Elma Ruth Staten

The Rev. Elma Ruth Staten, 84, of Jackson passed away Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, at the home of a daughter in Leawood, Kansas.
Elma was born April 7, 1941, in Kirkwood to Owen and Zella Glass Whitfield. She and Ronald Orlando Staten were married Oct. 25, 1958, in Cape Girardeau. Four daughters were born to their union, Ronda, Lorri, Mia and Malaika. They had been married for 51 years, when Ronald passed away April 9, 2010.
Elma was a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and worked over 40 years as a registered nurse at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She spent the last half of her career as a staffing nurse manager. She and Ron also co-owned and operated Creative Arrangement Florist, Whitfield's Fine Dining, Unique Caterers and Whitfield's His and Her's Boutique, all former Cape Girardeau businesses.
Elma was a longtime active member of Greater Dimension Ministries Church of God in Christ in Cape Girardeau. She was also a board member of several local community agencies.
To cherish her memory, she leaves four daughters and their husbands, Ronda and William White of Leawood; Lorri and Reginald Patterson of Montgomery, Alabama; Mia and Warren Herring of Osage Beach; and Malaika and William Chavous of O'Fallon, Illinois; a sister, Shirley Farmer of St. Louis; 12 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
Elma was preceded in death by her husband; a grandson, Kendol Orlando Herring; five brothers, Owen, James, Thomas, Louis and Gerald Whitfield; five sisters, Cora Terry, Beryl Myers, Barbara Fleming, Josie McGee and Ozella Henson; and Ronald's brother, Carlton Staten.
The Rev. William Bird Jr., will conduct the funeral service at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at Greater Dimension Ministries COGIC in Cape Girardeau. Interment will follow at Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.
If considering a memorial contribution, the family suggests Saint Francis Medical Center Foundation.
Arrangements are by McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by scrolling to the guestbook beneath Elma's obituary article at www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.