Dawna Denney

Dawna Joyce Denney, 86, of Madison passed away Friday, July 7, 2017, at a Wichita hospital.

She was born October 3, 1930, in Marion, Kansas, the daughter of Robert Lee and Ettamae Suffield Stack. Dawna attended Abilene High School and graduated with the Class of 1948.

She was joined in marriage to Lyle E. Denney on March 12, 1950, in Wichita. When they were first married, they lived in Hutchinson, where Dawna worked as a car hop at the local A&W.

They would later live in Wichita, Derby and Mulvane. During their time in Mulvane, Dawna started the “Mothers Day Out” day care program through the Mulvane United Methodist Church.

Dawna and Lyle were foster parents for more than 40 children during a 14-year period. After retirement, they would call Benton, Kentucky, home before settling in Madison in 1990.

Dawna was a member of the First Christian Church and the Civic Culture Club, both of Madison.

She will live on in the hearts of her children, Debra Harlan and her husband, Les, of Madison; Robin Ferguson of Mulvane; and Scott Denney of Emporia; 10 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren.

Dawna was preceded in death by her husband, Lyle, on May 23, 2010; a son, Clark Denney, in 2015; three grandsons, Michael, Andrew and Kyle; and two brothers, Jack Summerville and Richard Stack.

Services were at 11 a.m., Monday, July 10, 2017, at First Christian Church in Madison. Burial followed services at Blakely Cemetery, northwest of Madison.

Memorial contributions may be made to the church or the Madison Library and sent in care of the VanArsdale Funeral Home at PO Box 488, Madison, KS 66860. Condolences may be expressed at vanarsdalefs.com.