Faye Weyer

Verda Faye (Most) Weyer, 93, of Centralia, Kansas, died on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka, Kansas.

Faye was born on November 21, 1930, on the family farm south of Baileyville, Kansas, to Ralph and Fonda (Davidson) Most, which was the same farm where her mother was born.  Faye attended school in a one room country school.  As a first grader, Faye only had one other girl in her grade. At the school, there was only one teacher for all twenty-one students who were enrolled in first through eighth grade. From second to eighth grade, Faye was the only student in her grade, and she had a new teacher every year.  When her parents moved to a different farm on March 1, 1943, she was introduced to yet another new teacher, who would be her ninth teacher in only eight years of grade school.

Faye went to high school at Centralia High School, where she was active in Pep Club, Girl Reserve, and in the school plays.  She graduated from Centralia High School in 1948.  After graduation, Faye attended a three-month secretarial course in Manhattan, Kansas, and she returned to Centralia, where she was employed at First National Bank.   

On December 31, 1950, Faye married Gordon Weyer at the Congregational Church (now Centralia Community Church ~ East) in Centralia.  After being married for only five months, they bought a farm two miles north and one-half mile west of Centralia. Their children, Diana Lynn, Myra Gail, and twin sons, Leif Dale and Eric Dale, were all born on the farm.  Faye was an active participant in the farming operation. She drove tractors to help with field work, and she hauled grain to the elevator in a grain wagon pulled behind the pickup with two toddler boys standing in the seat beside her. There were no seatbelts, just Faye’s protective arm extended out in front of them for stops and turns.  While Faye helped on the farm, her two girls were at home preparing meals and making snacks for the family.

Faye also helped financially support the family by working in the office at the CGF Grain Elevator during harvest season, D & L Drive In, and the Haverkamp Grocery Store.  When the J & K Bus Service was opened by Jim Woolsoncroft, Faye managed this business for ten years.  Then, she managed the Centralia Legion Supper Club for ten years until her retirement in 1995.  Gordon and Faye moved from the farm into town in 2006.  They celebrated 68 years of marriage before Gordon’s death on January 7, 2019.  

Faye was a member of the Congregational Church (now Centralia Community Church ~ East) where she served as the church treasurer for several years.   She was also the treasurer for many years for the Women’s Fellowship group.  Faye’s hobbies included cooking and baking treats, and she also made a total of 33 quilts for family members.  She also enjoyed watching and feeding her backyard birds and squirrels. Besides her family, Faye enjoyed spending time with friends and playing cards at the Centralia and Seneca Libraries with them.    

Faye’s philosophy in life was to “Live by the Golden Rule” and she strongly believed that there weren’t any words that could take the place of, “Please and Thank You” which she instilled in her family.

Faye was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Gordon.

Faye is survived by her two daughters, Diana (Jerry) Wickersham of Olathe, Kansas, Myra (Alan) Cole of Cunningham, Kansas; her two sons, Leif (Casey) Weyer and Eric (Cathy) Weyer both of Centralia; her nine grandchildren, William Wickersham (Ellinor Eklund), John Wickersham (Carol Lowman), Cody (Amanda) Cole, Addie (Brandon) Ehling, Lydia (Mark) Vierthaler, Emily, Colton, and Allie Weyer, and Alijah Collins; her fifteen great-grandchildren, Alfred, Melvin, and Sammy Wickersham, Brycen, Braylon, and Bragg Cole, Baylor, Nayvee, and Lawtyn Ehling, Troyer, Whitley, and Sutton Vierthaler, Ember Wickersham, Winter Collins, and Michael Wagner; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at the Centralia Community Church ~ East in Centralia. Faye will lie in state on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Popkess Memorial Chapel in Seneca, Kansas from 8:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.  A visitation will be held on Friday, March 22, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Popkess Memorial Chapel.  The interment will be made in the Centralia Cemetery in Centralia. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Faye Weyer Memorial, sent in care of the Popkess Memorial Chapel, 814 Castle Street, Seneca, Kansas 66538.