Celia McCann Stolts, 102, died peacefully on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at her home in Lawrence, Kansas. Celia was born to James Arthur McCann and Bessie McKenzie McCann on January 6, 1922, near Woodruff, Kansas. Celia grew up during the Depression, which left an indelible mark on her, and taught her to “use it, wear it out, or do without.” She had many stories about Dust Bowl days.
In 1940, Celia traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, and married the love of her life, Orly Stolts. They had many adventures together living in pre-war California, where they danced to all the big bands, attended the Rose Bowl, and the opening of The Paladium, where a young Frank Sinatra sang. They returned home to farm in Nebraska during the war. Celia raised her own chickens, dug her own gas line, and entertained friends on poker nights. When the Harlan County Reservoir was built, she remembered traveling inside of her house, with her baby in her lap, as the house was relocated to Republican City, Nebraska.
After her divorce in 1952, she attended Hastings Beauty Academy, and held many jobs including receptionist at the Kansas Nebraska Natural Gas Company in Phillipsburg Kansas, where she raised her daughter, Mary. Later, she was employed by the Andbe Home in Norton, Kansas, where she worked as an aide, a seamstress, and in the laundry.
Celia loved to play piano, and did so daily until her death. She also enjoyed studying nutrition and cooking for herself, which she also did right up until the end. She was passionate about animals, and cared for hundreds over her century of life. Celia was a lifelong Democrat who admired FDR and Barack Obama. She did not admire Donald Trump.
She resided in her final years with her daughter in Lawrence, Kansas. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Bessie McCann and her sisters Doris Poyser and Marjorie Rayfield. She is survived by her daughter Mary Susan Conn of Lawrence; her granddaughter Elizabeth Jane Franklin (Joseph) of Washington, DC; and her great grandchildren Theodore McCann Franklin and Celia Jane Franklin; as well as nieces and nephews.
There will be a private burial at the Woodruff, Kansas Cemetery at a later date. Donations can be made in Celia’s memory to the Lawrence Humane Society.
