Verbena Siskey

Verbena June Siskey, 91, Atchison, KS, passed away Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at Medicalodges Atchison.

Mass of Christian burial will be on Friday, May 23, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Church with Fr. Luke Turner, OSB as celebrant. Burial will follow in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. A visitation will be on Friday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. with a rosary to follow at 10:15 a.m. prior to mass at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be left to St. Benedict Catholic School or Trinity Lutheran School in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home.

Verbena was born on November 1, 1933, in Carona, KS, the first child of Joseph Jr. and Clara (Calso) Omeck. She graduated from Crawford Community High School in 1951 and attended Kansas State Teachers College (Pittsburg State) for two years while working as a switchboard operator to fund her education.

After college in 1953, she began teaching 1st grade in Scammon, KS. She taught there for the next two school years until May 1955 and on August 13, 1955, Verbena married Albert R. Siskey in West Mineral, KS.

The newlyweds moved to Atchison, KS that same year and began their life together; teaching, traveling, raising a family and caring for grandchildren forever more. After several years she returned to school and received her Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1970 from Mount Saint Scholastica College (St. Benedict's). Immediately after, she began teaching kindergarten at Martin East Grade School and taught there for the next 21 years. During this time, she also completed her Master's in Education from Kansas State University.

For fun, Verbena was a talented seamstress and fashioned her own dresses and other clothing for the family. She also stitched clothing for her barbie doll collection and enjoyed collecting them immensely. She enjoyed her neighborhood bridge club that routinely met and rotated between each couple's homes for several decades.

Verbena and her husband were active in Square Dancing and participated in many group events in Atchison and throughout Kansas. They both enjoyed traveling and spent the retirement "go-go" years doing just that. She served as an officer in Junior Guild Association and volunteered her time at the Atchison Visitor Center and the Sacred Heart Variety Store for many years.

Survivors include her brother Kenneth Omeck (Sue) of Cherokee, KS, three children, Tina (Steven) Pahls, Kansas City, MO, Timothy (Diane) Siskey, Kansas City, MO, Mary Siskey Liggett, Atchison, KS, grandchildren Michelle and Timothy Jr Siskey; Derrick, Dale and Danielle Pahls; Hannah Liggett and Halee (Liggett) Lee, great-grandsons Gavin and Kaden Pahls; Louie Siskey and Emmett Lee.

Verbena was preceded in death by her husband, parents, infant sister Nancy, son-in-law, Loren Liggett and infant great-grandson Logan Siskey.