Joan Clopton, 101, of Madisonville, Ky., passed away on Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, at Oak Ridge Retirement Center in Madisonville.

Joan Clopton was born Joan Clarke on Aug. 28, 1921, to the late James Ray Clarke and Minnie Petty Clarke. Though she was born on the family farm in Platte County, Mo., she spent her childhood on a ranch in the Flint Hills area of Kansas. Her older brother, George, and younger sisters, Jean and Jane, shared that experience.

Joan attended a one-room schoolhouse, and learned early to drive a car, going into Madison, Kan., where she graduated from high school in 1939. She stayed with the Petty grandparents in Liberty, Mo., where she earned her B.A. at William Jewell College. There, she met Bernard Stutler. Joan and Lt. Bernard L. Stutler were married Oct. 3, 1943. They had two daughters, Linda and Beverly.

Major Bernard L. Stutler died in 1954 at Walter Reed Hospital, where he was treated for cancer. As a widow, Joan lived near family in Liberty, Mo. She taught kindergarten for seven years and later commuted to downtown Kansas City for work in the business world.

She retired in 1983, and in 1984 reconnected with her childhood friend from rural Kansas, Weldon W. Clopton. They married on May 1, 1984. Weldon had a son, Weldon (Skip) Clopton. The couple moved to a farm in Powhattan, Kan. The retirees had a great time there for 10 years before relocating to the retirement community at the West Village of the Apostolic Home in Sabetha. Weldon passed away Jan. 26, 2004.

In Feb. 2023, Joan was hospitalized with complications from COVID and passed away on Feb. 27, 2023, at 101 years young.

She is survived by her two daughters, Linda Stutler Deniz and Beverly Stutler Soria; stepson; seven grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held at a later date at Fairview Cemetery in Liberty, Mo.

The Sabetha Herald 3/15/2023