Emma Kathleen “Ducky” Garner, 77, of Iola, Kansas, died Friday, August 5, 2011, at Allen County Hospital in Iola.
She was born Jan. 16, 1934, in Iola, the daughter of William H. and Faye (Coker) Newman. She grew up in Iola and attended Iola High School. On Dec. 25, 1949, Kathleen married Vernon H. “Red” Garner Jr. in Ft. Scott, after which they made their home in Iola.
She worked for the Apt family over the years and retired in 1999 after working 30 years at the Iola Public Library.
She belonged to the glass club in Iola and currently was a member of the Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church in Iola, where she served as missionary president for 30 years. She also belonged to the Ebony 8 Red Hat Society in Iola.
Her Husband of 61 years, Vernon H. “Red” Garner Jr. of the home survives, as does a daughter, Linda Sue Young and her husband, Jim, Kansas City, Kan.; two grandsons, James Young Jr., St. Louis, Mo., and Jared Young, Kansas City, Kan.; a brother, Bill Newman, Iola; three sisters, Rosie Powers, Colorado Springs, Helen Ambler and her husband, Spencer, and Donna Fay Wright, Topeka; three sisters-in-law, Phyllis Bass, Leavenworth, Janice Lane and her husband, Harold, Everest, and Mary Jo Garner, Leavenworth; and a number of nephews, nieces, other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by two sons, Vernon Garner III in 2000 and Phillip “Lynn” Garner in 2007; and a brother, Floyd S. Newman.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Iola, the Rev. Barbara J. Miniefee officiating. Burial will follow at Highland Cemetery. The family will greet friends from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Ward Chapel AME Church and left with the funeral home. Online condolences may be sent to www.iolafuneral.com.
Ducky Garner
