Rowena Grace (Belden) Taylor Whitewater

Rowena was born on February 5, 1928, East of Saxman in Rice County, Kansas. She was the daughter of Nelson Templeton Belden and Wanda Neva (Ball) Belden. Her mother died eight days after her birth. Rowena's Aunt Ernestine Mae (Belden) Taylor and Uncle Milton Franklyn Taylor subsequently adopted her.

Raised in Springfield, Colorado and Rice County, Kansas, Rowena's childhood was set against the arduous backdrop of the Dust Bowl. She graduated from High School at Sterling, Kansas and met Herbert Calvin White while they attended iSouthwestern College in Winfield. They married on September 3, 1949 at the First United Methodist Church in Sterling. They made their first home together for three years in Memphis, Tennessee, where Dr. Herbert completed his optometry degree. After a brief stay in Hugioton, Kansas they settled in Dodge City from 1953 to present. I can j

Rowena served tirelessly ans a stay-at-home mom for her five children. She taught piano lessons, was church organist for ten years and worked as an Optometric assistant for 13 years. Her hobbies included music of all kinds, genealogy research and documentation, needlework, quilt making and playing bridge. A spelling-bee winner, Rowena was highly intelligent and the repository for knowledge in the lfamily. She returned to studies and completed her Bachelor of Art degree in Music from Saint Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City in 1975. She always kept her family in mind and was eager to help them.

She passed peacefully in Dodge City on June 10th, 2018. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Estel Taylor, Byron Taylor, Henry Belden and Earl Belden; sisters Neva Massey, Winona Helmer and Myrtle Wellman and recently her son Victor White.

JIn addition to Herbert, her husband of 68 years, Rowena's surviving family consists of her children: Julie White and Albert Crowell, Ferndale, CA, Annette and Greg Neises of Cheney, KS, Dr. Laurie White and Steve Stephens of Dodge City, and Philip White of Phoenix, AZ. Her eighteen grandchildren include Cameron Brown, Tara From, Byron White, Erica Patrick, Nick Jenkins, Ariel Villegas, Jessica Winn, lAdrienne Deal, Sarah Watson, Robyn Shaver, Olivia, Cameron, Codey and Calvin Neises, Emily, Elizabeth and Erin Stephens, and Erin Hawkins. Her thirty-two great grandchildren include Dagny Brown, Kai and Quinn Patrick, Tegan, Emryk and Eban Jenkins, Acen, Anthony, Dominick and Aleena Villegas, Bella and Roxy Ghiotto, Ella, Ben, Lacy and Quincy Winn, Clover Weisgerber, Piper Deal, Cleo Shaver, Patrick, Emily, Josh, Abigail, Noah, Nathanial, Charlee, Judith and Jenny Watson, and Ernestine, Margaret and Agnes Rout, and Sophia Terriquez. She is also survived by her sister Nellie Welch and Hal of Wichita, KS and brother in law Byron White and Gail of La Jolla, CA.

A remembrance service and reception will be held in the United Methodist Church of Dodge City, at 11:00 AM, Saturday, June16th. A graveside service for immediate family will precede at Maple Grove Cemetery. Please send memorials to the Southwestern College-White Scholarship Fund in care of the Swaim Funeral Chapel, 1901 6th Ave, Dodge City, KS 67801.