Vera Mae Winfrey
Joe Denoyer - September 9, 2018 10:29 pm
PLAINS – Vera Mae Winfrey, passed away in her family home seven miles north of Plains, Kansas, at the age of 84, on September 7, 2018.
She was born March 13, 1934, in Meade, Kansas, the daughter of Elmer and Rowena (Stanton) Harris. As a young girl she was raised on the family farm six miles northwest of Plains, on the Harris Farm. Like most farms in the 1930’s and 40’s, times were very tough, but the stories that have been told from Vera Mae from her past are what made her one of the strongest women to ever live. Living and surviving off the land with six other siblings created the character that she carried for 84 years. She attended the Pleasant Home Country School until 8thgrade, then attended Plains High School, graduating in 1952.
On March 16, 1952, Vera Mae began her 60 year partnership with her true soul mate, Darrell Winfrey. In 1955, Darrell started what would be their 60 year journey of farming and custom harvesting. Vera Mae never left Darrell’s side, becoming a farm wife and mother that anyone could look up to. One of Vera Mae’s strongest virtues beside a great wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, was her cooking. From harvest fields to church events, to always having a full table at any family gathering was her calling.
She has been a member of the Plains United Methodist Church for her entire life, being involved in all the women’s groups. She was a forty-six year sister of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority.
She is survived by her children, daughter, Carla Kay Nosekabel (Mike); sons, Leon Winfrey (Nancy) and Troy Winfrey (Tammie); a brother, Elvin Harris (Hennie); a sister, Katherine White; grandchildren, Aaron Nosekabel (Jackie), Stachia Conway (Phillip), Cheyenne Cox (Shane), Dustin Winfrey (Kasie), Weston Winfrey (Jennifer), Teddi Winslow (Kyle), Wade Winfrey (Madalyn), and Paige Winfrey; great-grandchildren, Jake Nosekabel, Jenna Nosekabel, LeightonNosekabel, Casen Nosekabel, Kailyn Conway, Mason Conway, Brooklyn Cox, Conner Cox, Carson Cox, Dalton Winfrey, Dyson Winfrey, Walker Winfrey, Wren Winfrey, Wraylee Mae Winfrey, Kylee Winslow, and Jaxon Winfrey.
She is preceded in death by her husband on April 27, 2012; two brothers, Gayle Harris and Lloyd Harris; and two sisters, Rose Hall and Alice Burkhardt.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 11, 2018, at the United Methodist Church, Plains. Friends may call from 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Monday with family present from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary, Meade. Interment will follow the service in the Plains Cemetery.
The family would welcome memorials to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or the Untied Methodist Church in care of the funeral home.
Personal condolences may be given to the family at www.fidlerormebachmanmortuary.com