Obituaries

Edna Florene Wiggins, 82, of Grain Valley, Mo., passed away peacefully on September 29 surrounded by her family. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m., Sunday, October 9, 2022, at Royer Funeral Home, Grain Valley. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until service time at the funeral home. Florene was born on October 20, 1939, to Roy E. and Margaret Ruth (Heidelberger) Brown in Grain Valley. She is survived by three sisters and a brother: Margaret Reeder, Mary Morris, Doris Jean Officer, and Jimmy Brown. Florene graduated from Grain Valley High School in 1957 and married her high school sweetheart, Randol Wiggins, in 1958. They went on to have five children: Gena, Randy, Amy, Brad and Bret. Florene was always passionate about her family, her community and the Grain Valley Alumni Association. She was a wonderful mom, grandma and great-grandma. She loved to gather up all the kids on Christmas Eve and lead them in singing carols. Florene thoroughly enjoyed creating and working in the haunted houses to raise money for the Grain Valley community in the 1970’s and 80’s and she and Randol headed up the Alumni Banquet for Grain Valley High School for decades. Attendees of the banquets over the years would marvel at Florene’s ability to recall their full names, spouses, and personal memories from their school years. Florene worked in several secretarial jobs before becoming the secretary to the Superintendent of Grain Valley Schools and then retired as the secretary for Sni-a-Bar Elementary after 21 years of service to the school district. She loved being “grandma” to all the schoolchildren. Following retirement, Florene focused on spending time with her nine grandchildren: Logan (Lauren) Wiggins, Jackie Leavell, Jessy (Troy) Stoecklein, Lauren Wiggins, Sydney Wiggins, Samantha Wiggins, Andrea Wiggins, Megan Wiggins and Elizabeth Wiggins. She became a great-grandma for the first time to Lilah Jean Stoecklein in March 2022. Contributions to the Grain Vall

Carolyn Rae Donnelly, 84, of Rockport, Texas passed away on September 18, 2022. She was born in Independence, Mo. on January 18, 1938, to Herman and Alma Johnson. Carolyn is preceded in death by her parents and brother Royce W. Johnson. Left to cherish Carolyn’s memory is her husband Joseph Donnelly of Rockport, sons Neal Clark and Steve Clark, and daughter Kerry Donnelly. Carolyn is also survived by eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Celebration of life service will be help on Sunday, October 9 at 2 p.m. at Liberty Street Community of Christ Church, 416 North Liberty, Independence, MO 64050. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Carolyn’s name to Alcoholics Anonymous (https:// www.aa.org/ ) or the Missouri Conservation Department (https://mdc.mo.gov/contact-engage/donate).