Evelyn Marie Kraft McGee (Riedlinger)

Evelyn Marie Kraft McGee (Riedlinger), 86, loving and beloved mother and grandmother, quietly passed from this life into the glory of God and the arms of her Savior Jesus on Friday, December 2, 2016, in Wichita. 

Evelyn was born on April 15, 1930, to Joseph and Helen Riedlinger, in Windhorst. She was the eldest of four children, including her sister Hilda and brothers Donald and Larry. She was baptized in the Catholic Church as an infant, and confirmed first in the Catholic Church and then as a Lutheran on May 29, 1960, at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Dodge City. 

On May 28, 1951, Evelyn married Clarence Kraft, in Bazine, Kansas. He preceded her in death on June 6, 1988. She then married Roy McGee on January 11, 1997 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Dodge City. He passed away in July 2009. Evelyn and Clarence had two daughters, LaDonna and Diana. 

Evelyn worked for many years at Dodge City Office Equipment, and made a number of friends there. She enjoyed taking her granddaughters there to look around and visit with those she worked with, and often found special gifts for family there. 

She made a hobby out of making clothing and quilts for herself and her family, often giving quilts as Christmas presents. When her daughters were young, she made clothes for them and their dolls, and did the same for her granddaughters. She also made the wedding dress for her eldest granddaughter Erica in 2002. She enjoyed spending time with family, and always had a camera and several spare rolls of film at the ready. 

In the last year of her life, Evelyn lived in a Home-Plus in Wichita, and was one of only three residents at the time of her passing. She was very well taken care of by the caretakers there, and was visited frequently by family. She had been diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia a couple of years prior, and as a result had lost the ability to speak and write, although she still tried to speak. On Friday, December 2, her youngest granddaughter, Tonya, was singing hymns to her as she quietly passed in her sleep. She was 86 years old. 

She is survived by her daughter Diana Buczinski and husband Dan of Goddard, brother Larry Riedlinger and wife Mary, of Wichita, three granddaughters, Michelle Woods of Ness City, Erica Olson of Mesa, Arizona, and Tonya Cordt of Goddard; and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joe and Helen Riedlinger, husbands Clarence Kraft and Roy McGee, daughter LaDonna Looney, brother Donald Riedlinger, and sister Hilda Coker. 

Funeral service will be held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Dodge City on Wednesday December 7, 2016 at 10:00 AM. Burial will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery in Dodge City. Visitation will be at Swaim Funeral Home on Tuesday December 6, 2016 from noon to 8:00 PM with the family receiving friends from 6-8 PM. Memorials are suggested to Rainbow Care Homes of Wichita in care of the funeral home. A memorial service will also be held on Friday, December 9, at 2 p.m. at Ascension Lutheran Church, located at 842 N. Tyler Rd., Wichita. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online guest book at www.swaimfuneralhome.com.