Wilda Narlene Britton (Leathers)

Wilda Narlene (Leathers) Britton, 79, died Monday, January 24, surrounded by her family at Research Medical Center after a tenacious battle with pancreatic cancer.


Wilda was born in Fairbury, Illinois on October 13, 1942, to John and Olive (Pifer) Leathers. Siblings Otis, David, James, Linda and Bobby followed soon after and Wilda often played mother hen to the rambunctious brood. The family was farmers, but Wilda’s voracious appetite for reading often took her far from the crops and cows.


A 1960 newspaper article from The Times of Streator, Illinois lauded Wilda’s accomplishments as one of only two Dwight Township High School seniors to win scholarships that year for degrees in education. As her sister Linda recalls, “Wilda was determined to get an education” and later that year — with her enrollment at Illinois State Normal University — she became the first member of her family to attend college.


The summer after her sophomore year, Wilda made a fateful decision to attend the Community of Christ reunion with her friend MarJean (Britton) Shute. There Wilda met MarJean’s older brother Wayne, the assistant registrar. After two weeks of camp, some blatant flirting on Wilda’s part, and an epiphany, Wilda asked Wayne when he was going to ask her to marry him. They were engaged shortly after.


Wilda and Wayne were married in a ceremony at the Community of Christ Church in Aurora, Illinois. She walked down the aisle in a gown she had made herself. The couple honeymooned along the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls where Wilda saw more pine trees than she could handle.


Wilda and Wayne welcomed their first daughter Kelly Britton in 1965 in Illinois just in time for a January blizzard. In 1967, daughter Michelle was born — an early birthday gift for her mother — during the family’s brief stint in Wisconsin.


In 1969 the family moved to Corvallis, Oregon. It was there that Wilda first saw the ocean. “It was very big and very wonderful,” she used to recall. “I thought what’s not to love.” The family left one coast for the other in 1972 when they moved to South Portland, Maine. Here Wilda raised her children, decorated and designed her first true family home and finished her degree in elementary education at the University of Southern Maine.


Maine became an integral thread sewn into the story of Wilda’s life. She fully adopted the Maine accent and the feel of salt air in her lungs. She learned the perfection of a lobster roll and developed a taste for clam chowder. In 1986 she became one of the first women in Maine accepted into the priesthood of the Community of Christ. She loved hosting her Britton and Leathers siblings, nieces and nephews in Maine for holidays and would evangelize about the state when the family came back to the Midwest.


Wilda’s professional life was spent working in banking and with the Community of Christ Church.


Wilda and Wayne moved to Washington, D.C. in 1991 — a move that Wilda never fully took to. With the birth of her granddaughters Meg and Katie Britton-Mehlisch in the late 90s, Wilda decided she’d chart her own course. She often said to her grandchildren that she told her husband, “I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I’m going to Missouri to be with my grandchildren.” Wayne packed up the house and the couple settled in Independence, Missouri.


When it comes to grandmothers, there is no contest. Wilda was the epitome of grandmotherly love. She reveled in spoiling her granddaughters with cookies and grilled cheese sandwiches. She would be at their beck and call to care for them during a sick day. She ferried them back and forth from school, piano lessons and dance practices. She taught Meg and Katie how to cook, sew and become mean card sharks. She was endlessly proud of them.


Her love for family was boundless and she was undeterred by the title of in-law. She quickly adopted her Britton family, learning their family stories and traditions and making them her own. When her daughter Michelle married Scott Mehlisch in 1989, Wilda considered herself the real winner as she gained a son and two lifelong friends in his parents Dr. David and Kay Mehlisch.


She was quick to a hug, had a sassy wit and her contagious smile flowed easily across her face during family visits. Her billfold was stuffed with photos of cousins, grandnieces and nephews ready to proudly display at a moment’s notice. And through every move, Wilda always dedicated the top of a dresser to a showcase of the many family wedding photos from across the years.


An expert seamstress and quilter, Wilda put her creative talents to use making gifts for her loved ones. No job was too big or demanding. She sewed wedding dresses, upholstered furniture, mended worn clothes, fashioned quilts and made an army of Raggedy Anne and Andys. She worked love into every stitch.


Wilda was also a world traveler, excited to seek out new experiences. She visited every state in the United States and four continents. An avid supporter of the National Park Service, she and Wayne visited three-fourths of the country’s 63 parks. In her later years, she would count down the days until she and Wayne — and later Katie and Michelle — would road trip across the plains to Laveen, Arizona where the couple would winter with Kelly.


Wilda is preceded in death by her father, mother and youngest brother Bobby Leathers.


Wilda is survived by her husband of 58 years and soulmate, Wayne Britton of Independence, Missouri; her daughter Kelly Britton of Laveen, Arizona; her daughter and son Dr. Michelle and Scott Britton-Mehlisch of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; her granddaughter Meg Britton-Mehlisch of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; and her granddaughter Katie Britton-Mehlisch of Kansas City, Missouri.


A long list of siblings, nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and one great grand niece will hold her in their hearts forever.


A celebration of life will be held later in the spring. An update will be provided on the memorial page when arrangements have been finalized.


In lieu of flowers, tribute donations can be made to the National Parks Foundation at give.nationalparks.org. The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Jaswinder Singh and his team at the Sarah Cannon Center at Research Medical Center for their devoted care.