Evelyn Marie (Holt) Brecheisen

Evelyn Marie Brecheisen, age 90 of Ottawa, Kansas passed away March 9, 2022 at the Wellsville Retirement Community. Graveside memorial services will be held 11AM, Monday, March 21, 2022 at the Wellsville Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Wellsville City Library Building Fund in care of Wilson’s, PO Box 486, Wellsville, KS 66092.

Evelyn Marie Brecheisen was born May 30, 1931 in Moscow, Kansas the second of eight children who lived past infancy to George Lester “Bob” and Margaret Erma (Brown) Holt. Evelyn was raised in Southwest Kansas during the dirt storms of the Dust Bowl era and the rationing of WWII. She told stories of daytime dirt storms darkening the sky to midnight black; drilling and discing wheat; driving the wheat truck during harvest; and raising bottle-fed lambs, in addition to all the usual pranks siblings like to play on one another.

Evelyn began her first grade year at the age of 4, attending country schools until the 8^th grade. She attended Liberal High School until the second semester of her Junior year, then moved to Welda, Kansas with her family, graduating from Welda High School in 1948.

On October 8, 1950, she married Louis Brecheisen at the home of her parents. They were married 46 years before his passing October 17, 1996.

Evelyn waited tables at the Rocky Roost Café, clerked at the Nichols Grocery Store, worked manufacturing at Parmelee Industries and Puritan-Bennett, and touched up negatives at ArtMaster Yearbook, but spent the majority of her work career as a school bus driver for Wellsville USD 289. For over 25 years, she drove children in all kinds of weather and on many extracurricular trips.

Evelyn learned all kinds of handcraft from her mother: sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, tatting and embroidery. She also taught herself to do other crafts such as rug making, counted cross-stitch, macrame and punch embroidery. Her favorite activity, however, was quilting and she pieced and/or quilted at least 50 quilts in the past 50 years of her life. Her children and grandchildren all received quilts made by her skilled and loving hands. For several years, she spent Friday mornings at the Wellsville City Library sharing her quilting knowledge. Several people affiliated with the Wellsville Community have won quilts that were either pieced or quilted by her from the Wellsville City Library quilt raffle held during Wellsville Days.

Evelyn is survived by her daughter, Lenora Brecheisen of Ottawa; son, Kim Brecheisen (Gwen) of Ottawa; son, Lynn Brecheisen (Shelia) of Wellsville; grandchildren: Amy Brecheisen (Chris Wenz) of Cincinnati, OH; Aaron Brecheisen of Cincinnati, OH; Nathan Brecheisen (Sarah) of Overland Park; Danielle McKinzie (Kyle) of Oswego; Joshua Underwood (Krysta) of Pomona; and Anthony Underwood of Ottawa; 9 great-grandchildren; sister, Jean Chitwood of Welda; sister, Eunice Thompson of Topeka; brother, Dean Holt (Karen) of Midwest City, OK; sister-in-law, Doris Holt of Warner Robins, GA; sister-in-law, Nancy Holt of Owasso, OK; brother-in-law, William Brecheisen of Iola; and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents; husband; grandson, Ronnie Rentz; 2 sisters, Venita Money and Barbara Mullins; 3 brothers, Harold, Warren and Ronald Holt and an unnamed infant sibling.

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