Mary Beth Argo Collett

It is with great sadness – as well as our collective joy for many fond memories of a life well-lived – that the family of Mary Beth Argo Collett wishes to inform the community of her recent passing. Suffering from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, Beth was most recently a resident at St. Luke’s Living Center in Marion, Kansas, where she died on Wednesday, December 14, 2022.  Born on May 24, 1931 to Ethel & Sam Spinden of rural Burns, Kansas, Beth graduated from Burns High School and attended El Dorado Junior College and Emporia State Teachers College where she obtained her teaching certificate in 1952. Following certification she taught fifth grade in Leon before becoming a third grade teacher at Skelly elementary school in El Dorado until her three children (David, Nancy and Don) came along. From that time forward, Beth transformed herself into the “All-American Mom” while raising her children along with husband Bob, who was employed at Skelly Refinery. After Bob’s untimely and premature death in 1978, Beth resumed her education career by first working as Library Assistant in El Dorado’s USD 490 grade schools and then later by enrolling at Wichita State University as a fifty-something-year-old student where she successfully obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Education with specific focus on library studies. She then assumed full-time librarian duties in El Dorado schools, and was later named El Dorado’s Middle School Librarian, a role in which Beth served until retiring in 1994. Beth’s retirement and her subsequent relocation from El Dorado to a small farmstead in the Flint Hills east of Marion, Kansas was the result of a totally unexpected, but incredibly fulfilling, second chance at love with Howard Collett, a gentleman farmer with deep family roots along Middle Creek. Beth and Howard got married on December 11, 1992 and recently celebrated their 30^th anniversary. The blended Argo-Collett family has grown to include seven children, twelve grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren.

In addition to her first husband, Bob, Beth was predeceased by father Sam, mother Ethel, sister Ruth, and brothers Bill, Fred & Chalmers. She is survived by son David (Diane) Argo, daughter Nancy Argo, and son Don Argo, sons Randy (Rachel) Collett and Keith (Ann) Collett, daughters Collette (Rick) Erickson and Melinda (Martin) Gravenstein, sister June (Gene) Countryman, brother John (Rita) Spinden, and a multitude of blended family members who will try to emulate her kind-hearted spirit and outward affection towards others. Visitation with the family is scheduled for Saturday, December 17 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at Yazel-Megli Funeral Home in Marion, with private burial to be held at a later date. Memorial contributions in her name may be directed to the Alzheimer’s Association, USD490 Partners in Education, Marion City Library or Bradford Memorial Library.  Please sign her online guestbook and leave a memory of Beth at www.yazelmeglifh.com.