Betty F. (Wickham) Tate

Betty Fern Dye (Wickham) TateBetty F. (Wickham) Tate, 86, of Fredonia, Kansas passed away at 4:55 A.M., Saturday, July 9, 2016 at Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas.Betty Fern (Wickham) Tate was born July 24, 1929 in Chautauqua County, Kansas the daughter of Joseph Issac "Ike" Dye and Minnie "Belle" (Tannahill) Dye. She grew up in the Sedan, Kansas area and graduated from Sedan High School in 1946.On September 18, 1946 in Sedan she was united in marriage to Alfred Wickham Jr. and he preceded her in death February 2, 1970. She was later united in marriage on November 10, 1979 in rural Fredonia, Kansas to Edwin L. Tate and he preceded her in death November 12, 2007.Betty worked for Bell Telephone in Fredonia as an operator. She had also worked for St. Margaret"s Mercy Hospital and as a bookkeeper for the State of Kansas in the Social and Rehabilitation Services Department (SRS) in Fredonia. After many years she went back to school and went to work as a case worker in Fredonia and Wichita and retired after 17 " years in 1987.She was a member of the First Christian Church of Fredonia, Fredonia Senior Citizens, Optimist Club and was a Boy Scout Den Mother.Family meant everything to Betty; her hobbies were her children and grandchildren. She loved to crochet, fish and in later years jigsaw and crossword puzzles, bingo and bunco.Survivors include 3 sons, John Wickham and his wife Sherri of Fredonia, Mike Wickham and his wife Cindy of Altoona, Craig Wickham and his wife Les of Fredonia, 4 sisters, Clara Belle Wallace of Sedan, Kansas, Mary Ellen Alford of Eureka, Kansas, Barbara Ann Lile and her husband Bill of Cheyenne, Wyoming, Minnie Jo Northedge and her husband Kenneth of Eureka, Kansas, 3 brother in laws, Lyle Weaver of Springhill, Kansas, Marvin Wickham of Foraker, Oklahoma, Tom Wickham and his wife Hazel of Sedan, Kansas, 8 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren with one on the way, 1 great great grandson on the way and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.She was preceded in death by her mother, father, two husbands, three brothers, Russell, Virgil and Delbert Dye and one sister Blossom Weaver.Celebration of Life Services will be held 10:30 A.M., Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at First Christian Church in Fredonia with Pastor Claude Shue, officiating.Family will receive friends from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M., Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at Timmons Funeral Home/Wickham Family Funeral Home, 510 N. 7th, Fredonia, Kansas.Memorial remembrances are suggested to Avenue of Flags or Pound Pals and they may be left or mailed to the funeral home.