Velma Jean Firth

Velma J. Firth Velma J. Firth, age 82, resident of Kansas City, Missouri, passed away on Thursday, June 16, 2011 at the Golden Age Nursing Home in Braymer, Missouri. Velma was born daughter of Clarence and Ruth (Towne) Firth on April 10, 1929 in Cowgill, Missouri. She attended Cowgill School through her junior year and graduated from Braymer High School in 1947. She graduated from Central Missouri State College Warrensburg, Missouri with a Bachelors degree in Business in 1951. Velma then did her graduate work in business administration at the University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri, in Kansas City, Missouri and at George Washington University in Washington D.C. She also took training courses in management and administration provided by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Social Security Administration, the Civil Service Commission and Brookings Institute. Velma worked for the Department of the Treasury as a stenographer; she also worked for the Department of Health and Welfare, Social Security Administration. She started as a stenographer, held various positions with in the Social Security Administration. When she retired she was the Assistant Regional Commissioner of Kansas City. Once Velma retired, she Delivered meals on Wheels for 30 years, she was the owner of a custom framing shop, and she prepared income tax returns for a tax return company. Velma was a member of the North Gate Baptist Church, Gladstone Missouri and served as a Deacon of her church for many years. She was one of the first 25 individuals selected to participate in newly established executive development program in the Social Security Administration. She was awarded the Commissioner's Citation, the highest honor awarded in the Social Security Administration. She was honored by Central Missouri State College as one of its 100 outstanding living graduates, one of fourteen so honored by the School of Business and Economics. She also received the Mid-Continent Federal Regional Council Award in observance of International Women's Year, for contributions in the field of income maintenance. Velma loved to travel, and traveled all over the United States, Canada and most of Europe. Some of her recent travels included Australia, Peru, Malaysia, the Peoples Republic of China, Africa, Ecuador, Guadalupe. She enjoyed photography, bird-watching, hand crafts, and gardening. She loved spending time with her many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews. Velma is survived by her brother Ralph Firth of Cowgill, Missouri; niece Denise Evans of Mound City, Missouri, nephew Dennis Firth and wife Sheila of Cowgill, Missouri; several great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews. A service will be held at Cowgill Baptist Church, Cowgill, Missouri on Tuesday, June 21, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. Burial will be at the Cowgill Cemetery in Cowgill, Missouri. A family visitation is scheduled for Monday, June 20, 2011 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the North Gate Baptist Church, Gladstone, Missouri with a memorial service beginning at 7:00 p.m. Friends may call at the Pitts Funeral Home in Braymer, Missouri on Sunday, June 19, 2011 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to North Gate Baptist Church or Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary and may be left at the funeral home or mailed to Pitts Funeral Home, P.O. Box 47, Chillicothe, Missouri 64601. Online condolences may be left at www.lindleyfuneralhome.com . Arrangements are under the direction of the Pitts Funeral Home, Braymer, Missouri.