Neva Lou Ann (Morgan) Edwards

Neva Lou Ann Edwards

Neva Lou Ann Edwards, loving wife and mother, went home to Jesus on Saturday, December 26, 2020, at the age of 84.

Neva was born on June 13, 1936, at the Morgan Homestead, 10 miles south of Atwood, KS, to Joe and Leola (Bosler) Morgan. She met Clifford Duane Edwards, the love of her life, while they were in high school. They married on August 28, 1954, and went on to have three children: Mark, Marilyn, and Cecily.

Neva was a lifelong learner and a lover of education. She graduated as Valedictorian from Atwood High School in 1954. After raising children and caring for her home, she returned to college and graduated from Fort Hays Kansas State College in 1976 with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She continued her post-graduate studies, eventually earning her PhD in Educational Administrative Leadership from Kansas State University in 1986. During her time in Manhattan, KS, she became an avid K-State Wildcat fan.

Neva was an elementary school teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in Hays. Later, she served as principal at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Plainville, KS; then at McCandless Elementary School in Hutchinson, KS, and finally at Lincoln Elementary School in McPherson, KS.

Her pursuits went well beyond the classroom; she was not only incredibly intelligent, she was also very creative and adventurous. She made pottery, was a talented seamstress, and loved to learn new crafts such as knitting, quilting, and crocheting. She enjoyed telling stories through the medium of children’s books, poetry, and music. Neva studied for and gained her private pilot’s license to accompany her husband Cliff on air adventures. She was fearless when it came to international travel and often visited her daughter Cecily in foreign countries such as Germany, Turkey, Austria, Poland, France and many others.

Above all, however, she held an unwavering faith in God, which she shared with those who surrounded her. She leaves a rich spiritual heritage for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Neva joins her husband Cliff, her granddaughter Laura Stroup, her parents and her siblings in Heaven.

She is survived by her children: Mark Edwards, Manhattan, KS; Marilyn Engel and husband Bruce, Hays, KS; and Cecily Hill and husband Paul, Huntsville, AL; eleven grandchildren: Cara Rignell and husband Lonnie, Caleb Edwards, Mariel Edwards, Rita Edwards, Lee Stroup, Landon Stroup, Layton Stroup, Katelyn Engel, Ryan Hill and wife Jasmine, Olivia Hill, and Austin Hill; and eight great-grandchildren.

Neva was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She will be sadly missed but fondly remembered by all who knew her.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 am on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at High Plains Baptist Church, Hays.  Burial will be at 3:30 pm on Wednesday in the Chardon Cemetery in rural Rawlins County. Visitation will be from 9:00 am until service time on Wednesday at the church. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://www.alz.org/ or in care of Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home.  Condolences and memories of Neva may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com

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