Kathleen I. Elser

Kathleen Elser was born on July 13th, 1946 at Memorial Hospital in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Her father was Albert Elser, an immigrant to this country from Switzerland, who was co-pilot on Phillips 66’s executive aircraft. Her mother, Arlette, was raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm and had left home after high school for the promised land of California where she had met Albert. She joined a two year old sister named Sally and eventually got a little brother nicknamed Skipper.

Growing up Kathy always excelled in school, took dance lessons with her sister and teased with her little brother (she was Orville to his Wilber). She loved summer vacations in Wisconsin on the farm with her cousin Lee, but not so much the week of fishing in Canada. In her High School years she had many friends, went to all the games and dances and played the violin in the school orchestra. After one year at Tulsa University she switched to the University of Oklahoma where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in speech therapy. She was a lifelong Sooners fan and planned to help young children with their speech problems as had been experienced by her little brother.

In seeking a career in speech therapy, Kathy was informed that she now needed a Masters Degree, and needing to get to work, she decided to try an elementary classroom instead. This was not a match made in heaven (ornery little twits!) and eventually she took her dream car (a cream colored Camaro) back to Oklahoma from her dream state (Florida). Back home with mom and dad Kathy found employment at the Mall’s Montgomery-Ward. Later when her parents had transitioned to snow birds, Kathy chose to join them in their winter abode in Phoenix. This had the added benefit of being near her big sister, Sally, in nearby Glendale. In Arizona Kathy found employment at the Circle K convenience store.

It was at this time that Kathy was diagnosed to have Multiple Sclerosis, the disease that had taken the life of her grandfather, William Beyl. One of Kathy’s first decisions in dealing with her condition was to determine to never have children of her own so as to not pass along this generational curse. Instead she would try to be the best possible Aunt to her nieces (Nichole and Abby) and nephews(Chad, Andrew, and Austin). Also because of the difficulties of daily life it was decided that it would serve Kathy’s needs best to be close to a family member in a facility that could provide assisted living. After a time living alone in Manhattan, Kansas, Kathy was able to move to Wakefield Care and Rehabilitation just across the field from Skip and Debbie’s house in Wakefield, Kansas.

It was in this care home that Kathy spent the remainder of her time here on earth, first in an assisted living private apartment and finally in the full care wing of the building. When Skip and Debbie moved to Lawrence in retirement Kathy chose to stay in the home she knew with the people and friends she knew and loved. Finally, at the start of her 80th year here on earth Kathy chose to enter hospice care and on January 10th of 2026 she left this earthly world to join her mom and dad, Sally’s Nichole, Skip’s Debbie, and a number of beloved cats named Jill in heaven above. We love you Kathy and you will live on forever the hearts and thoughts of your loved one still here on earth.

A small graveside service will take place on Monday 19, 2026 at 11:00am at the Highland Cemetery in Wakefield, Kansas.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Nation MS Society on their website, https://www.nationalmssociety.org/?utm_source=sc&utm_medium=semg&utm_campaign=drefy26_aab_brand&referrer=sc-drefy26-aab-brand-semg&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21521416492&gbraid=0AAAAA95NLvC3jmJgHNrUKzDrWOovoTRs-&gclid=CjwKCAiA95fLBhBPEiwATXUsxAcflmbsWMV_WJwSlFGU6bIufdNJpA_u9GOq1iR9RdJ4xHULM3oLtRoCfSYQAvD_BwE