LARNED — Lovella Smith died Sunday evening April 26th, at the HaysMed campus in Hays, Kan., five days short of her 86th birthday. After struggling with rheumatoid arthritis for 20 years and experiencing numerous health and medication-related close calls and miraculous escapes, she passed peacefully, listening to Elton John with her son Desmond by her side holding her hand. Lovella had been a resident of Larned, Kan. for more than 50 years.
She was born Lovella Katherine Kuepker in Pampa, Texas, May 1, 1934, to Gus Henry Kuepker and Gertrude Aurora Duncan. Because of her father’s career as pipeline manager for Phillips 66, Lovella and her brother Wayne spent their childhood in small oil towns such as Shidler, Okla. and Thrall, Kan.
Lovella’s father immigrated to the U.S. from Germany with his family in 1904, passing through Ellis Island. To commemorate the 100th anniversary in 2004, Lovella and family returned to Ellis Island and sponsored a memorial engraving of the family name on the Immigrant’s Wall of Honor.
Her mother’s family were early pre-statehood settlers of Oklahoma, and can trace their lineage back to the Mayflower. Lovella’s mother earned a degree from Ardmore Business College in Oklahoma and was an inspiration for Lovella’s love of learning and teaching. Lovella was named after her mother’s college roommate.
Lovella graduated from Hamilton High School in 1952, and played on a State Championship basketball team. She attended Emporia State Teacher’s College earning a B.A., and an M.S. Lovella began teaching high school in Ottawa, Kan. and later in Pawnee Rock and Larned, where she taught business, typing, photography, computers, and coached one student to a national championship in distributive education. She also taught adult education night classes through Barton County Community College. Her teaching certification listed 13 areas she was qualified to instruct. Lovella retired from teaching in 1998.
Lovella married H.A. Smith at the First Presbyterian Church in Emporia, Kan. on May 31, 1957. After a chili dog supper, they drove to California where they spent many summer vacations. They have three children, Brian of Henderson, Nev., Dianne Johnson of Pilot Point, Texas, and Desmond, of the world. Brian and his wife Amy are parents of Lovella’s three beautiful granddaughters, Annika, Katerina, and Helena.
Lovella and H.A. traveled to much of the U.S. and Europe. To celebrate her 80th birthday in 2014, they visited Russia and the area of northwest Germany where Lovella’s ancestry traces back 800 years. In 2004 she celebrated her 70th birthday and a new knee by walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. Last year, for her 85th birthday, she requested a super fast ride in a sports car and to eat at Olive Garden. She did both. Twice.
In recent years Lovella continued to enjoy traveling, genealogy, cross-stitching, eating, and playing Scrabble, mahjong, Rook, and Yahtzee. A fall in 2018 left her with difficulty walking, so she spent more time at home watching old movies on TCM, television reruns of Green Acres and Dark Shadows, or videos Desmond brought her of his global adventures and motorcycle racing. Her greatest happiness was time spent with her beloved West Highland White Terrier, Katie, who died in September 2018 at 14 years old.
As much as Lovella missed Katie who preceded her in death, Lovella will be missed by friends, former students, and her family. A special thanks for the years of great care by Golden Belt Home Health and Hospice. Memorials may be left in her honor with the Arthritis Foundation, the ASPCA, or the Larned First Presbyterian Church. www.wulfastmortuary.com contains the full obituary, additional photos of Lovella, and memorials.
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, May 1, 2020
