Emma "Charlene" (Wilkens) Gunther

Emma "Charlene" (Wilkens) Gunther, 85, of Stockton, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2023, at an assisted living facility.

Charlene was born on October 29, 1937, to Charley A. and Jessie M. (Herren) on the rural family farm in Cheyenne County, northwest Kansas. She was the oldest daughter and one of eight children. She graduated high school in 1955 from the Catholic boarding school Mt. Saint Gertrude Academy in Boulder, Colorado. After graduation, she worked at Morehouse Hospital in Benkelman, Neb., training to be a nurse’s aide.

In 1958, Charlene married Vernon Gunther of Benkelman, Neb., and began raising what would end up seven children. After a couple of moves early on, they settled in Leadville, Colo. They divorced in 1974, and Charlene and the kids moved to Cheyenne, Wyo. Charlene was never afraid of hard work and, at one point, held three full-time jobs at once to help make ends meet. Charlene enjoyed arts and crafts, sewing, needlepoint, and knitting. For many years she made the kids Halloween costumes and many dresses for her girls. She was very innovative, and nothing exemplified this better than finding and making a “whooping” utensil out of almost anything (especially when seven kids conspired to hide all known weapons). She was proficient in many things, including cutting hair; she could cut straight bangs with the best of them (without the bowl) and eventually was able to arch the bangs to show no bowl was needed. She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh.

Charlene was welcomed into her heavenly home by her parents; brothers Ralph, Alan, and Jim; and grandchild Karli Gunther (Dan).

She is survived by her brothers Art (Mae) and Larry (Patty); sisters Betty (Tom) Tomlinson and Rita Wheeler; children Randall, Verna Fisher, Dan (Scarlett), Ron (Lisa), Anita (Bob) Shaw, Michele, and Paul (Beverly); grandchildren Zechary (Meghan) and Zain (Randall), Devan (Tommy) Kirby and Kyle Fisher (Verna), Faith (Dan), Roni (Jacob) Uzee and Rikki (Ron), Megan (Matt) Lacey, Danielle Maier and Mariah Foxx (Anita), Tara and Ashley (Michele), Augustus Kortemeier, Annie, Averie, and Aubrie (Paul); great-grandchildren Mark Kirby, Emma and Kane Fisher, Lily Rose, Lennon, and Connor Lacey, Luna Gunther, Greyson and Wyatt Foxx, JR, and Jaxon Maier. This also includes many nieces and nephews.

There will be a Rosary held on Thursday, April 20, at 7 p.m., at St. Thomas Catholic Church, 722 Main Street, Stockton, Kansas. A Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, April 21, at 11:00 a.m., at St. Thomas Catholic Church at 722 Main Street, Stockton, Kansas.

All are invited to the parish hall for a reception immediately following.

Her final resting place will be in Benkelman Cemetery in Benkelman, Nebraska