Eva Belle James Epp

AUGUSTA - Epp, Eva Belle James, 82, died peacefully in her sleep early Thursday morning after a long illness. She is survived by her husband, Rodney D. Epp of Augusta; her son Todd D. Epp of Harrisburg, South Dakota; her sisters Virginia Tufte and Sally Glidden of Los Angeles, California; sister Betty Beckley of Ainsworth, Nebraska; daughter-in-law Donna M. Epp of Harrisburg; and grandchildren Sarah Marie Epp and Matthew Zachariah David Epp of Harrisburg. Belle, as she preferred to be called, was born December 24, 1927 in Tilden, Nebraska. Her parents were Micah D. James and Sarah "Sally" Elizabeth Bartee James, both Virginia natives who moved to Nebraska just after the turn of the Twentieth Century, where they farmed near Tilden. Belle's father died when she was only nine years old, leaving a large family for her mother to support during the depths of the Great Depression in dust bowl Nebraska. Belle graduated from Tilden High School in 1945. After high school, she was involved in a serious car accident and was presumed dead. She broke her pelvis and doctors told her she would never walk again. With the love and encouragement of her mother Sally, Belle was able to walk again, even though her pelvis healed with one side higher than the other. She prided herself on the fact that she could walk without a limp. After jobs at banks in Tilden and Omaha, Nebraska and also at Western Electric in Omaha, she met Rodney D. Epp of Hampton, Nebraska. They wed May 25, 1958 in Omaha. On December 8, 1958, Belle gave birth to Todd David, their only child. Belle and her family lived in Yankton, South Dakota from 1959 to 1976 and then in Augusta, Kansas with her husband Rodney from 1976 to 2010. Belle was preceded in death by her father Micah, her mother Sally, her sisters Margaret, Oneita, Mary, and Kate and her brothers Millard and Bill. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m., Sunday, October 24, 2010 at the Headley Funeral Chapel in Augusta, Kansas. Services will be at 2 p.m., Tuesday, October 26, 2010 at the Brockhaus-Harlan Funeral Home in Tilden, Nebraska followed by burial in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in the James family plot. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent in Belle's name to Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita, KS 67202.