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| Melba Mae Lonberger |
| Date Of Birth: | May 19, 1925 |
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| Date Of Death: | November 19, 2011 |
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| Service Date: | 11:00 a.m., November 26, 2011 |
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Melba Mae Lonberger
Melba Mae Lonberger, 86, died November 19, 2011, in Salina,
Kansas. She was born May 19, 1925, to Frank Harris and Maebelle
Rathbun Keeler, in her parents' home near Barnard, Kansas, the
fourth of five children.
As a child she loved animals, and like her older sister, Maxyne,
she collected pictures of movie stars. She enjoyed playing the
piano and tap dancing, once tap dancing for the governor of Kansas.
She graduated as Valedictorian of her high school class and at the
encouragement of her teacher, Mrs. Selby, went on to get a teaching
certificate at Kansas Wesleyan University. She taught at Malone, a
one room school for two years, where one of her students, Stanley
Crawford, introduced her to his uncle, Dean Lonberger. After dating
for a year, she and Dean were married November 11, 1944.
They moved to Davenport, Iowa, while Dean attended Chiropractic
College, then returned to Kansas. Melba was happy being a mother to
her four girls and running the household. She had a passion for
organ playing, puzzle solving, and card games. For many years
before his death, she and Doc started each day with their "Morning
Triathlon", a game of cribbage, a game of pinochle, and a game of
pitch. She was thrilled when her four granddaughters came along,
and loved being a grandmother. She enjoyed travel, visiting
England, Germany and Canada, among other places. Melba was an
excellent cook; she liked to read and watch old movies. She was a
lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, first in Barnard,
then in Lincoln, and was active in the church until ill health took
its toll.
She was preceded in death by her parents, an infant brother,
Gilbert, her sister, Maxyne, her brother, Keith, and her husband,
Dean. She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, DeAnnette
and Tim Harries, Topeka, Brenda and Mike Classen, Overland Park,
LaDonna and George Sanders, Kansas City, Kansas, and Roxanne and
George Burritt, Seaside, California; granddaughters and
grandsons-in-law Dr. Johnette Clark, Atchinson, Heather and
Ray LeBlanc, Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, Anastasia and Patrick
Wagner, Omaha, Nebraska, and Elysia Mettenbrink, Marquette,
Nebraska; her sister and brother-in-law, Madge and Charles Cramb,
Wichita, a sister-in-law, Helen Keeler, Salina, and many nieces,
nephews and friends.
Memorial services will be held November 26, at the United
Methodist Church in Lincoln, Kansas, at 11:00 a.m., with the Pastor
Kaye Metzler officiating. There will be no visitation; cremation
has been performed by Carlson-Geisendorf Funeral Home in Salina. A
private inurnment will take place in Lincoln City Cemetery at a
later time. Memorial contributions may be made to the United
Methodist Church, 216 N. 4th St, Lincoln, Kansas 67455, or Hospice
of Salina, 730 Holly Lane, Box 2238, Salina, Kansas 67401.
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