IN MEMORIAM

EXPANDED EULOGIES

“In Memoriam” listings are expanded paid obituaries, phrased as the family requests, and may include enhanced information or photographs that might not fit within free death notices.

Elizabeth Navrat

Funeral Mass for Elizabeth Joan Navrat, 90, Wichita, who passed away Aug. 6, 2025, at Catholic Care Center in Bel Aire, will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Andover, with burial at Ascension Cemetery, Bel Aire.

Born Aug. 19, 1934, in Wichita, Joan grew up in the College Hill neighborhood, attending Blessed Sacrament grade school and graduating from Mount Carmel Academy in 1953.

She attended Rosary College in Chicago, earning a degree in English, and married Leonard “Lon” Navrat in 1957.

As newlyweds, Joan and Lon were high school teachers in Andale. Joan taught English, and Lon taught physics. Joan told her children in later years that she couldn’t believe she was getting paid to do a thing she loved so much.

Within a year, Joan had her first child, John. Soon after, she and Lon moved to Chicago, where Lon attended dental school, and they celebrated the birth of two more children, Julie and David.

They then returned to Wichita, where Lon practiced dentistry with Joan’s father, Dr. Harry Klenda, and they welcomed two more children, Tom and Susan.

A lifelong lover of books, Joan cherished a good read at night but kept busy during the day raising her family, volunteering in the community, and staying active with golf and her close tennis group at Crestview.

In the 1980s, after her eldest son’s mental health diagnosis, she became a dedicated supporter with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, speaking before state leaders, serving on the Kansas board, and advocating proudly for families across the state.

In later life, Joan enjoyed Memorial Day weekend family reunions at “The Farm” in Marion, traveling to Arizona with her sister and brother-in-law, and taking trips with her siblings and their spouses to Alaska, Nashville, Las Vegas, Canada, Colorado, and the Georgia coast.

Joan’s Catholic faith was central to her life. She was dignified and sophisticated and an excellent bridge player with a wonderful sense of humor.

She walked through life sharing kindness and respect with everyone she encountered. She will be remembered for her immense generosity, her unwavering support of her family, and signature catchphrases like, “There on it.”

She was preceded in death by husband Leonard F. Navrat; parents Frances and Harry Klenda; siblings Harry L. Klenda, Larry D. Klenda, and Shirley Heisler; son John Navrat; great-granddaughter Isabella Goforth; and son-in-law Robert “Bob” Lingenfelter.

Survivors include sister Kathleen Kaiser and her husband, Jim; brother-in-law Gene Heisler; children Julie Lingenfelter, Dave Navrat (and wife Nancy), Tom Navrat, and Susan Stopford; 12 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to NAMI Wichita, PO Box 2435, Wichita KS 67201, or St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 123 N. Andover Rd, Andover KS 67002.

Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary. Share tributes online at www.dlwichita.com.