MEADE – Leona Maxine DeLissa, age 83, passed away early Wednesday morning, May 9, 2018, at the Truman Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri.

She was born January 17, 1935, at Scott City, Kansas, the daughter of Verla Jay and Zella Leona (Adams) Bishop.  As a young girl, she attended school in Leoti, Kansas, graduating from Wichita County High School in 1953.  Upon her graduation, she made her home in Leoti working as a legal secretary.

On February 14, 1954, she married Leonard A. (Gus) DeLissa at Leoti.  A life-long resident of Southwest Kansas, she and Gus resided in Leoti, Johnson, Lakin, and Meade, Kansas.  At Lakin, she worked as a teacher's aid and kept the books for DeLissa Texaco.  She and Gus moved to Meade in 1978 and purchased DeLissa Ford.  She worked as both bookkeeper and parts person at DeLissa Ford.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church and the Maya Club.  She enjoyed quilting, Bible study, reading, politics, and spending time with her family and friends.

She is survived by a son, Lance DeLissa and wife Sheryl of Meade; a daughter, Janna DeLissa of Leoti; a half-sister, Twila Hartz of Colorado Springs, Colorado; a half-brother, Carl Bishop of Pal Desert, California; three grandsons, Leighton and wife Amy, Levi, and Lelan DeLissa; a great-grandson, Nathan DeLissa; three step-great-grandchildren, Michala, Lauren, and Easton Goff.

She is preceded in death by her husband on September 30, 2010; her parents; two brothers, Jim and Vern J. Bishop; a sister, Mary Cantrell; and a stepbrother, Max Bishop.

A public reception for family and friends will be on Friday from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Meade Estates.  Memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 19, 2018, at the First Baptist Church, Meade.  Cremation has taken place.  Inurnment will follow in the Graceland Cemetery, Meade.

The family would welcome memorials to the Wichita County Community Foundation or the Samaritans Purse in care of Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary, Meade.