Lieselotte Gharst

Lieselotte Helene, nee Schneider, Gharst, age 84 of KCK, passed away on Sat., June 8, 2013. Mom was born in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany to the late Erich Karl Schneider and Lucie Margarete Liesbeth Niedner on September 15, 1928. Mom attended local German schools until she reached the age of trade school training, where she trained as a seamstress. As a little girl and into her teen years she witnessed the horrors of Nazism in her beloved homeland, from classmates disappearing, to hands sticking out of freight cars, to surviving the many aerial bombings, and the horrors of the Russian invasion of Berlin. Mom married American Army soldier, Jack Leonard Gharst, of Terre Haute, IN, in 1946. While still living in Berlin, she welcomed her first born son, Jack, Jr. in 1947. She left Berlin in 1947 when dad was reassigned to Fort Leavenworth, KS. While there Mom had 3 children, Anna in 1948 and twins, David and Dennis in 1950. After leaving the Army and moving to the KC area, Mom had 3 children, Mark in 1951, Cassandra in 1952 and Michael in 1953. So by the age of 24, Mom had 7 children under the age of 6. In 1963, her eighth and last child was born, Elizabeth. To help feed and clothe us all, Mom eventually began working outside the home. She was employed at Providence Hospital in 1955 and until she retired in 1993, when she was named the employee of the Year for her dedication to the health and birth of many Kansans. Mom, was a born again Christian having received the sinner's prayer at Full Faith Church of Love on Mother’s Day in 1983. Mom's whole life was devoted to her love of family including her 25 grandchildren, 35 great-grand children with 3 more on the way, and two great great-grandchildren. Mom was a Giver to all who knew her. She never thought of herself, never had the riches that would have made her life easier, but she delighted in Giving, whatever she had, whether it was a meal, or a sofa, or a few dollars or a loan to help you out, or a room in her home until you got back on your feet.

Mom is survived by her brother, Wolfgang Karl Schneider of Berlin, Germany and his son, Michael Schneider; sons, Jack Leonard Gharst of Olathe, KS, David Stanley Gharst of Raymore, MO, Dennis Albert Gharst of Lenexa, KS, Michael Wolfgang Gharst of Olathe; daughters, Anna Rose Marie Zemaitis of Basehor, KS, Cassandra Louise Bookter of Riverside, MO and Elizabeth Ann Gharst of Odessa, MO. She was preceded in death by her husband of over 50 years, Jack Leonard Gharst, Sr., son, Mark Erich Gharst (USMC), niece, Sabina Schneider, and her parents, Erich and Lucie Schneider.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 11th from 6:00-8:00pm at Chapel Hill-Butler Funeral Home, 701 N. 94 Street, KCK. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wed., June 12th at the funeral home, with interment to follow in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.