Frances Louise Kochsmeier

Frances L. Kochsmeier Frances Louise (Gilkeson) Kochsmeier, 95, departed this life on Monday, July 16, 2018. Frances, daughter of William Lawrence and Janet Louise (Renner) Gilkeson, was born October 3, 1922 on a farm west of Garden City, MO. Raised on that dairy farm, she attended Garden City and Sugar Creek school, graduating from Garden City High School in 1941. After attending Central Missouri State Teachers College, she taught grades 1-4 at Houston Rural School and East Lynne Elementary School On June 1, 1947, she married Ralph Walter Kochsmeier at her parents' home near Garden City. Because of her husband's Navy career, they lived in Gardner, KS, Arlington, TX, San Leandro, CA and Pearl Harbor, HI, before settling down in Harrisonville, MO, in December 1962. In 2007, she and Ralph moved to Aberdeen Village Retirement Community in Olathe, KS. Frances was a long time member of Harrisonville United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Women, and the Progressive Priscillas Extension Club. She enjoyed gardening, sewing, cooking, crossword puzzles and knitting. Over the years she has knitted countless caps and blankets for newborns, and hats, mittens and scarves for the homeless. Frances was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and a sister, Marcia Gilkeson Perdue. She is survived by her daughters, Vera Louise Brecheisen (Ted), Baldwin City, KS and Shirley Ann Siegel, Centerville, GA; grandchildren, Dana Louise Barnett, Lawrence, KS, Andrea Elizabeth Siegel, Orlando, FL and Jeffrey Christopher Siegel (Randi), Roswell, GA; great-grandsons, Renner Tate Siegel and Garrison Davis Siegel, Roswell, GA; a brother, William Renner Gilkeson (Sandra), Creighton, MO; other relatives and friends. Funeral services were held Thurs, July 19, 2018 at the Dickey Funeral Home, Harrisonville, MO with burial in the Orient Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, family suggests memorial contributions may be made to the United Methodist Church, 2600 E. Mechanic St., Harrisonville, MO 64701 or to the Olathe Health Hospice House, 20375 W 151st Street, Olathe, KS. 66061. (Arr. Dickey FH, Harrisonville, 816-884-6244)