Louise W. Oelke, 98, Hoxie, Kansas, passed away on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at the Sheridan County Health Complex. Louise was born on the family farm near Rexford, Kansas, on March 14, 1925, to Louis and Ida (Herring) Hemman. The home they lived in was a house dug into the side of a bank. They lived in this home a little over ten years and then moved to a farm about six miles north of Hoxie. Louise graduated from Sheridan Community High School. After graduation, she went to work at the First National Bank of Hoxie. She met Edward Oelke at the Hoxie Lutheran Church. They were married on December 28, 1945, at the Church and they celebrated fifty-one years of marriage. After Edward and Louise were married, they lived in Hoxie and ran a produce business called Oelke Produce. In 1955, they bought a farm north of Hoxie where they lived their entire lives.
Lousie was a hard worker. She was always cleaning the house and making sure her yard was well tended. She was a homemaker and farmer and worked on the farm alongside her husband and family. Louise was a good mother and did everything to provide her family with a good life.
Louise is survived by her sons, Jim and wife Anita of Hoxie, Dennis and wife Dalene of Hoxie, and Steve and wife Amy of Ellinwood, Kansas; sisters, Irene Hedge of Jacksonville, Florida and Lil Harms and husband Bob of Canon City, Colorado; five grandchildren, Brent Oelke, Darren Oelke, Troy Oelke, Jared (Kami) Oelke, and Jenna,; and sister-in-law Shirley Hemman.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward; parents Louis and Ida Hemman; brothers, Norman Hemman and Walt Hemman; and brother-in-law, Willard Hedge.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 10:30 A.M. at the funeral home in Hoxie with interment immediately following the service in the Hoxie City Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, from 1:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. with family receiving friends from 5:30 P.M. until 7:00 P.M.
Memorials are suggested to the Hoxie or Selden Methodist Church or Ridgewood Manor and may be sent to Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home, PO Box 987, Hoxie, Kansas 67740. Words of caring and comfort may be left for the family at www.mickehleopoldfuneral.com