Margaret Pearl Russell Bishard

Margaret Pearl Russell Bishard

Margaret Pearl Russell Bishard, age 97, a resident of Ft. Scott, Kan., quietly passed away, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, at her home in Fort Scott. She was born Dec. 6, 1916, in Fort Scott, the daughter of Louis S. "Dutch" Russell and Esther Pearl Barker Russell. She was a graduate of both Fort Scott High School and Fort Scott Junior College. She worked as a secretary for the Fort Scott Hydraulic Cement Company and later for the Western Insurance Company. She married Dwight E. Bishard on Sept. 22, 1940, at the Brethren Church of Fort Scott located at the corner of Fifth Street and National Ave. It is now known as the Old Congregational Church which is owned by the Historical Preservation Association. With its towering bell tower, it is now a Fort Scott landmark. Margaret's church was always the center of her life. She started playing the piano before her feet could touch the floor, and in school, she also played the flute. Following World War II, her husband went to work for the Veterans Administration in Wichita, Kan. They were soon members of the Brethren Church in Mulvane, Kan. She was always active playing the piano or organ as well as serving as church secretary or treasurer as well as being a Sunday school teacher. In the early 1960s, her and her husband became founding members of a new Brethren Church in Derby, Kan. In the mid-1980s she returned to Fort Scott, which was always at heart her home. Soon, she was again playing the piano or organ in the Fort Scott Brethren Church. Activities which she continued well in to her 90s whether it was preparing a dish for a special Sunday event or baking and decorating a birthday cake, those in her church always became a part of her extended family. In the late 1970s, she was an active participant in the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary serving as an escort for patients at the VA Hospital in Wichita. She devoted over two thousand hours of service. In her youth, she was a volunteer candy striper at the hospital in Fort Scott. In later years, she enjoyed attending the Fort Scott High School Alumni Association reunions.

Margaret was the last survivor of her immediate family. An older brother, Kenneth, lived only three days in 1911, her younger by seven years, twin brothers Harold B. Russell (1923-1998) and Gerald D. Russell (1923-2000) also preceded her in death. Her mother passed away in 1978 and her father in 1980, as did her husband in 1980. She was also preceded in death by a great-granddaughter, Miranda N. Bishard (1994-2009).

Survivors include a son, David D. Bishard of the home in Fort Scott; a sister-in-law and nephew, Harriet M. Russell and Louis S. Russell, Wichita, Kan.; a sister-in-law and niece, Rosa Lea M. Russell and Layn Russell and husband Glen Greenfield, Hutchinson, Kan. Also surviving are two grandsons, Douglas E. Bishard and wife, Traci, Helena, Oklahoma and their children, Raven and Utah; and Clint J. Bishard and wife, Robyn, Terlton, Oklahoma and their children, Hannah, Sarah, Joshua, Allison, Mercy and Jason.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 19 at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Burial will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the Margaret Bishard Memorial Fund and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel 201 S. Main, P. O. Box 347, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.