Jean's first name was Doris but she was always known by her middle name Jean. She was the second child of William Lafayette and Erma May Watson Burkett. She lived in Iola until 1937 when the family moved to Kansas City. There Jean briefly attended Wyandotte High School until her mother took her out of school to go to "Beauty College" and to work alongside her in her Beauty shop in Westport, K.C., Missouri.
Jean loved to dance and twice a week she would go with her older brother, Don, to dances where they would dance together until they found other partners. I believe she met her future husband John at such a dance. He was a large- boned, handsome farm boy with a big smile and they were married on August 25, 1941. In February 1942, John was drafted and after basic training in St. Petersburg, Florida, he spent his war service as a tailgunner on a bomber in the Airforce. He flew 35 combat missions before he was discharged in September 1944.
After the war, Jean and John settled near his family in Brown county, Kansas and farmed. They rented land at first, and had no indoor plumbing in the early years, but through hard work they became successful farmers planting crops and raising livestock on their own land. In addition to pulling her weight on the farm, Jean owned and operated Jean's Beauty Shop in Muscotah for years.
The Muscotah United Church and their family were the combined spiritual and social center of their lives. Jean and John raised two children on their farm and in their later years they travelled to Europe, wintered in the Southwest and enjoyed their grandchildren. Jean was a member of the Red Hatters Club and she and John were members of the Good Sam's Camping CLub and the Our Gang Travel Group and they enjoyed square dancing.
Jean passed away on May 7, 2008 at the Tri-County Manor in Horton, Kansas. She was survived by her daughter, Janet (Bill) Kemp of Valley Center, Kansas; son, Michael Gaskell, of Horton, Kansas and two brothers, Don Burkett of Shawnee Mission, Kansas and Dale Burkett of McMinnville, Oregon; four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Burial was at the Kennekuk Cemetery on May 12, 2008.
Jean loved to dance and twice a week she would go with her older brother, Don, to dances where they would dance together until they found other partners. I believe she met her future husband John at such a dance. He was a large- boned, handsome farm boy with a big smile and they were married on August 25, 1941. In February 1942, John was drafted and after basic training in St. Petersburg, Florida, he spent his war service as a tailgunner on a bomber in the Airforce. He flew 35 combat missions before he was discharged in September 1944.
After the war, Jean and John settled near his family in Brown county, Kansas and farmed. They rented land at first, and had no indoor plumbing in the early years, but through hard work they became successful farmers planting crops and raising livestock on their own land. In addition to pulling her weight on the farm, Jean owned and operated Jean's Beauty Shop in Muscotah for years.
The Muscotah United Church and their family were the combined spiritual and social center of their lives. Jean and John raised two children on their farm and in their later years they travelled to Europe, wintered in the Southwest and enjoyed their grandchildren. Jean was a member of the Red Hatters Club and she and John were members of the Good Sam's Camping CLub and the Our Gang Travel Group and they enjoyed square dancing.
Jean passed away on May 7, 2008 at the Tri-County Manor in Horton, Kansas. She was survived by her daughter, Janet (Bill) Kemp of Valley Center, Kansas; son, Michael Gaskell, of Horton, Kansas and two brothers, Don Burkett of Shawnee Mission, Kansas and Dale Burkett of McMinnville, Oregon; four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Burial was at the Kennekuk Cemetery on May 12, 2008.
Jean's first name was Doris but she was always known by her middle name Jean. She was the second child of William Lafayette and Erma May Watson Burkett. She lived in Iola until 1937 when the family moved to Kansas City. There Jean briefly attended Wyandotte High School until her mother took her out of school to go to "Beauty College" and to work alongside her in her Beauty shop in Westport, K.C., Missouri.
Jean loved to dance and twice a week she would go with her older brother, Don, to dances where they would dance together until they found other partners. I believe she met her future husband John at such a dance. He was a large- boned, handsome farm boy with a big smile and they were married on August 25, 1941. In February 1942, John was drafted and after basic training in St. Petersburg, Florida, he spent his war service as a tailgunner on a bomber in the Airforce. He flew 35 combat missions before he was discharged in September 1944.
After the war, Jean and John settled near his family in Brown county, Kansas and farmed. They rented land at first, and had no indoor plumbing in the early years, but through hard work they became successful farmers planting crops and raising livestock on their own land. In addition to pulling her weight on the farm, Jean owned and operated Jean's Beauty Shop in Muscotah for years.
The Muscotah United Church and their family were the combined spiritual and social center of their lives. Jean and John raised two children on their farm and in their later years they travelled to Europe, wintered in the Southwest and enjoyed their grandchildren. Jean was a member of the Red Hatters Club and she and John were members of the Good Sam's Camping CLub and the Our Gang Travel Group and they enjoyed square dancing.
Jean passed away on May 7, 2008 at the Tri-County Manor in Horton, Kansas. She was survived by her daughter, Janet (Bill) Kemp of Valley Center, Kansas; son, Michael Gaskell, of Horton, Kansas and two brothers, Don Burkett of Shawnee Mission, Kansas and Dale Burkett of McMinnville, Oregon; four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Burial was at the Kennekuk Cemetery on May 12, 2008.
Jean loved to dance and twice a week she would go with her older brother, Don, to dances where they would dance together until they found other partners. I believe she met her future husband John at such a dance. He was a large- boned, handsome farm boy with a big smile and they were married on August 25, 1941. In February 1942, John was drafted and after basic training in St. Petersburg, Florida, he spent his war service as a tailgunner on a bomber in the Airforce. He flew 35 combat missions before he was discharged in September 1944.
After the war, Jean and John settled near his family in Brown county, Kansas and farmed. They rented land at first, and had no indoor plumbing in the early years, but through hard work they became successful farmers planting crops and raising livestock on their own land. In addition to pulling her weight on the farm, Jean owned and operated Jean's Beauty Shop in Muscotah for years.
The Muscotah United Church and their family were the combined spiritual and social center of their lives. Jean and John raised two children on their farm and in their later years they travelled to Europe, wintered in the Southwest and enjoyed their grandchildren. Jean was a member of the Red Hatters Club and she and John were members of the Good Sam's Camping CLub and the Our Gang Travel Group and they enjoyed square dancing.
Jean passed away on May 7, 2008 at the Tri-County Manor in Horton, Kansas. She was survived by her daughter, Janet (Bill) Kemp of Valley Center, Kansas; son, Michael Gaskell, of Horton, Kansas and two brothers, Don Burkett of Shawnee Mission, Kansas and Dale Burkett of McMinnville, Oregon; four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Burial was at the Kennekuk Cemetery on May 12, 2008.
