ARDIS LOREE (BURNIDGE) DRISKILL

Ardis Loree (Burnidge) Driskill, 90, of Liberty, Mo., passed away on Sunday, June 21, 2015 at her home after recently being diagnosed with leukemia. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2015 at 10 a.m. at Second Baptist Church in Liberty followed by a private burial at Richmond Memory Gardens in Richmond, Mo. Visitation will be Friday, June 26, 2015 at Second Baptist in Liberty from 5-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to InAsMuch Ministries, Liberty, Mo; Second Baptist Church, Liberty, Mo; and/or Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Shawnee, Kan.

Ardis was born July 24, 1924 in Midwest, Wyo. to Merrill and Gladys (Eriksen) Burnidge. She was preceded in death by her parents, twin brother, Ardin C. (A.C.), and sister, Joan. The family lived in North Dakota, Texas, Kansas, and Missouri before settling in North Kansas City in 1932. She graduated salutatorian from North Kansas City High School in 1942, where she was a member of National Honor Society and was named Yearbook Queen and Premier Roll. Ardis then attended Park College from 1942-1945, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Education. She later attended graduate school at the University of Kansas, where she met her husband, S.D. Driskill, while studying at the library. The couple married in June of 1948 in North Kansas City. After living briefly in Colorado, while S.D. obtained his degree from Colorado A&M, the family returned to Missouri, making Richmond their home in Februrary1952.

Ardis taught History and English in Marion, Kan. from 1946-1948, and in Hardin, Mo. from 1956-1961, where she was also yearbook advisor. She taught one year at the Sunnyside School in Elkhorn, Mo. from 1955-1956. Ardis finished her teaching career in Richmond, Mo., teaching American History from 1962-1972. During this time at Richmond High School, she was also yearbook advisor and Student Council sponsor. In 1972, Ardis made a career change and joined S.D. in the insurance and real estate business in Richmond and the surrounding areas. S.D. preceded Ardis in death on July 12, 1989 but she continued the business until 2001, when she moved to Liberty.

In recent years, Ardis was an active member at the Second Baptist Church of Liberty. Previous to that, she had been a member at the First Baptist Church in North Kansas City and Richmond.

Over the course of her lifetime, Ardis was involved in many organizations and groups, including the Ray County Library Board, Ray County Historical Society, PEO, American Association of University Women (AAUW), and Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She was also a trustee at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar from 1988-1992 and 2000-2004 and a volunteer at InAsMuch Ministries from 2002-2015.

Survivors include son Roger and his wife Anna, of Liberty and granddaughters Jennifer of Houston, Texas, and Susan and her husband Brandt Leitze of Redondo Beach, Calif.; son David and his wife Marcy, of Kansas City, Mo., granddaughter Betsy Yates and great-grandchildren Hallie and Conrad Yates, all of West Des Moines, Iowa, and granddaughter Nancy of Kansas City, Mo.; son John and his wife Marcia, and grandsons Aaron and Ethan, all of Houston, Texas; and many nieces and nephews.