Ethel Sparks
- schaeffers
- Apr 23
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 29
Ethel Faye Sparks, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. She was 98 years old.
Born on November 7, 1926, to Malcom and Olive (Hunter) McEachern, Ethel grew up on a farm most of her childhood, and then in the town of Caldwell, Kansas, surrounded by a large family of 14 brothers and sisters. After completing the 8th grade, she dedicated herself to helping raise her younger siblings, always putting family first.
On December 1, 1948, Ethel married Elmer Sparks. Together, they built a life rooted in love, hard work, and family. During Elmer’s service in the Marines, they briefly lived at Camp Pendleton in California, but Caldwell remained home for the rest of their lives.
Ethel was a true farm girl at heart, who fondly remembered her days of horseback riding and rural life. A devoted homemaker, she and Elmer raised four children: Kathy, Sandra, Steven, and Michael. Ethel had a vibrant spirit, a quick laugh, and a love for westerns, books, and magazines. Her home was always filled with warmth, stories, and the simple joys of everyday life.
Ethel was preceded in death by her husband Elmer, her daughter Kathy Sadler, her son Steven Sparks, her parents, and 13 of her siblings.
She is survived by her daughter Sandra Church and her husband Gerald of Wichita, Kansas; her son Michael Sparks and his wife Brenda of Caldwell, Kansas; her sister Jean Reeves of Colorado; her grandchildren Matthew Sadler and wife Sandra of Texas, Chance Sparks of Caldwell, and Leah Sparks-Eakes and husband Isaac Eakes of Caldwell; Gerald Church Jr. and wife Erica of Wichita; Sam Church and wife Jennifer of Caldwell; and her great-grandchildren Brynlee and Isla Eakes, Brittany and Gerald Church III, Aubyn and Olivia Church, and two great-great-grandchildren.
Ethel’s legacy is one of love, strength, and family — values she lived by and passed on to the generations who follow her. She will be dearly missed and forever remembered.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, May 2, 2025 at the Caldwell City Cemetery, Caldwell, Kansas.
Memorials may be made to USD # 360 General Fund and sent in care of the mortuary.
She was also preceded in death by Beverly Collins, who was engaged multiple times to Steven Sparks and loved Ethel like a mother. And I, Sasha Islam, knew Ethel and Elmer as grandparents most of my life. I'm sad she is gone, but hopefully now at peace. Ethel lived nearly a century, she'll be missed and remembered for generations to come.