CLAFLIN — Dorothy Darlene (Shinn) Sleezer Swalley, 86, died June 12, 2019, at Woodhaven Care Center, Ellinwood. She was born June 8, 1933, in El Dorado, Kansas, the daughter of Bennie R. and Opal Neoma (Hogg) Shinn.
Darlene attended grade school in Silica and Lindsborg. She started High School in Wichita but then graduated from Claflin High School in 1950. She then went on to graduate from Brown-Mackie School of Business and also completed several business courses from Barton County Community College.
She married Charles Merle Sleezer and they later divorced. She then married Fred Swalley Jr., on March 20, 1953, in Bentonville, Arkansas. He survives. They started their married life in Delaware, Oklahoma, moving later to Harper, Kansas, and finally to Claflin where they have resided for the last 57 years.
Darlene was a smart, methodical, and driven individual. She was the bookkeeper and part owner of Fry’s Tank Service. From 1981 to 1988 she owned the Tall Shop in both Great Bend and Garden City and later worked as a secretary for the Family Recovery Center at Clara Barton Hospital and then Central Kansas Medical Center in Great Bend.
Darlene was an avid reader and a devoted grandmother who loved spending time with her grandchildren.
She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Fred Swalley, Jr.; four sons, Rick Sleezer and wife Carolyn of Morrison, Colorado; Bruce Swalley of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Tracy Swalley and wife Cathy of Overland Park, and Brad Swalley of Great Bend; 8 grandchildren, 6 step grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren; and a special cousin, JoyLee Warner and husband Gary of Holyrood.
She was preceded in death by her father, Bennie Shinn, mother, Opal Thompson, step father, R.T. “Bob” Thompson, and a brother, Rev. Ross Shinn.
Friends may call 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Funeral service will be 2 p.m., Monday, June 17, 2019, at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, with Pastor Diana Webster presiding. Burial will follow in Claflin Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Claflin Ambulance Service in care of Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, PO Box 146, Hoisington, KS 67544.
Funeral arrangements provided by
Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home
P.O. Box 146; 415 N. Main
Hoisington, KS 67544
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, June 14, 2019
