Maxine R. Hammerli

Maxine Ruhr Hammerli completed her earthly pilgrimage at Good Shepard Hospice House in Manhattan, Kansas on September 3,2017. She was the younger of twin daughters born to Rudolph Herbert and Edith Mae (Smith) Ruhr on April 18, 1921 in Portland, Oregon where her father was a landscape designer. She defied the odds by surviving to age 96, starting as a two-pound preemie with little chance of survival. The Ruhr family returned to Wichita, Kansas in 1929, and lived there until 1938 when they moved to Clay Center, Kansas. They later moved to Manhattan and then Salina, Kansas.  Maxine graduated from Clay County Community High School in 1939 and worked as a secretary for attorney Frank Meek who also ran an insurance office. During World War II, Maxine ran the insurance office while Mr. Meek served in the Navy. Later she worked for the Holton Recorder newspaper as a typesetter and ad composer.  She was united in marriage to Donald R. Hammerli at the First Presbyterian Church in Clay Center on April 15, 1945. Upon completion of Don’s military service at Ft. Warren, Wyoming and graduations from Kansas State University and McCormick Seminary in Chicago, they followed his callings to serve Presbyterian churches in Oakland, Illinois and the Kansas communities of Phillipsburg, Topeka, Holton, Salina, Hoxie and Wichita. Maxine relocated to Wamego, Kansas in December 2016. They raised four children: Cheryl (Barrett) Brady, Alan (Helen) Hammerli, Janet (Stan)Stowell, and Barbara Hammerli.   As a clergy couple, if Don was the front man, Maxine was the glue that held the busy family together. Active in the congregations they served, she sang in the choir, attended UPW and Bible study, cooked dishes for church suppers and the bereaved, and taught Sunday school. The pursuit of current teaching methods to engage youngsters in Bible stories was a lifelong endeavor and one she relished. At the time of her death shewas a member of Sunrise Presbyterian Church in Salina where she served as elder.   She belonged to Home Extension units and Federated Clubs wherever the family lived. Concurrent with church life, she enjoyed growing tomatoes and flowers, canning grape jelly, serving as 4-H leader, den mother, Campfire and Girl Scout leader, room mother, and always keeping the cookie jar full. Her prowess in baking pies and rolls was legendary. She could stretch a pound of hamburger for a family of six over several days. She sewed to keep her three daughters in Easter finery and fashionable doll clothes. In retirement, she made teddy bears for Hospice.   Maxine is survived by her four children; six grandchildren, Chad (Gina) Hammerli, Angela (David) Swan, Andrew Brady, Laura Brady, Jeffrey (Carol) Stowell, and Julie (Kevin) Turpin; ten great-grandchildren; and one sister, Evelyn (Mel) Stiefel, Topeka, Kansas. Her husband in 2009; her parents; her twin sister, Virginia Esslinger; her sister, Mary Pribyl; and two brothers, Richard and Paul, preceded Maxine in death.  Family graveside services and burial will be held at the Greenwood Cemetery in Clay Center. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to a charity of choice or to the Christian Education program for children at your local church. The family wishes to thank the staff at Vintage Park Assisted Living in Wamego, Kansas for their compassionate care.