Obituary for Connie Burkhart at Ziegler Funeral Chapel (2024)

SPEARVILLE - Constance Marie (Shean) Burkhart died unexpectedly after a short illness on Wednesday, August 23, 2023, at her home in Spearville, KS. She was 76.

Born November 27, 1946, to Norbert and Viola Shean, she was the eldest of six siblings. Her early years were spent with her mother while her dad was deployed during the Korean War. A fact that she never quite let her baby sister, Barb (who is 18 years her junior) live down when Barb was able to go to McConnell AFB’s PX with their dad, but she had to wait in the car.

A mystery illness in her youth kept her in the hospital in Wichita while her parents tended to her younger siblings in Spearville. Money was tight back then and her dad would come to see her on the weekends he could. This fostered an independent streak that would serve throughout her life.

She attended Spearville schools and graduated in 1964. She furthered her education at Dodge City Community College and later transferred to Fort Hays State University (where her granddaughter now is a freshman) to obtain a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. After returning to Spearville, she married Ervin George Burkhart on Aug. 3, 1968, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. They made their home in Spearville and in 1975 welcomed their daughter, Jennifer.

Connie was an educator in the Spearville School District for more than 40 years, retiring in May 2012. Mrs. B, as she came to be known by her students, touched the lives of nearly everyone in the Spearville community – even teaching multiple generations of some families.

She had a passion for history, especially Kansas and family history. She took many of her classes over the years on field trips to Fort Larned National Historic Site – hoping to pass her love of history on to her students. She researched, collected stories and photos, and wrote two family history books and was working on a third at the time of her death.

She never knew a stranger and could easily start up a conversation with anyone she had just met. She could often be found searching through Facebook for long-lost relatives, checking up on former students, or adding “leaves” to her vast collection of Ancestry.com data.

She was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, the Minerva Club, and Spearville Senior Center. Retirement couldn’t slow her down either, picking up volunteer hours during election season, and being a doting caregiver and fierce advocate for her husband of 55 years. Not to mention making many trips to Topeka to see her beloved grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband, Ervin, of the home, and daughter, Jennifer (Bob) Clark, Topeka; grandchildren Matthew (Amanda) Clark, Ankeny, IA; Alexandra (Cody) Clark, Omaha, NE; Camryn Clark, Hays; and Lucas Clark, Topeka; and great-grandsons Wesley, Beckham, and Riley. She also leaves behind sisters, Debbie (George) Hertel, Wright; Barb (Eric) Richardson, Lake City, IA; brother Robert (Debbie) Shean, Noblesville, IN; brother-in-law Elmer (Donna) Burkhart, Rock Springs, WY; and sister-in-law Willadean Kisner, Dodge City; and numerous nephews, nieces, extended family and many, many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Joan and Jane; niece, Jessica Hertel; nephew, Mitchell Hertel; in-laws, William and Helen Burkhart; and sisters-in-law Henrietta Owen, Thelma Weakley, and Romona Staus; and brothers-in-law Greg Speakman, Gaylord Kisner, Chuck Owen, and Elvin Weakley.

Visitation will take place from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, at Ziegler Funeral Chapel, 1901 N 14th, Dodge City, with a rosary following at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Catholic Church in Spearville. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 28, at the church with interment following at St. John’s Cemetery.

The family suggests memorials to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Spearville Senior Center, or Spearville Library in care of Ziegler Funeral Chapel, 1901 N. 14th Ave., Dodge City, Kansas 67801.