Flavia Maxine Bigham
1938 – 2022
Flavia Maxine (Krohn) Bigham was born June 22, 1938, in Wichita, KS to Warren A. Krohn and Hazel M. (Livick) Krohn. She was the second of four siblings which included Warren DeWayne Krohn, Donald Jon Krohn and Mary Elizabeth Krohn. She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers.
Flavia was raised in Wellington, Kansas, where she attended grade school and high school. One of Flavia’s first jobs was at Wright’s Creamery in Wellington. She always said they lost money on her because she ate as much ice cream as she sold. Her Deputy Sheriff father encouraged her adventurous spirit by allowing her frequent visits to the county jail where he worked. Her tales of the people she encountered there delighted her children and grandchildren in the years to follow. Her mother encouraged her early love for music. In her lifetime, Flavia played the accordion (not very well according to her), the clarinet, and the organ. She also had a lovely alto singing voice and sang with various choral groups. She was a member of the Wellington High School band, a Chorale member in college, and (after a 40-year break from the clarinet) a member of the Hot Springs Concert Band where she played in bi-weekly concerts at the National Park as well as belonging to an organ club in her retirement years.
Flavia attended Central Christian College in Bartlesville, Oklahoma (which later became Oklahoma Christian College in OKC). While there she met William H. (Bill) Bigham, Jr. They were united in marriage on January 30, 1959. They were blessed with two children, LuCindia Lu (Cindy) and DeWayne De. During their marriage they lived in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and retired to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas in 2002. They returned to Edmond, OK in 2018.
Flavia had a passion for education and learning. After graduating from Central Christian College, she taught in a one-room school in Peck, Kansas. In the 1970’s she went back to school and graduated from Central State University and taught at Clegern Elementary in Edmond. In addition, she was a Bible class teacher who taught elementary classes throughout her life. Her attention to detail and enduring patience with children made her a gifted educator in the school and church classroom. She returned to the school setting to volunteer as a tutor at Sunset Elementary in Edmond in 2019.
While many will remember Flavia as a caring and compassionate friend, she will be remembered by her family as someone who loved adventure and travel, could laugh at herself, believed in ironing everything, loved chocolate and Elvis, and loved her family most of all! She will be remembered for her strength as a 40-year breast cancer survivor, her brush with fame as an extra in the movie Surviving, her thrill-seeking adventures on ski lifts, zip-lines, white water rafting, and even a ride in the Goodyear blimp! She’ll be remembered especially, because she leaves behind over 20 meticulously labeled and organized photo albums and scrapbooks of every trip, birth, marriage, holiday, and event that made up her full life.
Flavia liked to quote her mother as saying, “Every crow thinks her little birds are the blackest”, and Flavia believed with all her heart that she had the blackest little crows of all. She leaves behind those she loved and who, in turn, loved her dearly. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Bill Bigham of Edmond, daughter Cindy Taliaferro (Paul) of McPherson, KS, son DeWayne Bigham (Lisa) of Edmond, grandsons Matthew Bigham (Sarah) of Yukon, OK and Kyle Taliaferro of Derby, KS, granddaughters Nicole Taliaferro of McPherson, KS and Julianne Bigham Uebelein (Luke) of Winter Garden, FL., and great-grandsons Edmond and William Bigham of Yukon. She is also survived by her sister Mary Pospisil (Jerry) of North Richland Hills, TX, as well as many sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, and numerous friends from her church family.
Following a sudden illness, Flavia Maxine Bigham passed from this life on Wednesday, January 19th at 10:15 a.m. The family would like to thank the compassionate staff at Integris Hospice House for their tender care of Flavia during her brief time there.
Memorials may be sent to In Search of the Lord’s Way or Hot Springs Concert Band.
Visitation will be Sunday, January 23, 2022 from 2:00 – 6:00 P.M at Matthews Funeral Home. Services will be at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, January 24, 2022 at Edmond Church of Christ. Internment will be at 3:00 P.M. in Wellington, Kansas at Prairie Lawn Cemetery on Monday, January 24, 2022. To livestream the service please click the following link https://youtu.be/L1urIm2X8Tk