Anita M. Gatewood, 67, of Parsons died at 12:17 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, at the Olathe Medical Center.
Anita Hickles was born in Parsons in 1956, the first of five children born to James T. and Bertha (Barber) Hickles. She was the loved and beloved sister of Juanita, Robert, James, Ronnie, Debra and Steve.
By the middle of the 1960s, Anita, as the oldest child at home, took on much of the responsibility for four younger siblings, including a toddler and a newborn. She played an integral role in guiding them, which allowed her parents to work and earn a living.
Prior to graduating from Parsons High School in 1974, Anita worked at the Townsman Motel/Cafe. After she graduated from high school in 1975, she began working for the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center. In 1977, Anita moved to Topeka to advance her career opportunities, working for the Kansas State Hospital and Training Center and for Goodyear Corp.
In 1981, with the support and assistance of Parsons State Hospital and Training Center, she returned to Parsons for family support reasons. She continued to work there until 1986 when she began working for the Kansas Department for Children and Families. Anita continued to work for the state until she retired in 2017.
In August 2013, Anita married Charles Gatewood. Even though Charles was retired, he encouraged Nita to follow her passion of caring for and helping young children. She did that by being involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters as early as 2003, where she was the “Big” to many “Littles” who were very important to her. She also served as a substitute teacher at Parsons High School from 2019 to 2022.
She loved being surrounded by children and there were many she talked about caring for throughout her life in Parsons. In addition to caring for children, Nita loved traveling with Charles. They took many trips with family, visiting Hawaii, Aruba, Europe and taking several cruises. She also maintained a Mary Kay business for many years and loved sharing her love of makeup and skin care.
According to her Facebook account, she loved the following entry, it was something important to her …“I can quickly forgive you if you mistake me, but I surely won’t forgive you if you dare to hurt my loved ones.”
She is survived by her husband, Charles; sisters, Juanita (Barber) Collins, Debra (Hickles) Thomas; brothers, Robert Barber, James (Kelly) Hickles, Ronnie (Renee) Hickles and Steve Hickles; her half siblings, Larry Johnson (Pat), Kirky Johnson, Calvin Johnson (Crystal), Tommy Johnson, Keisha Johnson and Kim Johnson; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, James T. Hickles in November 2001 and Bertha Hickles in January 2019; her brother, Kenneth Hickles, in 1974; and her half brother, Michael “Mike-Bo” Johnson, in 2021.
The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at the Carson-Wall Funeral Home with Elder Charles Gross and Pastor Harold Gross officiating. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 9:30 a.m. until service time Saturday. The family suggests memorials to Hamilton Chapel of Parsons or to Kansas Big Brothers and Big Sisters. These may be left at or mailed to the funeral home, P.O. Box 942, Parsons, KS, 67357.
Leave online condolences at www.wallfuneralservices.com.
