Carolyn Denchfield

Carolyn Meier Denchfield, age 85, passed away July 4, 2021, at the Logan County Senior Living Center. She was born Carolyn Weigel, to Wilhelmina Weigel, in Chicago, Illinois, on January 27, 1936. Her mother passed away in March of 1943. Carolyn was then adopted by Wendle and Josephine Knoll Meier, of Holcomb, Kansas, in April 1944. Although she was an only child, she was surrounded by numerous cousins from the Meier and Knoll families.

She lived on a farm near Holcomb and attended school there until the middle of 7th grade when they moved to Garden City. She completed 7th and 8th grade at St. Mary's Parochial School. When she was in the 9th grade, her English class presented a Christmas play, "No Room at the Inn" and that is where she first met Keith Denchfield. He played the part of Joseph and she played the part of Mary. She knew Keith during high school, but they never dated. She graduated from Garden City High School with the class of 1953.

After graduation she worked as a store clerk at Ideal Foods and then as a bank teller at Garden National Bank. In December of 1956 Keith was home for Christmas vacation. He came into the bank and asked her to attend a class reunion their class was having. She agreed and they continued dating and were married September 1, 1957. They welcomed Mark in 1959, Jeffrey in 1962 and Wendy in 1964.

Keith joined the Kansas Highway Patrol in 1962 and was assigned to various locations in northwest Kansas, finally ending up in WaKeeney in 1966. Carolyn went to work for the Ralph Clark Law Firm. Upon Ralph's retirement she went to work for the Probate Judge. During her time with the judge, the court system unified, and she became the Deputy Clerk of the District Court working for Cora Hladek. She was appointed the Clerk of the District Court of Trego County February 1983, where she remained until her retirement in September 2001.

Carolyn was a lifetime member of the Gamma Eta Sorority, with 57 years of service, a 50 year member of Christ the King Catholic Church, WaKeeney and most recently, a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Oakley. She enjoyed reading and scrapbooking, but her greatest joy was being ‘Grammy’ to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. During their retirement years Keith and Carolyn traveled around the country to visit family and friends. They also enjoyed many adventures with the class of 1953. She was an amazing daughter, wife, mom, grammy and friend and will be missed dearly.

Survivors include her husband, Keith, of Oakley; sons, Mark Denchfield and wife Pauline, of Hutchinson and Jeffrey Denchfield and wife Sherry, of Greenwood Village, Colorado; daughter Wendy Glassman and husband David, of Oakley; four grandchildren, who were her joy, Allison Glassman, Ethan Glassman, Derek Glassman and wife Sadie and Cole Denchfield and three great-granddaughters, who she was blessed to be near, Ronnie Josephine, Hattie Rose, and Evie Lyn.

She was preceded in death by her birth mother, Wilhelmina Weigel; her parents, Wendle and Josephine Meier; grandparents, John and Elizabeth Meier and Adam and Eva Knoll and father and mother-In-Law Ray and Mildred Denchfield.

Visitation is 5-7:00 p.m. Friday, July 9, 2021, at Baalmann Mortuary, Oakley, with a Vigil at 7:00 p.m. Funeral Mass will take place at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 10, 2021, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Oakley, with burial in the church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to St Joseph Catholic School, sent in care of Baalmann Mortuary, P.O. Box 204, Oakley, KS 67748. For information or condolences visit www.baalmannmortuary.com