Leona E. Heath Wooton

is honored with a Brick from Gail L. Kinzer, Karen Duling, Nancy Bauck, Deanna Kemple Gooch and Kathy Hoheisel

Leona was born on August 5, 1925, to Edward and Mary Burkhart, in Cimarron, Kansas. She attended St. Mary of the Plains Academy, Dodge City, Kansas, and graduated from Cimarron High School. Shortly after high school, she married LeRoy Heath, from neighboring Ensign, Kansas, on May 4, 1944, at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, Ingalls, Kansas.

They farmed in southwest Kansas, while raising five children, lived for a short time in Dodge City, Kansas, and moved to a farm near Garden City, Kansas, where their sixth child was born. After returning to Dodge City in the summer of 1964, Leona entered St. Mary of the Plains College and earned her B.S. degree in elementary education in 1969, while raising four of their children. She taught briefly for the Dodge City school district and Sacred Heart Catholic School until December 1975. Leona later received her reading specialist certificate. All of this was accomplished while managing their home, continuing to nurture the children, as well as caring for her ailing husband who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Sadly LeRoy passed away on January 21, 1973. Being a woman of great strength and faith, Leona was steadfast in achieving her goals as a devoted mother and educator.

A few years later she met and married Richard Wooton at Holy Cross Catholic Church, Hutchinson, Kansas, on December 27, 1975. They both continued to pursue careers in education, he as a counselor and administrator and Leona as reading specialist teacher with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita. She endured another tragic loss on August 4, 1991, with the sudden death of Richard. While maintaining strong ties to her children and grandchildren, Leona continued educating the youth of the Wichita area with great love and attention, retiring when she was 75 years old. She remained vigilant and committed to mentoring each child to his potential. This was the driving force behind her volunteering in schools until the age of 85.

Leona was extremely devoted to her faith, active in Church organizations, always being an example to everyone with whom she had contact. Her strongest dedication was to her six children, 15 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 12 great great-grandchildren. Nothing was more important to her than family. Additional passions were the love of flower gardening, birds, reading, and music. She was a self-taught pianist from a very early age and contributed her talent to choirs until the age of 88. After a blessed and full life of nearly 90 years, Leona passed away on June 30, 2015, in Wichita, Kansas. The influence of her faith, love, education, wisdom and grace will continue in the lives of those she leaves behind. She truly was our source of inspiration.