Odah Ivene Burnett, “Ivene,” passed away peacefully at home on August 11, 2026, just

twelve days shy of her 101st birthday. She was born on August 23, 1925, in Kingston,

Missouri, the fifth child of Claud and Ethel Sloan. As the baby of the family, she was

spoiled and ornery — but oh so cute — and many stories of her orneriness were told for

the rest of her life.

Ivene never met a stranger, sometimes much to the chagrin of her children. The clerk at

the counter, the bank tellers, church friends, someone waiting in line beside her — if

there was a conversation to be had, she had it. People simply gravitated to her. Over the

years, a great many of them came to call her “Mom”: her hairstylist, Tammy; her dear

friends Jim and Sandy, Deb, Mary, Steve and Cindy; and a long list of others from her

daughters’ childhood.

When WWII began, Ivene’s classmates started marrying and heading off to California

and New York, and it all sounded like a fine adventure to a girl who had never been far

from the farm. About that time, a family from Kentucky moved to the next farm down.

Three months later, Ivene married the new neighbor, Ray Burnett — she was 16, and he

was 22. Ivene got an adventure of sorts, eloping and honeymooning in Ray’s beloved

Kentucky. Patsy arrived a year later, followed by Dennis, Claudia, Glenda, and, twelve

years later, Brenda, which made for a lively household and adventures of another kind.

When baby Claudia fell seriously ill, Ray and Ivene fell to their knees in prayer. Their

prayers were answered, and Ivene and Ray became Christians — a faith that anchored the

rest of their lives.

Kansas City, Kansas, became home while Ray worked as a union plumber and Ivene

raised their children. After his retirement, they moved to Laurie, Missouri, where they

enjoyed their lake home and Westlake Christian Church, and where Ivene stayed active in

the congregation for many years. When Ray passed in 1992, she learned to write a check,

to drive herself to Kansas City, and to do a good many other things she had never done

before — all of it with confidence and humor.

For the past five years, Ivene lived with her surviving daughters, Claudia Schindel and

Glenda Bond, and their husbands, Woody and Ray. She was grandmother to 8, great-

grandmother to 18, and great-great-grandmother to 3. She lived 100 years, 11 months,

and 19 days, and she will be remembered as a fun-loving follower of Christ with a can-do

attitude and never a complaint. She was a great example to us all.

Ivene was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Ray Burnett; her daughters

Patsy and Brenda, and her son, Dennis Burnett.

Following cremation, Ivene will be interred at Graceland Cemetery in Cameron,

Missouri. A Celebration of Life will be held in the fall. Memorials may be made to

Westlake Christian Church, 936 Highway O, Gravois Mills, MO 65037.