Born near Tigris to Decatur “Dee” and Ida Burleson. Verda Florence Burleson Hartley, a native of Douglas County, passed away on July 26, 2008, at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., at the age of 88.
She was born on April 29, 1920, near Tigris to Decatur “Dee” and Ida Florence Dilbeck Burleson.
Verda was one of eight children in the Burleson household.
Preceding her in death were her parents and all seven siblings: three brothers, Arthur, Robert, and Wayne, and four sisters, Ruby Philpott, Jessie Johnson, Rose Buchanan, and Elsie Miller.
On Feb. 7, 1942, Verda married Eldon Hartley from the Arden community. They were married 58 years before his death in the year 2000. The couple had three sons, all of whom survive the couple: Raymond and wife, Rose, of Wichita; Jerry and wife Linda of Edmond, Okla., and Gary and wife Jennifer of Wichita. She had 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Also surviving is a special sister-in-law, Dochia Hartley Elenbarger, of Kansas, Okla.
For many years, Verda was a faithful member of the Christian Chapel Foursquare Church in Wichita. Funeral services were held on Wednesday, July 30, at Smith Mortuary in Derby, Kan. Burial was in White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Wichita. Memorials can be made to the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
