Dorothy Sturgeon

Edgerton, Mo. — A memorial service for Dorothy Sturgeon, 96, Kansas City, Mo., will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Combs Chapel at Country Club Christian Church.Mrs. Sturgeon, formerly of Edgerton, Mo., died Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009.She was born Jan. 30, 1912, in Edgerton, the daughter of Clyde C. and Grace Pearl McWilliams Birt. She graduated from high school in Edgerton and then attended Stephens College in Columbia. She later attended Kansas University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish in 1934.Mrs. Sturgeon was a teacher in Weston, and retired from the North Platte School District. She moved to Kansas City, Mo., in 1977.She was a member of the Edgerton Christian Church, and later the Country Club Christian Church in Kansas City, where she was a member of the 50-50 Sunday school class. She was also a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority where she served as past president of the Kansas City Alumni Chapter, the Kansas City Athenaeum, the Kansas City Women’s Commission, and Missouri Girls Town Board. She loved traveling, and had visited every continent but Australia. She also loved watching the KU Jayhawks.She married Robert Earl Sturgeon on April 12, 1942. After he served in World War II, they moved to Edgerton. He preceded her in death in 1960.Dorothy was also preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Elizabeth Shewey.Survivors include a son, Robert Sturgeon and wife Linda, Lawrence, Kan.; a granddaughter, Jennifer Gilliland; a great-grandson, Jackson Robert; a niece, Dorothy Tucker; and other relatives.The family will meet friends from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Hixson-Klein Funeral Home in Edgerton, followed by graveside services at Memorial Park Cemetery in St. Joseph.The family suggests memorials to Missouri Girls Town or The Kansas City Athenaeum.