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Myrtle Nanninga Myers
Myrtle while at Leonardville High 1884 - 1978
Educator - organized the Leonardville High School in 1913 ________________
Obituary Myrtle Picking Nanninga Myers
Myrtle
C. Naninnga Myers, 94, died Saturday morning November 4, 1978 at the
Abilene Memorial Hospital. She was born June 20, 1884 in East
Petersburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of William H.
and Kate Snyder Fernsler Picking.
She came to Abilene, Kansas
with her parents as a small girl on March 5, 1887. She attended the
Abilene Public Schools, graduating from high school in 1902 and from
McPherson College in 1906.
For several years she taught in the
Dickinson County Schools. On April 18, 1911 she was married to William
G. Nanninga. Most of their married life was spent in the Leonardville,
Kansas and Columbus, Nebraska areas where Myrtle taught school or held
executive and administrative positions in the school system. She
organized the Leonardville High School in 1913. Myrtle and husband
William moved to Abilene in February of 1955. He preceded her in death
on May 22, 1958.
On September 1, 1961 Myrtle married B. Frank
Myers. All their married life was spent in Abilene. She was a member of
the Emmanuel United Methodist Church and past president of the American
Legion Auxiliary and B.P.W.
Myrtle and Frank enjoyed traveling
and made tours over all the United States and to foreign countries.
While in Europe she did genealogical research on the Swart and Nanninga
families and later wrote books on each family.
She had many hobbies including spinning, weaving, heraldry, historical research, travelogues, and educational work.
Myrtle was preceded in death by three (3) brothers and one (1) sister.
Survivors
include her husband, B. Frank Myers of Abilene; three (3) sisters, Miss
Miriam Picking, Miss Lelia Picking, and Miss Enicie Picking, all of
Abilene; one (1) step daughter, Mrs. Marjorie Smallwood of Arizona; one
(1) step grandson and one (1) step great grandson.
Funeral
services were held November 7, 1978 at the Danner Funeral Home with
Rev. G.P. Minner officiating. Interment was in the Abilene Cemetery.
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"The first freshman class of Leonardville
High School started in the fall of 1911. Lowell H. Damon taught the
high school classes for the first two years along with teaching his
elementary class. In the fall of 1913 Mrs. W.G. Nanninga took up the
work, organized the school more efficiently and put it on solid ground." -- Taken from the first Leonardville High School Yearbook, Memoirs, 1919 --
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Myrtle at her spinning wheel.
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