Darlene ("Dolly") Jane Warkentin Seibel, beloved wife of Wallace (Wally) Seibel who preceded her in death, and beloved mother of sons Steven and Gregory, passed away on July 11, 2024 at the age of eighty-seven after several months of living with a heart condition and colon cancer.

Darlene was born on May 27, 1937 to John J. Warkentin and Bertha Kliewer Warkentin in Inman KS.  She graduated from Inman High School in 1955, and then attended Bethel College and the associated nursing program at Bethel Deaconess Hospital, where she obtained her Registered Nurse certification.  She then went to Portland Oregon where she continued her nursing education and career, obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of Oregon.

Darlene returned to Kansas and married Wallace in 1965.  The couple began living in Wichita, but soon moved to Oklahoma and then Maryland as Wallace pursued an advanced degree in mathematics.  "Dolly" especially enjoyed her time working at the National Institute of Health in Bethseda Maryland, where she witnessed a great variety of cutting-edge medical research.  After the couple returned to Wichita, Darlene began a long nursing career at Wesley hospital, working in the coronary intensive care unit where she saw many changes in the state of the art of heart medicine. She paused her nursing career when her two sons Steven and Gregory were born, and then resumed by working nights on a part-time basis as her children approached school age.  She continued this schedule throughout her nursing career until her retirement from Wesley -- all her friends and family knew that she was a "night owl".

Darlene loved spending time with her husband and sons, and with her extended family.  She was very close to her brothers and sisters, and when her parents were still living there would always be family gatherings at their childhood home in Inman.  Her life revolved around giving to others. She provided a loving home to her husband and sons.  With her medical knowledge from her long nursing career, Darlene gave tremendous assistance to neighbors and family members with medical issues, especially her sister Glennis who had a series of ailments later in life.  Darlene was active in the Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church where she helped with the food bank program and the library, and later in life, with the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.  Other pleasures included keeping vegetable and flower gardens, and keeping company with the latest of a long string of family cats.

Both Wallace and Darlene tremendously valued education and passed this value on to their sons. In addition to formal schooling, extended cross-country car trips for family vacations were a time of much learning as well as enjoyment.

Darlene was preceded in death by her parents John Warkentin and Bertha Kliewer Warkentin, and by her brothers and sisters Leroy Warkentin, John Warkentin, Glennis ("Nan") Nemcovsky, Jolene Cross, Norma Jean Warkentin who died early in childhood, and by her beloved husband Wallace.  She is survived by her sons Steven and Gregory.  She is dearly missed.

The family will have a memorial service for both Darlene and Wallace on Sunday September 14, 2025 at the Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church in Wichita at 2 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to the Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church, the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, or to another charitable organization of your choice.