Adele (Coursey) Gillette

Adele Cleo (Coursey) Gillette, 87 of Louisburg, KS, passed away January 31, 2011. Services will be held Monday, February 7, 2011 at the Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Paola, KS. Adele was born July 8, 1923 to David and Cleo (Pike) Coursey in Elk Point, SD. As a child, Adele helped in her mothers" Milbank, SD restaurant. In 1939, at the age of 16, she won the South Dakota state driving contest and a paid trip to Chicago for the awards banquet, receiving a gold watch which she always wore. Adele attended Jack Rabbit State College in Sioux Falls, SD and was selected by Bob Hope as one of the prettiest college girls of 1941. She met Charles L. Gillette at the Wheatland Ballroom in Sioux Falls and the dance began. They were married on June 25, 1942. They lived in Paola, KS from 1950 to 1972 where they raised four children. Mrs. Gillette was active in the Paola Methodist Church and the Republican Women"s League. She worked as a secretary for Mr. Jones at South School Elementary. Adele was a swimming instructor at the Paola pool and also taught her four children how to swim. She and her husband Chuck belonged to the Paola Country Club and were famous for their dancing. In the 1970"s Adele and Chuck moved to Dillon, CO where Adele excelled as a member of the Summit County Silver Streakers Swim Club and won two medals in the Senior Olympics in Colorado Springs in 1980. In the 80"s and 90"s, Adele and Chuck enjoyed nearly twenty winters in Apache Junction, AZ where Adele was postmaster at the Gold Canyon Resort. Summers found them traveling and enjoying their summer place in Table Rock, Shell Knob, MO. Adele was a classy dresser and a vibrant dancer with her husband and they danced their way through sixty years together. She enjoyed her many friends from all over the country. Adele was a wonderful cook and devoted wife and mother. Her beloved husband Chuck preceded her in death in 2002. She was also preceded in death by two great-grandchildren, Shane Burton and Danielle Burton. Mrs. Gillette had been a resident of Louisburg Care Center since 2006. She leaves behind her four children, daughter, Suzanne Kircher of Louisburg, KS; son, Steve Gillette of Loveland, CO; daughter, Christine Benrud, Coaldale, CO; son, Curt Gillette of Raymore, MO; four grandchildren, Mike Burton, Jeff Burton, Shanna (Burton) Harper, and Mitchell McCann; five great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. All of whom will miss her dearly. Pallbearers will be Mitchell McCann, Chuck McCann, Michael Burton, Jeffrey Burton, Shaun Burton, and John Burton. Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Adele Gillette to Toys For Tots, 18251 Quantico Gateway Dr., Triangle, VA 22172.