Luava Marie Hederstedt, 96, longtime resident of Saline County, Kansas, died October 18, 2023, in Texas without major illness or hospitalization. Luava was born in Gove County, Kansas, as the eldest of Will and Marie Fullmer’s six children.

When Luava was 10, her family moved to central California during the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, and soon after she trusted Christ as her Savior. Returning to Kansas in her twenties, Luava met and married Paul Hederstedt, who passed away in 2013 after 60 years of marriage. They farmed east of Salina for 20 years, and Luava spent countless hours driving gravel roads into town to give her children various opportunities—music and swim lessons, rollerskating, choir and others. They were longtime members of First Covenant Church, where Luava served as church secretary for many years. Before that, she worked as a secretary with two companies and later as an ALFAC insurance agent.

Luava is remembered for her faith in God, for deeply loving her family, and for volunteering and serving others in countless ways behind the scenes, including Meals on Wheels. She took great joy in hearing her family make music and sing and play hymns. Her greatest regret in the past couple of years was not being able to read even a large-print Bible because of macular degeneration; listening to the YouVersion audio Bible on her iPad became a lifeline for her.

Luava is survived by her three children (and their spouses):  Randy (Chris, deceased), Kansas; Roger (Julie), South Carolina; and Sharon (John), Texas.  Her 11 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren live in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina and Michigan. She also has one brother, three sisters and many neices and nephews in California, along with numerous other cousins and relatives.

A memorial service is planned for 2:00PM on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at Abilene Bible Baptist Church Family Life Center, 409 N. Van Buren St, Abilene, KS 67410. Attire is casual and people are welcome to wear Luava’s favorite style of clothing: pink and floral. Those in attendance will have opportunity to share a story or memory about Luava.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the above church (abilenebaptist.com), Novo Mission (novo.org) or Gateway Church (gatewaypeople.com). Written condolences may be sent to:  The Hederstedt Family, Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home, 740 S. Edmonds Lane, Lewisville, Texas 75067.