Kansas Authors Club
  • Home
  • Membership & Benefits
  • Upcoming Meetings & Opportunities for Members
  • State Officers
    • Past Presidents
  • Districts
  • News for All Members
    • Submit News
    • Awards of Merit
    • In Memory
  • Annual Deadlines
  • Writing Contests - All Ages
    • Adult Literary Contest Guidelines
    • Youth Contest Guidelines
  • Book Awards
    • J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award >
      • J. Donald Coffin - Winners
    • Nelson Poetry Book Award >
      • Nelson Poetry - Winners
    • Martin Kansas History Book Award >
      • Kansas History Book - Winners
    • Kansas Authors Children's Book Award >
      • Children's Book - Winners
    • "It Looks Like A Million" Book Award >
      • Design Award - Winners
  • 2021 Convention
  • Past KAC Conventions
    • 2020 Convention
    • 2019 Convention
    • 2018 Convention
    • 2017 Convention
    • 2016 Convention >
      • 2016 KAC Poetry Contest Results
      • 2016 KAC Prose Contest Results
      • 2016 KAC Youth Contest Results
    • 2015 Convention
    • 2014 Convention
    • 2013 Convention >
      • Sponsors & Supporters - Thank You
      • Convention Speakers
      • "Our Town" Slideshow
  • KAC on Facebook
  • Welcome New & Renewing Members (log in required)
  • Board Members (log in required)

RememberING Edna Bell-Pearson

1/30/2021

 
Updated 2/4/2021 - a fundraiser has been started to help cover Edna's funeral expenses. If funds are collected beyond what it will take to cover the funeral expenses, a scholarship or other fund to benefit young writers could be established.
Picture

Edna Bell-Pearson
December 9, 1920-January 22, 2021

Edna Bell-Pearson passed peacefully on Friday morning, January 22, 2021, at the age of 100 and 44 days. She had been residing in an independent living apartment in Louisburg, Kansas. Edna was married to Carl Ungerer from 1945 to 1959. She reunited with the Ungerer family in recent years, upon publication of her memoir, Headwinds, which details the four years after World War II when she was married to Carl Ungerer, with whom she helped build the first airport in Marysville, Kansas. At a time when the flying industry was really starting to "take off," Edna was a very accomplished pilot, making many flights across the Kansas countryside.

Edna Bell was born to Elizabeth Evangeline (Bessie) Booth and Fred Hunter Pearson. Edna was the oldest of four children, three younger brothers who predeceased her.

Her website lists her careers “other than writing” as everything from babysitting, housekeeping, and dog walking, beginning as a teenager, to being a co-operator of the first airport in Marysville, Kansas, a farmer/rancher, real estate promoter, radio and TV news reporter and more. Edna’s talents were broad and varied, and her skill at writing stories that captured readers was surpassed by few.

As well as hundreds of published stories, articles, essays, and poems, Edna was most noted for her first book, Fragile Hopes, Transient Dreams and Other Stories, a southwest Kansas saga which was chosen during the Kansas sesquicentennial year as one of the “150 Best Kansas Books.” In 2020, Headwinds, a Memoir (Meadowlark Books), was selected as a Kansas Notable Book. Edna was a regular contributor to Kansas! Magazine and Grit Magazine for more than a decade. She wrote flying columns for the Marysville Advocate in the late 1940s, and a weekly business column for the Dodge City Daily Globe in the 1970s. Her work as stringer, reporter, feature writer, and editor appeared in the Jonesboro Sun (Arkansas), Kansas City Star, Spokane Chronicle/Spokesman Review, St. Louis Post Dispatch, and others.

In Edna’s own words: “I don’t profess to be a great writer, but a dedicated scriber/scribbler, and considering the quality/quantity of work I’ve put out over the years, I think I’m safe in signing myself off as a bona fide writer/author.
“A question often asked is how or when or why I became a writer. I didn’t “become” a writer; I was born a writer. I don’t remember when I wasn’t writing. I don’t know where my writing genes came from. To my knowledge, no other member of my family, immediate or in the distant past, has shown the slightest interest in putting pen to paper. I’ve been told that, from the time my chubby hands could negotiate a pencil, my favorite pastime was sitting with pencil and paper, deeply engrossed in scribbling. I wrote my first poem when I was five, a silly, poorly composed, rhymed thing which I still have, forever preserved, in my grandmother’s commonplace book.

“For the most part, I lived with my grandparents until I was eleven. Grandma was a great teacher; she instilled in me a love for the Bible (Grandma was very religious) and a love of reading. She loved poetry and, though she never wrote any herself, I think she hoped I’d turn out to be a poet. When I was born, Grandma and Granddaddy bought me a “Birth” day present—The Books of Knowledge. I still have the complete set—well worn—in the original case. As a child, I spent hours daily, lying on the floor in the living room, one or more of the books open before me. I virtually devoured the stories and poems, but I also spent a lot of time on astronomy, French, and geography.

“Grandma and The Books of Knowledge must have educated me well, because I skipped both the second and the fourth grades. However, I evidently used all my stored knowledge in my earlier years because once I became a fifth grader—although I still got lots of A’s—I was just an average student.”

Edna never did stop writing and had a work in progress, entitled A Tribute To A Man Folks Didn't Like Very Much. Edna also had plans for five additional books about her life, with the working titles of In the Beginning; Living off the Land; Highways and Byways; Friends and Lovers; and Old Like Me.

Edna was buried at the Hooker Cemetery, Hooker, Oklahoma, next to her grandparents.

Remembering Jane Gates Bandy

12/9/2020

 
Picture
Jane Gates Bandy
May 4, 1929 - November 30, 2020
obituary

Jane Gates Bandy was a District 7 member, 1982-2017. She maintained her membership for several years after moving to California upon the death of her husband, Thomas. 

She was an English teacher prior to retiring and an active member in Colby. She wrote nonfiction and poetry. 


If you have memories to share with us, please send them by email. 

Remembering Diane Wahto

9/17/2020

 
Picture
Jan 24, 1940—Sept. 16, 2020
Picture

Diane Wahto graduated from the Wichita State University MFA program in 1985. That year, her poem, “Somebody Is Always Watching,” won the Academy of American Poets Award. Since that time she has continued to write poetry.
​
She taught journalism at Winfield High School, then taught English Composition and creative writing at Butler Community College.

Her book of poetry, The Sad Joy of Leaving, was published by Blue Cedar Press and came out in October 2018. The book launch was held at Watermark Books and Café, where she read with Michael Poage and Kelly Johnston.

Other recent publications include “Empty Corners” in Same, “Persistence,” in The Ekphrastic Review, and “Yellow Music,” in Heartland. She was co-editor of two issues of the 365 Days Anthology.

Diane joined Kansas Authors Club in 2014 and served in several positions, including two years as District 5 president and as the Awards Chair for the state 2015-2020. She was co-chair, along with Connie White, of the state convention in Wichita in 2019. 

She is survived by three children and five grandchildren, all of whom she enjoyed seeing as often as possible. She, her husband Patrick Roche, and their dog Annie lived in Midtown in Wichita, Kansas.

Diane’s website: Poet of a Certain Age

Lyrical Literature, by Jim Potter

Diane's Obituary


Swimming to Shore
by Diane Wahto


Lake Huron, cold and clear in summer,
tempts me into its deeps, alone, secure.
The Australian crawl I learned in the pool
of my home town pushes me through
the gray water with barely a ripple. Reach
of arms, kick of legs, body stretched
full out. I think of the life beneath
me, unseen fish, waving aquatic plants.
I give one kick, turn, tread water, look
at the distant sandy shore. This
is not my element. I must go back,
stand among the birch trees,
join my husband, my children,
the day that lies ahead.
Picture
Ann Fell and Diane Wahto, 2016 Kansas Authors Club Convention
Picture
Diane Wahto and Gloria Zachgo, 2019 Kansas Authors Club Convention

In Memory, Rosemary Torrez

4/13/2020

 
Rosemary Torrez, a longtime member of Kansas Authors Club District 1, passed away in Topeka, KS, on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

Rosemary joined Kansas Authors Club in 1991 and was an active poet and member of District 1. She was the author of While the Meadowlark Sang: An Anthology of Poetry and Memoirs, published 2017. Rosemary was fond of writing sonnets. She was published in Potpourri, Poets Magazine, Saturday Evening Post, poetvoices.com, The Topeka Capital Journal, Insight Out, and Truth the Poet Sings (Unity Press). She was also an active member of The Write Stuff, Topeka. 

Cremation is planned, with a private graveside service at Memorial Park Cemetery. A celebration of her life will be at a later date. Rosemary's full obituary is available online at Penwell-Gabel's web site. Personal messages may be left on the site. 

Picture
Rosemary Torrez, 1924-2020

In memory - Kenneth "Neel" Holler

12/19/2019

 
Kenneth "Neel" Holler joined Kansas Authors Club in 2009. He was a member of District 5 and a regular participant in the annual literary contests, and a frequent award winner. Though he was unable to attend, Neel was recognized for 10 years of membership at the 2019 Convention in Wichita. Also in 2019, he won 2nd place for the short story titled, Rose.

Neel's obituary can be found here.

Picture
Kenneth "Neel" Holler JUNE 22, 1939 – NOVEMBER 8, 2019

In Memory - Kenneth Edward Peery

8/22/2019

 
Kenneth Edward Peery and his wife, Doris, were KAC D1 members for several years. Kenneth passed away on Saturday, August 10, 2019, at the age of 93. 

Carol Yoho (D1) shared the following news item about the Peery's from an August 2011 Kansas Authors Club meeting: 

Ken 
and Doris Peery, District 1, Topeka, shared work they'd helped publish by Ken's cousin, Maury Pierson, who was a Topeka artist, ship modeler, salesman, and closet writer. Having no children, Maury shared a small box of his writings with Ken, expressing the hope that someday they might be published. Ken and Doris worked on the booklet, hoping to publish before Maury's passing but he died in July, 2008. The keyboarding was made difficult by frequent bouts of laughter. When completed, the book was bound with a spiral binding and titled "Wit and Philosophy" by "an old curmudgeon" Maury Pierson. Copies were mailed to Maury's living cousins. Ken and Doris read selected portions of his writings.

Link to Kenneth's Obituary (Legacy.com)
Picture
Kenneth and Doris Peery - August 2011

In Memory of Ralph W. Dagenais

8/8/2019

 
Picture
Ralph W. Dagenais was a District 5 member of Kansas Authors Club who long played an active role in both district and state leadership. After joining KAC in 1992, he served as State Financial Secretary from 1993-2001. He also served several terms as district secretary and state contest chair.

Ralph helped secure the first KAC website in 1995, housed on the KU Department of History website. Ralph, along with wife, Julia (KAC President from 1998-99), and son, John, acted as webmaster for this site.

In 1995, Ralph received a service award for his many roles in Kansas Authors Club. He was recognized as a 20 year member in 2013.

In his last correspondence with the current Financial Secretary, Tracy Million Simmons, he stated (via Facebook message) that at 95 years of age, he was retiring his membership with Kansas Authors Club. He enjoyed his many years of active participation with the club and valued the friends and supporters he had gained there.

Ralph wrote memoir, non-fiction, and technical writing.

His obituary can be found here.
_______________________________

Members are invited to submit memories and details of Ralph's work with KAC. Please send in an email to Tracy.

Remembering Norm Ledgin

6/21/2019

 
PictureNorm Ledgin, JULY 15, 1928 - JUNE 18, 2019
Norm Ledgin was an active member of Kansas Authors Club, District 2, from 2007 to 2019. 

Norm was the author of the following books:

Asperger's and Self-Esteem: Insight and Hope through Famous Role Models (with Temple Grandin)

Diagnosing Jefferson

Sally of Monticello, Founding Mother (a novel)

The Jayhawker, a novel

Heart Deco, a novel

Disharmony, A Sally Freberg Mystery 
Link to Obituary.

Norm on Wikipedia​

Norm's Amazon Page

In Memoriam - LeNore Stumpf

3/10/2017

 
Picture
LeNore Stumpf, District 1, Topeka, formerly of Axtell, died at the age of 84 on March 9, 2017. She was a long-time member of KAC. 
   LeNore was born March 15, 1932, in Baileyville, Kansas. Survivors are husband of 64 years, Walter, children Barbara (Elias) Pimentel, Elaine (Richard) Hatch, Richard (Evan) Stumpf, Brenda (Mike) Leonard, Dan (Diane) Stumpf, Roger (Kim) Stumpf, 14 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, siblings Mary Mueting, Rozella Ronnebaum, Kathleen Gravenstein, Albert Kuckelman.
  LeNore was known for her work as a journalist. She joined KAC in 1986 as a member of D1 and in 1990 transferred to D4. She lived in numerous states and overseas as her husband was in the service, making her experiences varied. She had a colorful writing career as columnist and author.
  In 2002 her novel Branded With Love was published by PublishAmerica. In 2005 she received KAC's J. Donald Coffin Award for her book Life, I Think, Is Like a Watermelon, a collection of 90 humorous columns, many of which originally appeared in the Marysville Advocate. At the 2006 state Writers Conference in Junction City, LeNore was a workshop presenter. Her topic was "Writing a Hometown Newspaper Column." and in 2008 Writers Conference in Dodge City LeNore won a KAC "Award of Merit" for Life Achievement, when she was noted for her career as "columnist and published author."
   LeNore's complete obituary is available online. 

    Subscribe to our website to receive updates directly to your email inbox.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

    How to Submit News:

    If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form. 

    Categories

    All
    Angela Bates
    Annabelle Corrick
    Anne Shiever
    Ann Fell
    Ann Vigola Anderson
    April Pameticky
    Arlice W. Davenport
    Author Talk
    Barbara Booth
    Barbara Waterman Peters
    Barbara Waterman-Peters
    Beth Gulley
    Birdy Poetry Prize
    Book Awards
    Boyd Bauman
    Brian Daldorph
    Candace Sherman
    Carole Katsantoness
    Carolyn R. Smith
    Carol Yoho
    Cheryl Skupa
    Cheryl Unruh
    Chris McKitterick
    Chuck Warner
    Connie Rae White
    Contests
    Convention News
    Curtis Becker
    D.A. Irsik
    Dan Close
    Deb Irsik
    Delbert Bryant
    Denise Low
    Diane Palka
    Diane Wahto
    District 6
    Dixie Brown
    Don Marler
    Duane Johnson
    Duane L. Herrmann
    Edna Bell Pearson
    Edna Bell-Pearson
    Edna Dyck
    Events
    Evie Green
    Fred Appelhanz
    Fred Fanning
    Gerri Hilger
    Ginger Zyskowski
    Gloria Zachgo
    Gretchen Cassel Eick
    Hazel Spire
    H.B.Berlow
    Huascar Medina
    In Memoriam
    Invitation To Attend
    Invitation To Submit
    Jane Gates Bandy
    Janet Jenkins Stotts
    Janet Rode
    Jean Grant
    Jeff Broome
    Jim Potter
    Joe H. Vaughan
    Jolene Haas
    Jon Kelly Yenser
    Jose Faus
    Joyce Long
    Judy Keller Hatteberg
    Julie Ann Baker Brin
    Julie Johnson
    Julie Nischan
    Julie Sellers
    Julie Stielstra
    Kelly Johnston
    Kenneth Neel Holler
    Ken Ohm
    Kerrie Flanagan
    Kerry Moyer
    Kevin Rabas
    Kevin Willmott
    Kristine Polansky
    Larry Hatteberg
    Linda Ahrens-Brower
    Lisa D. Stewart
    Lorena Joyce Herrmann
    Louise Click
    Luanne Joy French
    Marie Fletcher
    Marilyn Hope Lake
    Mark McCormick
    Mark Scheel
    Mark Simmons
    Mark Wentling
    Maryann Barry
    Meadowlark Books
    Meadowlark Press
    Meet The Officers
    Melody J. Cole
    Member News
    Mennonite Press
    Michael Graves
    Michael Pearce
    Michael Poage
    Miriam Iwashige
    Najiyah Maxfield
    Nancy Julien Kopp
    Pat Beckemeyer
    Patricia Bonine
    Paula K. Nixon
    Pauline Fecht
    Peg Nichols
    POD Print
    Publishing
    Read Local!
    Reaona Hemmingway
    Richard Gwin
    Rich Hawkins
    Robert Dean
    Ronda Miller
    Rosemary Torrez
    Roy Beckemeyer
    Roy Stucky
    Ruth Maus
    Sandee Taylor
    Skyler Lovelace
    Stacy Thowe
    Sylvia Colombo
    Tammy Gilley
    Ted Farmer
    Tom Mach
    Toni Cummings
    Tracy Million Simmons
    Tyler Robert Sheldon
    Tyler Sheldon
    Vicki Julian
    Victoria Hermes-Bond
    William Allen White
    William J. Karnowski
    Wyatt Townley
    Youth Opportunities

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017

Proudly powered by Weebly