Visitation and funeral services will be September 6 at 9:00 am and 10:00 am at Country Club Christian Church, 6101 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri 64113 in the main sanctuary. Burial will take place immediately following services at Johnson County Funeral Chapel & Memorial Gardens at 11200 Metcalf Avenue, in Overland Park, Kansas.
Lillian was born July 18, 1928 in St. Joseph, Missouri to Lillian Ethel (Druce) Witt and James Mitchell Witt. After graduating as Valedictorian from Easton High School in 1946, Lillian attended Northwest Missouri State University at Maryville, Missouri where she received a BS in Elementary Education. She later earned a master’s degree in Kansas City.
Following her graduation with distinction from Northwest Missouri State University she went on to teach kindergarten in the St. Joseph, Kansas City, and Independence School Districts for 34 years. During those years, her love for her students became more evident as her teaching skills produced children who read far above their grade level. Her classroom was so well organized it was used as a model for visiting dignitaries to Kansas City from Japan one year. She also supervised many student teachers throughout her career. Upon her retirement an annual award named in her honor was established in recognition of her years of devotion and outstanding teaching skills.
She was also an active member of her church, Country Club Christian Church, serving as an elder and deacon, greeter, and frequent pianist and teacher in the Tri C’s Class. Her wisdom and insight into scripture were appreciated by her classmates.
Lillian was generous with her time and her gifts and for many years she volunteered at Alta Vista helping Latino students from the Kansas City area with reading and English skills. Her love of others led her to open her home to two college students, to provide care for three elderly relatives and to volunteer for ten years through Care Home Contacts. Her greatest joy was studying her Bible and related material and she was a model of how to live a Christian life.
Lillian was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Ernest Witt, and brother-in-law, Louis E. Kurz, and she is survived by her sister, Naomi L. Kurz of Leawood, Kansas, sister-in-law, Doris Witt of Kansas City, Missouri, and five nieces and a nephew of Kansas City, Missouri and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In lieu of flowers, charitable donations in honor of Lillian and her life of faith and good works can be made to Guadalupe Centers, 1015 Avenida Cesar E Chavez, Kansas City, Missouri 64108 or Country Club Christian Church Children’s Ministry.
