Deloris Irene Panethere

Dee was born in Boone, Iowa, on May 27, 1927, and lived to be almost 98 years old. She was the daughter of Manford and Nellie Fairchild. When her father, Manford, took a position as State Manager for the Farmers Life Insurance Company, the family relocated to Chillicothe, Missouri. Dee graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1944.

While in high school, she excelled in voice lessons. She sang in the Christian Church Choir and for many service organizations, as well as being featured in her high school graduation. Later in life, she sang in the First Baptist Church choir for several years.

Dee attended Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, graduating with a major in English and minors in Spanish and Speech. She participated in many plays and was actively involved in theatrical productions during college. She was also a very active member of the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority.

In September 1946, she relocated to Leadwood, Missouri, where she taught English, Speech, and Drama. After two years in Leadwood, she moved to Kansas City to teach third grade at Franklin Elementary School.

Dee met her husband of 55 years, Henry, during college. Dee was 19 and Henry was 20. Once “Hank” returned from serving in Korea, they married in Olathe, Kansas, in 1950. Hank returned from service in 1954, and they started a family shortly after. John was born on May 25, 1956, and Michael 14 and a half months later, on August 13, 1957. Dee dedicated the next chapter of her life to raising two boys as a stay-at-home mom for 11 years.

Dee returned to teaching as a substitute in the Kansas City, Missouri, school system while earning her Master of Education from Avila and Webster Universities. She taught third and fourth grades at Askew Elementary School for more than 20 years.

Dee and Hank retired within days of each other in 1992 and traveled the world extensively, visiting Canada, Panama, England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Greece, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand.

Dee and Hank were active members of the First Baptist Church of Kansas City for over 40 years, serving on many boards and committees. They were both Life Deacons, and Dee served as the President of the American Baptist Women’s Ministries from 1998 to 2001. She was also active in the Leawood Women’s Club.

She is survived by her two sons: John Panethere, his wife Donna, their two children, Nicole and Danielle, and their two grandchildren. She is also survived by her son Michael Panethere and three children Andrew, Kathryn and Lindsay, as well as his wife Jennifer, and her two children Emersen and Adalyn.

If you knew Dee well, you’d know not to get between her and a bridge game with her buddies.