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Tonka Jo (Mills) McElyea
Tonka Mills McElyea, 72, died Aug. 28, 1997, at Medical Lodge, Goddard.She was born May 21, 1925, five miles southeast of Lake City, the daughter of Tempel H. and Mima L. (Draper) Mills. She graduated from Lake City High School in 1943 as valedictorian of her class. After graduation she attended Wichita State University. She was a sales supervisor of National Gypsum Company in Medicine Lodge and transferred to Phoenix in 1969 where they lived until ill health brought them back to Kansas to be closer to family in May of this year.
She was a member and Past Matron of the Order of Eastern Star in Lake City; member and past president of the VFW Auxiliary in Medicine Lodge; and member and past president of the American Legion Auxiliary in Medicine Lodge and Phoenix.
On June 24, 1944, she married Wallace McElyea, a cadet in the Army Air Corps, at Victorville Air Force Base, Victorville, Calif. He survives. Other survivors include: a son and wife, Tim and Lee McElyea, Phoenix; a daughter and husband, Robin and Kendall Warren, Wichita; a brother and wife, Huston and Lois Mills, Lake City; six grandchildren; three great- grandchildren; a niece; a nephew; and a host of relatives and friends.
Funeral services were held Monday, Sept. 1, 1997, at United Methodist Church, Lake City, with Pastor Chris Miller presiding. Burial was in Lake City cemetery.
Memorials may be sent to Lake City United Methodist Church or Lake City Cemetery, both in care of Larrison-Forsyth Funeral Home, Medicine Lodge.
Also see:
Gypsum Quarries, Mines and Mills in Barber County, Kansas
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