IN MEMORIAM
EXPANDED EULOGIES
Dorothy Riffel
Dorothy Marie (Dillon) Schubert Riffel passed away peacefully Dec. 1 at Villa St. Francis Catholic Care Center in Olathe, Kansas, just over two weeks after her 96th birthday.
She was born Nov. 14, 1924, to George F. Dillon and Genevieve (Weishaar) Dillon in Hope, Kansas. She was baptized at St. Philip Catholic Church in Hope. She graduated from Hope High School and attended Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia.
She then taught at Rural Victory School south of Herington and Ramona Grade School for two years prior to her marriage.
She married Martin W. Schubert on Aug. 18, 1946, in Herington. They resided on a farm near Ramona all their married life, until Martin’s death on Feb. 19, 1987. Six children were born to this union; Kristine, Frank, Mary, Philip, Jeanette, and Fred.
After teaching and starting a family, Dorothy became a known seamstress in her community and taugh many local children the art of sewing in her 4-H leadership years. Her hobbies, along with sewing, were reading and quilting.
Dorothy moved from the farm to Salina in 1988. She married Harvey Riffel in November 1991. After more than 13 years of marriage to Harvey, he passed away in February 2004.
She was preceded in death by her son, Philip, in 1996; by both of her husbands, Martin and Harvey; her sisters, Lois and Ruth; her brother, Ralph; and her parents.
Dorothy is survived by five children: Kristine Clayton (and husband Keith) of Hope Mills, North Carolina, Frank (and wife Barbara) of Scottsdale, Arizona, Mary Franz (and husband Bill) of Olathe, Jeanette Crawford (and husband Jim) of Carefree, Arizona, and Fred (and wife Lucy) of Salida, Colorado.
She also is survived by 13 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and by sister Jane Schwinn of Topeka.
Memorial Mass services will be next spring on Memorial weekend at 10:30 a.m. May 29, at St. Philip Catholic Church in Hope, with lunch served by the Altar Society in the church hall after a service. A Rosary will be in the church just prior to the 10:30 a.m. service.
Dorothy’s cremation burial service will be 3 p.m. May 30 at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Ramona, Kansas.
The family has requested that donations in memory of Dorothy be directed to St. Philip Catholic Church in Hope, in care of Father Peter O’Donnell, 712 N Broadway St., Herington, KS 67449, or Interim Healthcare hospice, 10977 Granada Ln, Suite 205, Overland Park, KS 66211.