1943-2024
Bess was an attentive caretaker and warm hostess, always looking to ease your stress with shoulder massages given by her strong physical therapist hands, inviting families for a home-cooked dinner and special chocolate cake, and always desiring for you to know the love of Jesus through her service. Bess Kingsbury Wadleigh, 81, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, died in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 5, 2024.
Bess is preceded in death by her parents, husband C. Donald Morse, sisters Anna Ruth Kingsbury, Mary Esther Fox, brothers John Robert Kingsbury and James (Jim) Edward Kingsbury. She is survived by her brother Archie Raymond “Ray” Kingsbury, daughters Cindy Washington, Teresa Ontman, Jeanette (Cody) Nusbaum, 11 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and many nephews and nieces.
She was born February 24, 1943, in New Underwood, South Dakota, to Raymond George Kingsbury and Mary Irene (Mullin) Kingsbury, who taught Bess and her siblings by example how to love and serve others. Her father Raymond was a circuit-riding Methodist minister in the communities of Lakeside and Elm Springs, South Dakota. Her mother Mary was a teacher at various public schools in South Dakota before she finished her career as principal of Okaton High School. Her parents were full of faith, hard workers, welcoming hosts, and encouraged their daughters to pursue higher education, which all of their children did. Bess graduated from Rapid City High School before studying Physical Therapy at University of Colorado Boulder. Years later, she worked as a Physical Therapist at DePaul Hospital (later known as Cheyenne Regional Medical Center), first in the hospital, and later for home health and hospice in eastern Laramie County.
Physical therapy was important for Bess’s service to people. She invested herself in caring for people, finding how to ease their pain, and always made friends with her clients. She always enjoyed being personable with people and brought them out through her conversation, humor, and compassion. She prayed for her patients, with them if they wanted, and always believed God heard and answered her prayers for the people she served.
Bess and her husband Dale had three amazing daughters, two of which were born in Alaska and one in South Dakota. The family finally settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in August 1977, where Bess was a homemaker, served in her church, and at her childrens’ school. She was always involved with food whether it was making after church dinners for families to come visit, cooking for the church potlucks or cleaning up after these events, she made meals an event to look forward to.
We must talk about her special chocolate cakes–chocolate cookie sheet cake, triple chocolate cheesecake, chocolate mayonnaise cake, chocolate zucchini cake, and Black Forest chocolate ice cream cake with homemade hot fudge drizzle. Bess’ special chocolate cakes were a new creation every time and could not be limited to just one part being described as chocolate. She made three to four levels of chocolate saturation. It
would be under-represented if it was simply called “chocolate cake”–the batter was chocolate, making it the place to hold large melting chocolate chips, and kept alive by a lifeblood of gooey chocolate icing poured over it, topped with sprinkles, and sometimes paired with chocolate ice cream…The drizzle was so particularly good, that one of their regular guests could no longer control himself and he drank what was left directly from the bowl! Bess got a kick out of this and she would often retell it. The story became a family favorite because it would tickle her all over again when it was retold.
Bess was not limited to baking, of course. She was an experienced seamstress (making wedding dresses, prom dresses, and matching family outfits when we were younger), a hard worker, cleaning the home from top to bottom, scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees, an unbashful hymn-singer, and always teared up when praying (or reading a Janette Oke book aloud to the family during long road trips). She was a strong and constant presence for her family and, like her parents, taught by example.
After years of working as a physical therapist, Bess signed on to be a Mary Kay consultant. She enjoyed building relationships with others on her team as well as with her customers. Her time with Mary Kay was more of a ministry than a career, with some years donating more product than she actually sold. Her heart was definitely in the right place!
Later in life, Bess met Charles Donald Morse through her work as a physical therapist. The unlikely couple married in 1999. Unlikely because Don was quiet and steady and Bess was ever full of conversation and energy. Bess and Don were happily married for 18 years and lived in Egbert, Wyoming, until Don passed away in 2018 at 96 years of age.
Bess and Don were loving and involved grandparents to Cindy’s three children–Jerrell, Deprece, and Chantal; Teresa’s six children–Kalina, JoyNoel, Paul, Luke, Hope, and Titus; and Jeanette’s two children–Jaspur and Kinzley. Bess loved to spend time with her grandchildren, especially when she could cook something delicious for them. She always encouraged playing outside, eating healthy food, and getting enough exercise. And always always, she encouraged showing and living Jesus’s love.
The first celebration of life is June 1, 2024, 11:00 AM at Harvest Baptist Church of Blue Springs, 425 NW R D Mize Rd, Blue Springs, MO 64014. The second celebration of life is June 15, 2024, 11:00 AM at Cheyenne Hills Church, 7505 US Highway 30 Cheyenne, WY 82001.
*If you would like to learn more about the hope Bess had in Christ, His will for your life, and how to be sure where you will go after death, you can talk to one of us or read these verses in the Bible: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, and Romans 10:9.