IN MEMORIAM
EXPANDED EULOGIES
Delores Dalke
Funeral service for longtime Hillsboro mayor Delores Mae Dalke, 82, who passed away and was reunited with her husband on their 61st wedding anniversary May 12, 2023, at the Hillsboro Community Hospital, will be 11 a.m. on Friday, May 19, 2023, at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church, 1498 Kanza Rd.
Pastor Gaylord Goertzen will officiate. Delores will be laid to rest at Ebenfeld Cemetery.
Family members will gather to greet friends 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 18, 2023, at Yazel-Megli Funeral Home, Hillsboro.
Delores was born April 24, 1941, in Enid, Oklahoma, to Julius and Martha (Rempel) Penner.
She attended school in Hillsboro until her senior year, when her family moved to Wichita. She graduated from Wichita North High School.
She attended both Friends University and Tabor College while studying for a math degree.
Delores married John Foster Dalke on May 12, 1962, at First Mennonite Brethren Church, Wichita. Together with their three children, they made a home in Hillsboro.
Delores was very involved in her community. She was mayor of Hillsboro for 27 years, president of the Hillsboro Chamber, and sat on the Hillsboro City Council.
Delores started the Real Estate Center in 1978. In 1986, she was a founding member of the Hillsboro Community Foundation. Delores was president of the Kansas Association of Realtors in 2003.
Delores was a strong member of Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church, where she acted as the church treasurer. She participated in Bible school and was a Sunday school teacher.
Delores loved to stay busy and involved in the community, but she never let that get in the way of her family. Delores could be found spending time with her children and grandchildren and never missed a sporting event or school activity.
She was a great, self-taught cook and always made sure everyone had plenty of food.
Delores’ greatest joy was her loving family, which includes sons Mark (and wife Pat) Dalke of Hillsboro and Matt (and wife Jamey) Dalke of Chapman; grandchildren Tyler Dalke and Reagan Dalke; step- grandchildren Ashley Thornhill and Mike Massari; and brother Ray Penner of Valley Center.
She is preceded in death by husband John, parents Julius and Martha, son John, and sister Karen Penner.
Memorial contributions in Delores’ name may be directed to Hillsboro Community Foundation.
Yazel-Megli Funeral Home, Hillsboro, is serving the family.
Please sign her online guestbook and leave a memory of Delores at www.yazelmeglifh.com.