Judith (Judy) Eilene (Willems) Kilp
June 17, 1936 - May 4, 2024
Judith (Judy) Eilene (Willems) Kilp, formerly of Harrisonville, passed away at Anthology, Olathe, KS, May 4, 2024, at the age of 87. Cremation and interment will be at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Higginsville, at a later date. She was born June 17, 1936, to Henry R. Willems and Mary S. (Zehr) Willems in Marshall. Judy was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Jeanne (Willems) Young and Von Ceile Willems; and her brother, Donald (Bobbie) Willems. Judy is survived by her husband, Robert Kilp, along with her three children, Robin (John) Harwell, David (Tambie) Kilp, and Sarah (Tony) Welhoff. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Sadie Welhoff, Hannah Welhoff (Mathew Bartlett) and Cassidy Harwell (Ben Smith), as well as many nieces and nephews.
Judy graduated from Marshall High School in 1954, then attended William Woods Junior College and Kansas University where she graduated in 1958 with a degree in Business Education. Judy married Robert Kilp, also a graduate of Marshall High School, in 1960. Judy taught typing, shorthand and bookkeeping at Leeton High School and O’Hara High School before becoming a secretary, bookkeeper, payroll specialist, and office manager at Brookside Realty, Dales Welding, Cass County Disposal, and Harrisonville surgeon Dr. D’Souza. She finished her career in HR at Honeywell, retiring in 1997. She also taught adult business education classes at Cass Career Center. Judy was a member of First Christian Church of Marshall and First Christian Church of Harrisonville where she was a board member and church treasurer.
Judy was an excellent cook and was famous for her homemade cherry pies with her homegrown cherries, her rolls and French bread. She enjoyed teaching her grandchildren how to bake. She was also a talented seamstress and sewed most of her daughters’ clothes when they were small. She was an avid gardener, both of vegetables and flowers, and filled her freezers with fresh produce. Her back terrace was a sight to see with the tiers of flowers that she lovingly attended. Judy volunteered at her grandchildren’s school throughout their attendance and was named Volunteer of the Year. Her favorite thing to do after she retired was to make handcrafted cards, often in collaboration with her niece Karolyn Caldwell. All her family and her church family received many of her creations over the years. Judy loved the arts, whether it was attending a classical ballet or listening to many hours of classical music. She never missed an opportunity to enjoy a museum or a live music performance. Her favorite place was the library as she was an avid reader and a book club attendee. Good grammar was “important”, and she proofread many papers and even an autobiography of a former employer. She would often tell friends and loved ones “books are our friends,” and took her children for many years to the book mobile and local library. Judy’s greatest source of pride was watching her three children and three grandchildren become adults and build families and lives of their own.
If you would like to honor Judy’s memory, please donate to the Harrisonville Public School Foundation or to Cass County Public Library. She would also be very happy if you sent a card to a loved one or simply made time to read a good book.
