LeAnna Kay Meeks, Sabetha
December 25, 1939 - November 17, 2023
LeAnna Kay Meeks, 83, of Sabetha, KS, died on November 17, 2023, of natural causes. She was born December 25, 1939, at the country doctor’s house near Hunter, Kansas, to Elsie Mae Sigle (Hayden) and Frank Henry “Toots” Sigle, Jr.
She married James Francis Meeks in 1962.
After graduation from Sylvan Grove High School, she attended Stormont-Vail Nursing School in Topeka and became a registered nurse. In her middle years she went back to college in the evenings at the University of Nebraska and completed a bachelor of science in nursing. She served the world as a nurse for 45 years -- her career included every facet of nursing care including emergency, intensive care, geriatric, pediatric, psychiatric, administration and regulatory compliance.
LeAnna contributed her enthusiasm and intellect to her community. She was an avid photography hobbyist, helped document athletics and activities for many years, and helped as a 4-H mom. During her years in Sylvan Grove, it was not unusual to have visitors or phone calls at all hours seeking medical advice or minor treatments. In her later years, she donated her time as a consultant to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
Her favorite recent pastime was making custom quilts for each of her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-nieces, and great-nephews. She explored family genealogy and left behind a treasure-trove of family history, stories, and photographs.
The wives of her boys were "daughters of her heart" and added a special joy to her life. LeAnna and Jim especially enjoyed vacations with their grandkids. Trips in their RV and vacations with family and friends were fun and even the mishaps were entertaining. The time spent with the “grands” and their families at their schools and homes were treasured. She especially enjoyed creating Christmas plays with homemade costumes and scripts for the grandchildren to act out. She honored family traditions such as “The Daisy Chain,” which was the girl grandchildren of ancestor Daisy Mae Sigle, the Hayden/Parsons girl cousins’ gatherings, and the annual Sigle/Sperry picnic.
Camping and boating at Wilson Lake from early in their marriage to the later years with family and friends was also enjoyed despite rain, windstorms, and tornado scares. LeAnna and Jim in their retirement years enjoyed the church fellowship of the United Methodist Potawatomi Church near their home in Jackson County, Kansas.
LeAnna was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Wendell Wayne Sigle and Randall Eugene Sigle, and brothers-in-law Gene Jepsen, Rick Wolfe, and Charles Knott.
She is survived by her husband, James Meeks, now of Sabetha, KS; sons Jamie Meeks (Betsy), Shawnee, KS, and Jerry Meeks (Christy), Sabetha, KS; grandchildren Lydia Williamson (Brock), CJ Meeks (Hannah), Emily Fischer (Joseph), Derek Meeks, and Kasey Meeks; great-grandchildren Bristol, Nora, and Tori Williamson; sisters Retha Carpenter (Paul), Linda Jepsen, and Karen Wolfe; sisters-in-law Lorna Knott and Leean McGraw (Dave); and beloved nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
