Current News from the Kansas Authors Club

Remembering Sheryl Brenn

1/31/2025

Sheryl Kay Brenn
July 18, 1944-January 17, 2025

Member 2014-2025

Sheryl Brenn was the spark plug for Kansas Authors Club, District 7, helping us to keep our western Kansas members on the map. Since joining the club in 2014, she filled the role of multiple offices, many times fulfilling the duties of Secretary, Treasurer, President, and Contest Manager all at the same time. Sheryl served as District 7 Secretary and Treasurer right up to the point of her death, both leading and attending meetings.

Sheryl worked hard to make sure that our western Kansas members were notified about meetings and events. She was the contact for the District 7 writing contests. Officially, she served as District 7 Vice President in 2015. She served as District 7 Treasurer from 2016-2025. And she served as Secretary 2024-25.

Obituary

"Sheryl Brenn was a "Sparkplug" in any organization she was involved with--from Lions Club to Kansas Authors Club--leading creatively to positive actions. And she was a friend." --John Howard Sanders (D7)

Sheryl Brenn often attended our programs via Zoom. Here she is at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the General Membership.

Sheryl received the Merit Award for Service to the Club in 2024. Here she is with members John Sanders and Millie Horlacher of District 7.

Remembering Ronda Miller

12/11/2024

It is with great sadness we report the passing of Ronda Miller on December 10, 2024. Ronda was many a poet's first introduction to Kansas Authors Club. She served our organization in many capacities, including State President from 2018-2019. Ronda will be greatly missed.

Please share your memories of Ronda via our submit form. We will add them to this page.

Ronda Miller
Member (D2) 2011-2024
State President 2018-2019
State Vice President 2016-2017
District 2 President - 2014-2017
State Poetry Contest Manager - 2012-2015

Poetry Books

Going Home: Poems from My Life
MoonStain (Meadowlark, 2015)
WaterSigns (Meadowlark, 2017)
Winds of Time (Kellogg Press, 2019)
I Love the Child (Kellogg Press, 2019)

2019 Interview by Cheryl Unruh

I met Ronda when I volunteered to help with the registration desk when attending my first KAC convention which was held in my hometown of Lawrence. She had seen our ad in the local newspaper where she was employed as a blogger, and we immediately became friends. Of course, I had to encourage her to become a member too.

At the first meeting she attended, our connection deepened when she tearfully described recently losing her ex-husband, the father of her children, with whom she still had a soul-bond and obviously still loved. I related immediately since I had lost my husband and soulmate just a few years prior.

Later, we discovered that we both had M.S. My symptoms were more prevalent than hers, but it was another commonality of our lives. During our friendship, we shared many experiences such as representing KAC at the annual holiday event in downtown Lawrence, selling books at the same holiday fairs, and then having her contributing stories in two of my anthologies.

What I learned about Ronda was that she was an independent, very intelligent and loyal friend who always encouraged others. She bought our books, commented on our Facebook posts, offered help before it was asked, could never say no when needed, and never complained. She was a very spiritual person who valued everyone, with the ability to forgive which kept her positive and able to see the world as it could be. I know she must have been a wonderful asset as a Life Coach to her clients.

Due to both of our physical constraints, I had not seen Ronda for a while, but we still made occasional contact. When I saw the simple subject line that said “Ronda Miller,” tears welled in my eyes because I knew, even before reading its content, what the email would say. She was doing so well and her passing was a shock. I could only pray that God would hold her in His arms and give her the blessings and joy that she deserved for the wonderful legacy she left for others.
-Vicki Julian

"I will forever miss her kindness, her love of words, her love of people, the way she always brought snacks, and the way she always encouraged me. Until we meet again, my friend!" -Curtis Becker

"When I first met Ronda I was more than a little intimidated! She is a force. After we met more personally and she did my final edits on Sunshine, we connected.
Her photo’s were beautiful and her poetry was inspiring."
-Deb Irsik

"I've worked and rode and wrote and explored with Ronda for so long in so many ways, I can only start to grasp this loss while feeling how much I love her. I can't remember when we met exactly, but she was central to my efforts when I was Kansas Poet Laureate and we did many a road trip and lots of meetings and meals and figuring things out together. She also co-chaired the Power of Words conference from the Transformative Language Arts Network with me and was very involved for years."
-Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg

Riding With Ronda, by CMG

"Ronda will be missed for her words, her photographs and her beautiful spirit. Condolences to her family and many writing friends." -Anne Spry

"Ronda was a person who put her hands together and gave you a lift. I barely knew her when I came to her event at The Raven. She asked me to read one of her poems and I was honored. When she was not having a good day one time, I got small cherry pies and we sat in her backyard, eating them and watching her cat, Timothy."
-Ann Vigola Anderson

"Ronda Miller was a beautiful, creative, kind, giving, supportive and talented human. When I got news yesterday that she had passed, it felt a bit like a gut punch. Early on in this writing adventure of mine, she was an ever-present support, whether it be through her kind words, or helping me get hooked into cool experiences as a writer/ poet. Ronda was the reason I was able to go on the television program, Absolutely Kansas, to talk about my first book. It wasn’t because they were looking at me, but Ronda saw something in me that she wanted to help promote. She asked me to be a part of one of her book launches at the Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, and this was another example of her wanting to promote and support other poets.

"Ronda was always willing to share the stage-so to speak.
The William Stafford: living a poetic life event at the Watkins Museum is an annual poetry reading that I look forward to every year. She had poets from all over the state come and read out at that event, and I was able to be a part of that as well. I got a kick out of the fact that Ronda described my poetry as “Staffordy”

"So, Ronda did all of that. That event was her creation. I’m one of many who benefited personally and professionally from having Ronda as a friend, and support in their life.
In terms of her body of work, she was an accomplished and gifted poet. I always enjoyed hearing her read out her work, and I know she took great pleasure in hearing other poets read out their work as well. Her footprint on the Lawrence poetry scene, and the Kansas scene as a whole, is one of substance.

"Ronda loved beautiful things, whether it be flowers, or words, or a warm hug before or after a poetry reading.
Actually, Ronda just loved.

"I know so many people that were touched by her, and I can venture to guess that I am not the only one feeling the void right now.

"Ronda’s legacy will live on, through her written work, and her contributions to our greater writing world. It will also live on because many of us will remember the loving and caring human being that she was.

"My deepest condolences to her family, all of her friends, and damn if we weren’t lucky to have been able to spend time with her, and love her.

"She will be greatly missed."

-Kerry Moyer

I remember Ronda Miller on the day she joined our club. I believe at the point I was president of our district. We asked everyone to give their name and a short summary of what they wrote. Ronda got up and recited one of her recent poems. At another time she visited our home to find out how I was doing and just chat. Prior to that she wanted me to recite some of my poems in her back yard, and at another time she invited me to a Slam where local poets were reading their poetry out loud. Ronda and I were admirers of each other's poetry.

-Tom Mach

I don't remember when Ronda Miller and I met through KAC, but I have no doubt that she would, because she was sweet like that. We weren't in the same KAC district, but she kept up with the news of the district I'm in and kept me "in the know" of news in her district and KAC at the state level. She was always so supportive! She always treated me as a best friend although we didn't know each other for a long time.

In 2023, I responded to an email request she sent out for help with a rather large editing project she was doing for a friend of hers who was writing his memoir. She and I kept in contact even after the project. She and I wrote often as friends on Facebook. She would sweetly end many messages with "I love you!" Later that same year we ended up attending the same book signing for local authors at the Winfield Public Library in my hometown of Winfield, KS. In true Ronda-like fashion, she greeted me warmly and asked if we could get our picture taken together. We continued connecting on Facebook after that. I was especially inspired by her beautiful pictures of nature. Often the pictures were of sunrises, sunsets, and other moments in nature that she sought out in order to help her heal throughout her terrible illness. I was honored that she shared some intimate details about that illness with me and I was glad to offer empathy where I could. I was saddened and shocked to hear of her passing, but I do believe she is now healed. I can still picture her enjoying beautiful sunrises and sunsets. She is missed.

-Melody Cole

Thank you to Roy Beckemyer, Curtis Becker, and Meadowlark Press for sharing photos.

In Memory: Patricia Beckemeyer

8/22/2024

2019 - Patricia won an honorable mention in the Kansas Authors Club literary contest. Pictured with Kristine A. Polansky and Roy J. Beckemeyer.

Patricia Beckemeyer

September 21, 1942 - July 23, 2024

Pat Beckemeyer was a friend of Kansas authors prior to the beginning of her membership in 2015 when her husband, Roy, converted his membership to the family category. After a career in nursing, she added poetry to her varied list of interests, publishing a book of poetry, Oh, I Pretend (Spartan Press, 2019).

Pat was a member of Kansas Authors Club from 2015 - 2024.

From Oh, I Pretend, author's bio:

Pat Beckemeyer was introduced to poetry at the age of 16 when her high school sweetheart, who became her husband Roy, sent her love poems every day at school via his sister. She was drawn more seriously to poetry 10 years ago by a desire to spend more time with her husband. Other than poetry, she is also excited by gardening, bird watching, acrylic painting, butterflies, storms, mountains, oceans and her current Labrador Retriever, Jenna, who appears in several poems.

Oh, I Pretend - Bookshop.org

Obituary

In Memory: Frank Powers

7/12/2024

Franklin C. Powers
December 2, 1936 - June 24, 2024

Member 2017-2024

District 7 President and member of Kansas Authors Club since 2017, passed away on June 24, 2024. Though a relatively new member of the club, Frank stepped into a leadership role and enjoyed documenting stories from his life and of the history of Gove County. He published memories in Reminisce Magazine and enjoyed reading stories each year to the children at Quinter Elementary where his grandchildren attended school.

Obituary for Frank Powers

Members who would like to share memories of Frank, please feel free to add them in the comments section of this post or email them to KansasAuthorsClub AT gmail DOT com.

In Memory: Roger Ringer

7/28/2023

Roger Ringer
March 29, 1955 - July 9, 2023

Roger Ringer, D6 member from Medicine Lodge, Kansas, joined Kansas Authors Club in 2021. That same year, he was the winner of the 2021 Martin Kansas History Book Award with his book, True Tales of Kansas (The History Press, 2021)

Roger published books on Kansas history and was a Cowboy Poet. He was a regular columnist for The Rural Messenger with stories often picked up by other Kansas papers. He was also a member of the Western Music Association and the Cowboy Storytellers Association of the Western Plains.

Obituary

Tribute to Roger in the Wichita Eagle

Remembering Sheryl Brenn

Remembering Ronda Miller

In Memory: Patricia Beckemeyer

In Memory: Frank Powers

In Memory: Roger Ringer

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