Isabelle Massey

Isabelle Juanita (Powell) Massey, 102, a lifetime resident of Miami County, KS, died November 7, 2013 at North Point Skilled Nursing, Paola, KS. Juanita was born in Louisburg, KS February 20, 1911, the daughter of Melvin David and Lena Isabel (Branum) Powell. On December 22, 1939 she married Floyd Earl "Bill" Massey of Fontana, KS. Juanita was a graduate of Louisburg Rural High School in 1929. She earned an Associate Degree in Science from Ursuline College of Paola, Paola, KS in 1953; a BA from Ottawa University, Ottawa, KS in 1956; a MS from Emporia State University, Emporia, KS in 1964. She taught in Miami County at Cottonwood, Moore, and Washington, all one-room schools, and Fontana Elementary School from 1933 " 1940. She returned to teaching in 1953 at Washington School near Drexel Corner before taking a position in Paola where she taught second grade at the North Elementary School until she retired in 1974. Juanita had many hobbies; arts, crafts, and genealogy. She was very active with many different organizations within the community and state; Delta Kappa Gamma Society, American Association of University Women (AAUW), charter member of the Miami County Cultural Arts Council, and member of the Miami County Hospital Auxiliary. She joined the Order of the Eastern Star (OES) in La Cygne, KS in 1948 and transferred her membership to Paola in 1974. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Paola. She is survived by two sons, Richard and his wife Ann of Severna Park, MD, and William and his wife Mary of Wichita, KS; three grandchildren; five great grandchildren; three nieces and a nephew. Her husband Floyd, parents, brother Richard, and sister Anna Gertrude Miller preceded her in death.