Obituary of Effie D. Birch

Sedan - Effie D. Birch, 89, fell asleep in Jesus in Loveland, Colorado on July 6, 2013. Effie was born March 10, 1924 in Stanley, New Mexico to Chester J. and Rebecca V. Fisher, pioneers who traveled in a wagon from Oklahoma. She first attended school in Stanley, New Mexico then on to Keene, Texas, where she met Howard Birch. They married ON July 13, 1946 in Stanley, New Mexico. They continued their studies at Union College, Lincoln, Nebraska, graduating with an education degree in 1948. They began their teaching careers in elementary education, molding children's lives in Texas and Missouri. After a few years, they accepted a call to Sunnydale Academy in Centralia, Missouri. While there she prepared meals in the cafeteria and taught Home Economics. Two daughters were born here, Linda and Beverly. In 1965 they moved to Maplewood Academy in Hutchinson, Minnesota, where she taught Home Economics, Typing, and Shorthand. In 1973 the family moved to Georgia Cumberland Academy in Calhoun, Georgia, where she continued teaching until retirement in 1982. They then moved to a home in the country near Sedan, Kansas which had been her parent's home. They kept busy gardening, entertaining family, and many other activities. She was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, influencing many for Jesus, young and old. She shared her Christian faith with the gift of hospitality, and practical skills of sewing and cooking. She may have been best known for her wheat bread, gooey cinnamon rolls, or a handmade blanket. She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard; Brothers, Jack, Leroy, Chester, and Joe. She is survived by a sister, Reba Mooney; Two daughters, Linda and husband, James Lynch; Beverly and husband, Steve Tasche; Grandchildren, J.C. Lynch and Estella Ruggles; Great Grandchildren, Kai Ruggles and Adolyn Ruggles. Funeral Services will be held Friday, July 12, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. at the Sedan Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Burial will follow at the Greenwood Cemetery in Sedan. Family and friends may call Thursday, July 11, 2013 from 12:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the David W. Barnes Funeral Home in Sedan. The family has requested memorials to the Sedan Seventh-Day Adventist Church and can be left in care of the David W. Barnes Funeral Home, 209 N. Douglas, Sedan, Kansas 67361.