Dorothy E. Kirkpatrick

Dorothy Elaine (Towner) Kirkpatrick passed away peacefully in Sedalia, Missouri, on the evening of December 25, 2025. Dorothy was born August 17, 1931, in Ransom, Kansas. Her family relocated to Sedalia, Missouri in 1936, after having experienced the dust bowl in her hometown of Ness City, Kansas. Dorothy graduated from Smith Cotton High School in 1949 and attended Central Missouri State College.

Dorothy was introduced to her future husband by her brother John Towner. She married Dr. Chester A. Kirkpatrick on January 18, 1952, and enjoyed 71 years of marriage together.

Before she devoted herself to raising a family, Dorothy worked for eight years for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Sedalia, Missouri, first as a telephone operator and later as a service representative assisting with the conversion to dial phones. She continued to work for Southwestern Bell in San Antonio, Texas, during the time her husband was stationed in the Army at Brook Army Hospital.

Dorothy served as a member of the Helen G. Steele Music Club, the Osage Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sedalia Dinner Club and the American Red Cross Board. She was the charter Treasurer of the Heber Hunt Elementary P.T.A. She was baptized at Calvary Baptist Church in 1940 and was a member of First Baptist Church for over seventy years.

Dorothy enjoyed singing in the Church choir and serving as the Church Music Librarian, the Pre-School Music Director, the Church Wedding Coordinator and a Sunday School teacher in the Youth Department.

Dorothy had too many hobbies to count, but most significantly, she loved to sew, meticulously traced the Kirkpatrick and Towner family roots and recorded current family activities through her love of photography. Her greatest passion was, however, attending her children’s and grandchildren’s school activities, recitals and athletic events.

Dorothy Kirkpatrick was preceded in death by her husband Chester Kirkpatrick, her parents Raymond Towner and Etta (Zuehlke) Towner, her brothers Vernon Towner and John Towner, and her son-in-law Jim Foster.

She is survived by her children Glen (Lori) Kirkpatrick of Parkville, Missouri, Karla Foster of Jefferson City, Missouri and Don (Shelly) Kirkpatrick of Leawood, Kansas. Dorothy was blessed with eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 2, 2026, at First Baptist Church, Sedalia with Rev. Jeremiah Greever officiating. Visitation will commence at 10:00 a.m. and will continue until service time at the Church. Pallbearers will be Wade Foster, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Billy Kirkpatrick, Aaron Hausman, Lucas Mundell, Josh Ferguson and James Mattern. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the First Baptist Church, Sedalia, Missouri, The Helen G. Steele Music Club Endowment Fund or the Osage Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in care of Heckart Funeral Home.