Thelma Dunham

Thelma Lorene Dunham, 87 of Elk City, Kansas passed away at Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on Friday, October 16, 2020.

Thelma Lorene Dunham was born on April 19, 1933 to William Leonard and Julia (Melton) Blakemore northwest of Havana, Kansas (Blakemore Hill). She attended Wayside and Tyro schools, graduating in 1950 from Wayside High School. On September 4, 1954 she married Charles “Doodle” Dunham in Sedan, Kansas. She worked at the Glass Plant in Caney, the Box Factory, and Emerson Electric in Independence where she retired from in 1997. She got to enjoy numerous trips to California, Nevada, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The trips consisted of trains, planes, buses, and automobiles with lots of gambling and good times. She enjoyed cutting wood, digging “snakeroot” and hunting with her husband. She was a great cook, mom, grandma, great grandma, sister, aunt, and friend. She could be stern, but she had the biggest heart.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Charles “Doodle”, son, Rusty (also “Doodle”), sister, Marilyn Harrison, and brother, Joe Blakemore.

She is survived by her daughters, Melody (Thomas) Tuck, Tracy Dunham; son, Charles (Debi) Dunham; four grandchildren, Jennifer (Kent) Augustine, Zackary (Kari) Dunham, Chance (Tonya) Dunham, and Thaddeus Tuck; ten great grandchildren; brothers, John Blakemore, Jim (Joyce) Blakemore, Dave (Diana) Blakemore; and sisters, Geri (Bill) Kolb, and Betty (Harold) Hull. Visitation will be held at Potts Chapel in Independence, Kansas on Tuesday, October 20th with the family greeting friends from 5:00 pm to 7:00 PM. Funeral services will take place at the Church of the Nazarene in Elk City, Kansas on Wednesday, October 21st at 10:00 AM with Pastor Terry Marta officiating. Interment will immediately follow at Havana Cemetery. The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the Elk City Fireworks Fund, in c\o the Church of the Nazarene in Elk City, Kansas. To leave the family a special message of condolence, please visit www.pottsfuneralhome.com.