Alice May Barnard, age 93, went to Heaven to meet Jesus, her personal Lord and Savior, on Sunday, October 6, 2013, from her home in Wichita, Kansas, following a lengthy illness with congestive heart failure.

Alice was born in Oilton, Oklahoma, January 7, 1920, to Anna May (Howze) Messick and Oldom Taylor Messick; both parents preceded Alice in death. Alice graduated from Tonkawa High School in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, in 1938.

She married Leo Earl Caywood in 1938, and they had Alice Lorene who died at age 2 months the following year. Alice’s second marriage was to Walter John Paul Klein, and they had Paulette Mae who died in 1967. Walt died during World War II. Alice’s third marriage, in Hebron, Nebraska, was to Royce Elton (Barney) Barnard, and they had Ruth Elaine while living in Ulysses, Kansas, in 1949. Elton died in 1973. Alice continued to live in Ulysses, Kansas, until she moved with Elaine to Wichita, Kansas, in 2002, where she currently lived. Others to precede her in death were her 10 siblings: Virginia Davis, Florene Hale, Lena, Lloyd, Thelma, Doretha, Faye, Richard, Leonard, and Raymond Messick; grandson, Blair Craft; and son-in-law Dale Baker.

Survivors include daughter Elaine Craft of Wichita, Kansas; granddaughters Sharla (husband Chad) French, and Shanae (husband Kirk) Howie, all of Wichita, Kansas; grandsons Jim Garrison of Safford, Arizona, Jon (wife Marianne) Garrison of Fort Scott, Kansas, and Jeff (wife Barb) Garrison of DeSoto, Kansas; step-grandchildren Stacy (husband Gabe) Hinrichs of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Aric (wife Kristy) Baker of Winfield, Kansas. Alice had 17 great-grandchildren and 8 great-great grandchildren.

Places of employment for Alice included Gibson’s; USD 214; and mostly at Bob Wilson Memorial Hospital in Ulysses, Kansas, where she started in 1968 as an aide, went to Inhalation Therapy and Physical Therapy in 1969, and was Supervisor of those 2 departments before she left the hospital for awhile, but returned after October 1977, when she was a Ward Clerk and was elected as Employee of the Month. Afterwards, she worked in Admissions in the Emergency Room. Her co-workers agreed that she had a great sense of humor and could relieve the tension of a bad evening. They appreciated her calmness in emergencies, thoroughness, and willingness to work 32 hours in 2 days every weekend, at age 78.

Alice’s favorite hobbies were crocheting, needlepoint, jigsaw puzzles, reading, solitaire, ceramics, flower arranging, and bird watching. She is best known for crocheting hangers and giving them away as gifts (we all fought over these), but we will remember her forever for being the sweetest person we’ve ever known who always put others before herself!

Alice’s funeral will be held at the First Baptist Church, 220 N. Simpson, Ulysses, Kansas, on Wednesday, October 9, 2013, at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Steve Swann, Jr. officiating. Interment will be at the Ulysses Cemetery in Ulysses, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the American Heart Association in care of Garnand Funeral Home, 405 W. Grant, Ulysses, Kansas 67880.