organization may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67752.