Wilma Artille Bartholomew

Wilma Artille (Breckenridge) Bartholomew passed away Saturday, August 27, 2016 at Kenwood View Health and Rehabilitation Center in Salina, Kansas due to complications from ovarian cancer, which she had fought for almost a year, at the age of 96. She was born on December 30, 1919 on the family farm southwest of Woodston, Kansas to the late Gorden and Edna (Grimes) Breckenridge. She grew up on the farm southeast of Woodston and attended Rose Hill country school from 1926 - 1933, taking 3rd and 4th grade studies in the same year. She then spent her first three years of high school in Woodston, living with her grandparents Cliff and Alice Grimes during the winter months, until her family moved to Pittsburg, Kansas where she graduated from College High School. Wilma’s parents moved to Pittsburg where her father found work in the iron foundry and operated a small farm so the girls could go to college, an opportunity he never had. Wilma graduated from Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) in 1939, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Home Economics and a minor in English and Science. She began teaching school in Louisburg and Paola schools in Miami County, Kansas and became engaged to Kenneth Bartholomew before he joined the United States Army Air Corps during WWII. Before his discharge from the service, she returned home and began teaching at Woodston Rural High School. On March 8, 1946 she and Kenneth were united in marriage and lived in rural Osborne County, Kansas near his family farm. They were blessed with four children, Ruth, Patsy, Ray, and John. Wilma was a teacher at heart. She did extended substitute teaching in Alton, and later became a full-time teacher in Woodston teaching a variety of classes and subjects, including the elementary school whenever needed. She was a member of the United Methodist Church, the United Methodist Women, and served as president and in several district offices within the Conference of the UMW. She was a 4-H leader for many years and enjoyed judging food projects at the county fairs. She was a tutor for Volunteers for Literacy with a passion for helping people learn to read, and in later years continued to be a Sunday School teacher, was a member of the Alton American Legion Auxiliary, and stayed active in the community, helping with all of the local events. During the last 15 months of her life, Wilma lived with her daughter and son-in-law Patsy and Galen Redden near Gypsum, Kansas. She continued to do activities that were reported in her column, “Wilma’s Outings” in the Woodston Free Press, and during the Summer of 2015 she went on an extended trip to Wyoming and Idaho to attend the Bartholomew Family Reunion. The highlight of the trip was fulfilling her dream of seeing “old Faithful” in Yellowstone National Park. Wilma is survived by her children Patsy L. Redden and husband Galen of Gypsum, Ray E. Bartholomew and wife Candy of Hutchinson, and John W. Bartholomew of Los Lunas, NM; son-in-law Troy Zachary of Salina; sisters Elma Auchard of Bryan, OH, and Grace Merkey and husband Robert “Bob” of Monte Vista, CO; grandchildren LeeAnn and Travis Carlson, Sam and Lori Zachary, Daniel and Andrea Zachary, Heidi and Chad Crist, Trevor and Gayle Redden, Arlen and Hayley Redden, Elina and Tyler Charvet, Casey Bartholomew, Corey and Julie Bartholomew, Kayla Bartholomew, Brianna Bartholomew, and Marisa Bartholomew; and 19 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents Gorden and Edna Breckenridge, husband Kenneth Bartholomew, brother-in-law Edward Auchard, and daughter Ruth Ann Zachary It has been said that teachers are the greatest of all artists because their medium is the hearts, minds, and spirits of our children. The artistry Wilma leaves with us is a beautiful work made up of the thousands of lives she has touched and the difference she has made in our world because she was a faithful and loving wife, mother, friend, and teacher. She will live for generations to come in the hearts and minds of all who were blessed to know her. Funeral Services are 10:30 a.m. Friday, September 2, 2016 at Woodston United Methodist Church with burial to follow in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 2:00pm-8:00pm at the funeral home, with family receiving friends from 6:00-7:30pm.