Wanda Culbertson

Wanda M. (Atkins) Culbertson, a longtime resident of Bartlesville, OK, died Thursday, July 29, 2010 in Centennial, Colorado. July 29 was significant because it was her deceased husband's birth date and she longed to be reunited with him. A native of Kansas, she was born November 22, 1916 and grew up in the Manhattan, KS area. Wanda was baptized at First Christian Church, Manhattan, KS, under the ministry of the Rev. Dr. J. David Arnold, minister of that church for many years. She graduated from Manhattan High School and attended Kansas State University where she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. She and W. LeRoy Culbertson met at Kansas State and were married September 29, 1940. They made their first home in Oklahoma City, OK, where they were members of Crown Heights Christian Church. In 1943 they moved to Bartlesville, OK, and joined First Christian Church where they were members until their deaths. Both served as elders of that congregation and in many leadership capacities including chairman of the Administrative Board. Mrs. Culbertson served two separate terms as chairman. Mr. Culbertson was teacher of the New Life Adult class. At the time of Mr. Culbertson's death in 1980, he was Senior Vice-President of Phillips Petroleum Company. Mrs. Culbertson has served on many of the congregation's divisions, including president of Christian Women's Fellowship. In the denominational church, Mrs. Culbertson completed Mr. Culbertson's term of office on the Corporation Board of National City Christian Church, Washington, DC, and then served an additional term. One of the pillars at National City Christian Church is dedicated to Mr. Culbertson. In the Bartlesville community, Mrs. Culbertson was named Woman of the Year (1979) by the American Association of University Women (Bartlesville Branch) and Woman of the Year by the Bartlesville Auxiliary of the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers (1982). She also served as the Southwestern Region Vice President of OSPE-A. She was named Volunteer of the Year by the Women and Children in Crisis in 1986 and served two terms on the WCC Board. She was honored with the Order of the Pearl for service to Kappa Delta Sorority and was a member of the White Rose Circle, indicating fifty years of membership. In addition, she was a member of the Bartlesville Service League and Chapter ED, P.E.O. Through the years she served on the boards of the American Red Cross (Washington County Chapter), Jane Phillips Hospital Auxiliary, Bartlesville Symphony Society and Bartlesville Choral Society. Until her move to Colorado, Mrs. Culbertson attended the annual Engineering Banquet at Kansas State University where the W. LeRoy Culbertson Steel Ring Leadership Scholarship is presented to a deserving student. Over the years, she maintained regular contact with many of the scholarship recipients. Mrs. Culbertson remained active in her church and Bible studies. Until her death, she continued to correspond with hundreds of friends and family around the world, hand-writing cards and letters of support, sympathy and encouragement. On the day she died, she made a contribution to one of her favorite charities, wrote a sympathy card to a friend, and was most concerned to complete her mail-in ballot to cast her vote for the primary elections in Colorado. Mrs. Culbertson was preceded in death by her loving husband, LeRoy, and also by three brothers, three sisters, two nieces, and one nephew. She is survived by her son, Philip, of Palm Springs, CA; her son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Carol of Centennial, CO; granddaughter, Katie (Jim) Schmidt of Seattle, WA; grandson, Jacob of Davis, CA; sister-in-law, Helen Atkins, Ames, IA; nephew, Mel (Ann) Atkins, Bartlesville, OK; nephew, Roger (Doris) Brannan, Manhattan, KS; niece, Mary Virginia (Bill) Lyles, College Station, TX; nephew, Larry (Barbara) Atkins, Houston, TX; niece, Mary Kay (Roger) Kolb, Cedar Rapids, IA; niece, Barbara Atkins, Ames, IA; and nephew, Steve (Susan) Atkins, Chicago, IL. Mrs. Culbertson also claimed as her son, Akira (Yukiko) Yamazaki, of Tokyo, Japan, their AFS exchange student in 1960-61. She was very proud of all of her great-nieces and nephews and attended many graduation ceremonies and weddings for her family over the years. At the time of her death, Mrs. Culbertson was living at The Johnson Center at Christian Living Communities in Centennial, CO. A funeral service will be held at First Christian Church, Bartlesville, OK, on Friday, August 6, at 10:30 a.m., Rev. Dennis Voth officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to First Christian Church, PO Box 1177, Bartlesville, OK 74005-1177. Arrangements are under the direction of the Neekamp-Luginbuel Funeral Home. Online condolences may be left at www.honoringmemories.com.

Service Details

Friday, August 6th, 2010 10:30am, First Christian Church - Bartlesville