Jewell Kiddoo

Major Jewell Bessie Kiddoo Major Jewell Bessie Kiddoo of Owasso, OK, formerly of Neodesha, KS, died Wednesday, November 26, 2008, at the Evergreen Care Center in Owasso. She was 96. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008, at the Grace Baptist Church in Neodesha under the direction of Penwell-Gabel Loran Fawcett Chapel. Pastor Jim Logan will officiate. Interment will be in Neodesha Cemetery. The family will receive friends Saturday from 1-2 p.m. at the Grace Baptist Church. Jewell Bessie Lett was born to Matthew and Lela Lett at Cherryvale, Kansas on June 3, 1912. She was saved at the age of twelve in an Interdenominational Rose Revival Meeting. She was raised in a Christian home by her mother because her father, Matthew, died when she was very young. Her mother gave her a practical faith in God, teaching her that where there is a will, there is a way. She also taught Jewell that God will surely do His part if we do our part and stay true to Him. Following graduation from High School, Jewell attended the Pittsburg State Teachers College for three years receiving a teachers certificate. At the age of eighteen she wondered away from the Lord for about six years. She married Albert Kessner Kiddoo on October 21, 1934. Soon afterward the couple became involved in the Nazarene Church in Coffeyville, Kansas, where they re-dedicated their lives to Christ. This marriage was blessed with three children: Donna Kay, Albert Matthew and Patricia Anne, all born in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He preceded her in death August 12, 2007. In the mid 1940s Jewell became a teacher in the Released Time Bible School program in Coffeyville, Kansas. It was while teaching in this program that she became acquainted with The Salvation Army. They started attending the corps and soon became soldiers and local officers. Soon after this, she felt the call to full time service. In 1949, Jewell and Albert became Envoys and were sent to the St. Joseph, Missouri Corps as assistants and then to the Kansas City 3 Corps in command. In 1951 they entered the School for Officer Training as Cadets in the Intercessors Session. They were commissioned on June 16, 1952, to the rank of Probationary Lieutenant and sent to Topeka, Kansas in command. She was described as one with abundant energy, good experience, a willingness to work, a gifted teacher and especially intelligent in her knowledge of the Bible. Jewell, who played the accordion, delighted folks in care residences where she loved visiting. Together Jewell and Albert served at Ft. Scott, El Dorado, Junction City and Independence, Kansas. In 1962 they were sent to the Central Illinois Divisional Headquarters at Peoria where she served as the Divisional Nurses Fellowship Secretary for two years. They returned to corps work in 1964 and served at Galesburg, Illinois, and Atchison, Kansas. In 1967 they were appointed to the Evangeline House in Kansas City, Missouri, for one year before going to El Dorado, Kansas, for a second time. In 1971, they were appointed to Coffeyville, Kansas. They retired from active service from Newton, Kansas on June 27, 1974. She is survived by one son, Albert M. Kiddoo of Wichita, KS; two daughters: Kay Klingenberg of Owasso, OK and Major Patricia Kiddoo of Clearwater, FL; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she is preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, Earl, Vilas, and Cleo; and two sisters, Ruby and Opal. Memorial contributions may be made to The Salvation Army, designated project.