Lesta Fullerton

Lesta Louise Fullerton, 84, passed away December 10, 2020 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease.  Private services and burial will be held at Longview Funeral Home and Cemetery.  Memorial contributions in Lesta’s name are suggested to the Parkinson’s Foundation or ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief) International.

Lesta was born on May 31, 1936 in Galena, Kansas to Lester H. and Neva Louise (Olson) Secrist.  She grew up in Galena, graduated in 1954 from Enterprise Academy in Enterprise, Kansas, and attended Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Lesta met her husband, Jim, through a mutual friend and they were married on May 11, 1958.  They made their home in Kansas City, Kansas and had two daughters, Cynthia and Cheryl; the family later moved to Raytown, Missouri.

Lesta worked outside of the home for most of her life, but work always took a back seat to being a wife and a mother, something she considered her real full time job.  After her daughters were grown, Lesta went to work as a receptionist at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in the Nutrition Services Department for 18 years.  She was a member of KC Central Seventh Day Adventist Church.

In addition to her parents, Lesta was preceded in death by two brothers, Gary Secrist and Larry Secrist.  She is survived by her husband, Jim, who lovingly cared for her until the very end; her daughters, Cindy (Dennis) Whitson and Cheri (James) Boyles; grandchildren:  Thomas (Kendall) Finch, Sarah Whitson, Kirsten Boyles, and Nicholas Boyles; a sister-in-law, Frances Secrist; a niece, Kathy Huffaker, and a nephew, Bruce Secrist.