Beth Brandt Hamelin

Beth Brandt Hamelin, age 55, of Ulysses, Kansas, died Monday, December 11, 2017, at Western Prairie Senior Living Community in Ulysses, Kansas, from complications of Neurofibromatosis and Multiple Sclerosis. She was born August 28, 1962, in Boise City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Gunther W. and Janet F. (Dixon) Brandt.

Beth’s early childhood was spent in Boise City, until her family moved to Ulysses in 1974. She attended Junior High and High School in Ulysses, graduating in 1980. She attended Fort Hays College and received her associate’s degree.

Beth worked one summer at the Ulysses daycare, another summer rogueing in the Milo fields, a hot, dusty scratchy job she hated. She took the CNA class at the Care Home and passed on her first try, and worked there during high school. During college, she cared for an elderly lady in her home, later she became a nanny, which she really enjoyed. She was a nanny for several years in Dallas, Reston, Virginia, and Hugoton. When she came back to Ulysses, she worked as a Para at the Johnson and Big Bow schools. Her last job was as a production worker at Seaboard Farms.

Her desire was to be a mother or a veterinarian, but life had a different path for Beth. She always loved children, and spent as much time around them as she could. She loved animals of all kinds, and always had pets: many cats and dogs, a cockatoo named Ruffles who talked, a horse, and a pet monkey which was the source of many laughs and frustrations.

Beth married John Hamelin on December 5, 2015, in Ulysses. She was a wonderful wife, a loving daughter, and a fiercely loyal friend. She had an excellent memory and a beautiful spirit. She loved reading, and read until she could no longer hold a book and turn the pages. Beth was also a scuba diver and got to enjoy several dive trips with her parents before she became disabled.

Beth received Jesus as her Savior at the age of eight years and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at fourteen. Her strong faith never wavered, and she was always a strong moral person.

She is survived by her husband, John of Ulysses; parents, Darrel and Janet Damon of Ulysses; brother, James Brandt and wife Jessica of Cheyenne, Wyoming; sisters, Denise Porter and husband Ken of Bakersfield, California, Diane Crawford and husband Jeff of Hugoton, and Kerri Brandt of Salina; aunts and uncles, Joe and Lola Dixon, Doris and Vernon Miller, Shirley and Delbert Williams, Jeannie Dixon, Werner and Jackie Brandt, and Norman and Delores Spencer; nephews, Andrew Fort and wife Meghan, Aaron Fort, Curtis Crawford and wife Toni, Mark Crawford and wife Tiffany, Justin Schneider, and Addison Schneider; nieces, Katy Brandt and Abigail Crawford; and longtime loyal friends, Mindi Norman and Becki Radeck.

Beth is preceded in death by her father, Gunther Brandt.

Funeral service will be Friday, December 15, 2017, at 2:00 PM at the First United Methodist Church in Ulysses with Reverend Todd Guinn officiating. Interment will follow at Ulysses Cemetery. Friends may call Thursday, December 14, 2017, from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Garnand Funeral Home in Ulysses. Memorial contributions may be given to Hospice at St. Catherine’s Hospital, The First United Methodist Church Wednesday Night Dinners, or the Children’s Tumor Foundation (NF) in care of Garnand Funeral Home, 405 W. Grant Ave, Ulysses, KS 67880. Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.