Circea Arlene Cass

Circea Arlene (Hite) Cass passed away Saturday, October 17, 2015 at the Sheridan County Health Complex Long Term Care in Hoxie, Kansas at the age of 101. She was born on June 20, 1914 at home, with help of a mid-wife, two and a half miles southeast of Lucerne, Kansas to Albert and Bertha (Antrobus) Hite. She had four sisters, Eva, Maude, Verna, and Alberta, and an infant brother, James Clarence Hite. At the age of five Circea taught herself to play piano by ear and continued playing throughout her life. She attended Prairie View School, also known as Lucerne School, through the eighth grade. Because her father believed girls should not attend high school, she worked for various people including Ada Launchbaugh in Lucerne, as a telephone operator, which she really enjoyed. When she met Clyde Aden Cass they dated for six years before being united in marriage on March 6, 1938 at the Methodist Parsonage in Hoxie. Due to hard times, they left Sheridan County in 1940 to work in Ogden, Utah in order to help pay the taxes on their home place. From Utah they went to Washington State so Clyde could work on the Grand Coulee Dam and shortly thereafter to Kodiak Island and the Naval Air Station while Circea worked in the laundry and dry cleaning business at both locations. When the war broke out, they came home to the farm where Circea also worked in the Sheridan County Health Complex Laundry for 32 years. Together they farmed and raised two sons. Douglas Clyde was born at home with a midwife on April 23, 1943. Howard Lee was born October 10, 1945. After Clyde’s passing on September 25, 1985, Circea continued to live on the farm until moving to Sheridan Estates when she was ninety years old then later to the Sheridan County Health Complex LTC where she celebrated her 101st birthday on June 20, 2015. Circea was a member of the Hoxie Presbyterian Church and enjoyed playing in the Old Timers Band for many years. Started by Willard Hilburn, and later led by Vic Mowry, they played dances in Hoxie and many surrounding towns. Her favorite song to play was “Frankie and Johnny.” Circea is survived by her sons, Douglas Cass and wife Sharyl of Hoxie, Kansas and Howard Lee Cass of Hoxie, Kansas; grandchildren, Connie Lee Moore and husband Tim of Ephrata, Washington, Tami Porsch and husband Mike of Selden, Kansas, and Ty Cass and wife Becca of Ellis, Kansas; great-grandchildren, Sydney and Tyler Moore; Tristan, Dayton, Marissa, and Chloe Porsch; and Rylan and Tage Cass. She was preceded in death by her husband, Clyde Aden Cass; parents, Albert and Bertha Hite; sisters, Eva Moore, Maudie Bell, Verna Colony, and Alberta Hite; and infant brother, James Clarence Hite. The greatest love of Circea’s life was her sons and their families. 101 years is a legacy few people reach, but she knew the greatest legacy is still unfolding every day in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Through memories and stories she will be forever etched on the hearts of those she loved so long and who will never stop loving her.