Winifred "Winnie" (Woolsoncroft) Becker

W inifred “Winnie” Eleanore (Woolsoncroft) Becker, 97, of Centralia passed away on Sunday, November 9, 2014 at Eastridge Nursing Home in Centralia.

Winnie was born May 29, 1917 on a farm west of Goff, Kansas, the daughter of William McKinley Miller and Beulah Violet (Roach) Miller.  Her family moved to Goff when she was five years old and she graduated from Goff High School in 1935.

She married Harold Oscar Woolsoncroft on October 28, 1939, and they lived on a farm northwest of Centralia, Kansas.  Their daughter, Sharon Kay, was born September 25, 1940.  Winnie loved living on the farm, raising chickens, having a big garden, and planting lots of flowers.  She loved to cook and trying new recipes.

She was a member of the Goff Rebekah Club, going through all the chairs.  In 1948, Winnie joined the Congregational Church in Centralia and worked many years and held many positions in the church and Women’s Fellowship.  They also belonged to several square dance clubs.  She loved playing cards, especially bridge.  She also loved to sew, embroidery and make quilts, and she made quilts for all her children, grandchildren and step children.

Harold passed away August 7, 1970, and Winnie moved into Centralia, where she continued to have a large garden and many flowers.  On May 17, 1980, she married Leroy Francis Becker, and they continued to live in Centralia.  They enjoyed traveling and took many trips.  Leroy passed away May 1, 1988, in Laramie, Wyoming on a bus trip.  Winnie continued to live in Centralia until April, 2011, when she moved to Country Place Senior Living Place in Seneca.  She lived there until January, 2014, when she moved to Eastridge Skilled Nursing Facility.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, Harold Woolsoncroft and Leroy Becker, one sister, Norine "Johnnie" Miller.  She is survived by her daughter, Sharon Hughes, and her husband, Bill, of Manhattan, Kansas, as well as stepchildren, Roger Becker, D.V.M., and wife, Linda, of Independence, Missouri; Adrian and wife, Diane, of Flower Mound, Texas; Sondra Mauton, and husband, Larry, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Gary Becker, and wife, Dorothy, of Centralia, Kansas.  Winnie is also survived by one granddaughter, Rhonda Kay (Hughes) Rettig and her husband, Kent, of Olathe, Kansas, and one grandson, William “Billy” Harold Hughes and his fiancé, Kathe Garbrick, of Keats, Kansas; two great granddaughters, Samantha Kay Rettig and Sydney Elizabeth Rettig of Olathe, Kansas, and seven step grandchildren and several step great grandchildren.

Funeral service is Sunday, November 16, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. at the Centralia Community Church in Centralia, Kansas.  The family will greet friends one hour prior to service time at the church.  Interment will be in the Centralia Cemetery. Winnie will lie in state at the Popkess Memorial Chapel in Seneca on Friday, November 14. Memorial contributions can be made to the Centralia Community Church, or Eastridge Skilled Nursing Facility, sent in care of Popkess Memorial Chapel, 814 Castle St., Seneca, Kansas 66538.