Annita PauLette Huff

Annita PauLette (Bentz) Huff

OCTOBER 14, 1944 ~ SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 (AGE 74)

Salina, KS – Annita PauLette Huff, 74 of Salina, Kansas passed away Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at Midland Hospice House in Topeka, KS. 

She was born October 14, 1944 to Paul and Magdalene Bentz in Tampa, KS.    She graduated from Tampa High School in 1962 as valedictorian.  She married Gene Kickhaefer in 1963 and made their home farming outside Herington, KS where they raised three children Gina, Kevin and Lisa.   She cared deeply about her children and ensured that each had a strong foundation in Christ.   Annita was active in the church, community, PTA and co-ran Mister Apparel  with her brother in law, Pete Schultz.  

She always had a desire for higher education and left the farm in 1983.    She remarried Jim Huff in 1987 while in Salina but, unfortunately, Jim passed within their first year of marriage due to lung cancer.    Annita focused her attention after Jim’s passing on pursuing her undergraduate and master’s from Kansas State University.    She loved working with students and used her degrees to help run Kansas State University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and Washburn University’s financial aid departments.   She was a fiercely dedicated employee and believed that everyone, no matter their financial means, deserved a higher education.   Professionally, she found her greatest joy helping these individuals finance their education and spoke throughout the state and country educating high school students on how to finance their college education.  Annita had the honor of serving as President of KASFAA (Kansas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators), 2002 – 2003.

Annita’s favorite past times were playing piano, sewing, cooking, gardening, enjoying concerts, traveling throughout the world and supporting her church.    Most important to Annita was her family.  In her own words, Annita wrote in 2003, “I know that Daddy and Mom were able to instill in each of us the dedication, trust, loyalty, and unconditional love that you see and feel when we get together as a family.  We did not have much in the material sense as we grew up on a farm in the remote rural area of Marion County, KS, but we were given the important sense of family and a faith in God that has helped us through many tragedies.  I am very proud to see that we have passed this connection of family to our children and now to our grandchildren.  We have dedicated ourselves to making sure family knows family and that we are there for one another in times of great or small needs.”

She wanted all to know that she commits herself to God’s care, secure in his love for her and trusting in the salvation obtained for her through Christ’s suffering and death.   She leaves those who survive her with the comfort of knowing that she has died in this faith and have now joined her Lord in eternal glory.   She commends her loved ones to the protecting arm of God, knowing that He will continue to provide for them despite her absence; and she encourages them to place their faith and trust in him alone. 

Annita is survived by her children Gina Kennedy, Kevin Kickhaefer, Lisa Curran and 6 grand children and 1 great grandchild and her loving sisters Marilyn Keeler, Rosalie Lorson, Gloria Schultz.  

Annita was preceded in death by her loving husband, Jim Huff; mother, Magdalene; father, Paul; and brother, Myron Bentz.

A closed casket visitation, celebrating Annita’s life with family and friends will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 PM, Thursday, September 19th at Yazel-Megli-Zeiner Funeral Home in Herington, KS.  Annita’s funeral service will be on September 20th at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Tampa KS, starting at 2:30 pm with light dinner following the burial.   Memorial contributions may be made to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Tampa, KS, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) or Midland Care Hospice House, Topeka, KS; and they may be sent to Yazel-Megli-Zeiner Funeral Home, 404 S. Broadway, Herington, KS, 67449-3038.