Wava C. Duell

Wava C. Duell, age 87, passed away Wednesday, February 28, 2018, at The Eaglecrest Retirement Community in Salina, Kansas.  She was born April 19, 1930 in Henderson, Colorado to John Edward Chadd and Anna Marie Davis Chadd.  She grew up in the Cactus Ridge-Henderson, Colorado community and graduated from Commerce City High School in Commerce City, Colorado.  She attended Colorado Teachers College in Greeley where she received her Bachelor’s degree in education.  She met her future husband Ralph while he was a student at Colorado A&M College ("the Aggies"), and on July 30, 1950, they were married at East Side Christian Church in Denver.  They began their teaching career in the fall of 1950 at the Edson elementary school, where they lived in a teacherage, and she taught until the birth of their first child Tommy, after which Ralph continued to teach and Wava devoted herself full-time to caring for her family.  Later, Wava was a teacher for the Goodland USD 352 for 30 years until her retirement in 1994.  Wava was a member of the Goodland United Methodist Church, AAUW, Delta Kappa Gamma Societ International (women educators association), the County Line Hustlers community club, and Club Leader in the Prairie Dale 4H Club.  She took special interest in each one of her students through the years, especially in the skill of reading.  In her retirement years she was a devoted volunteer at the Goodland Historical Society and the Goodland Regional Medical Center Auxiliary and served in many ways in her beloved church community.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Juanita Baldwin.

She is survived by her husband, Ralph of Salina, KS; son Tom (Mary Nell) Duell of Chelmsford, MA; son Tim (Pat) Ault-Duell of Salina; daughter Krista Duell and Dan of Idaho Springs, CO;  grandchildren Charlie, Margi, Laura and Travis; and great-grandchildren Solomon, Rosalee, Sadie and one more arriving this fall.

The Celebration of Her Life will be Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at 11 a.m. MT at the Goodland United Methodist Church, 1116 Sherman in Goodland, with interment following at the Goodland Cemetery.  Visitation will be Monday, March 5 at Bateman Funeral Home, 211 East 11th in Goodland, from 5 to 7 p.m. MT.  Memorials may be designated to the Goodland United Methodist Church, or the Wava C. Duell Education Memorial and left at the services or mailed to Bateman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 278, Goodland, KS  67735.  Online condolences www.batemanfuneral.com

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