1940-2026
Twyla Fae (Selzer) White, 86, passed away on June 4, 2026, in Hesston, KS, at Showalter Villa. She was born during a heavy snowstorm on February 18, 1940, arriving beside a wood burning stove to her parents, Glenn and Nellie (Hartzler) Selzer in a farmhouse near Protection, Kansas.
Twyla developed a lifelong love of the outdoors, playing sports, doing chores, driving trucks to the grain elevator, sewing, and tending to a beautiful garden. Each year after wheat harvest, the family traveled to Colorado Springs to visit her maternal grandparents. There, she heard about Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, where she later spent several summers working in the kitchen and leading hikes with campers.
While attending Hesston College, Twyla met Ivan L. White. Sharing similar values, talents, and goals, they built a life together rooted in service to others. Twyla completed her nurse’s training at Kansas City General Hospital, and they were married on September 8, 1962. Twyla worked as a surgical nurse for Bethel Deaconess Hospital and Newton Medical Center. She and Ivan volunteered with Mennonite Disaster Service in multiple locations in Louisiana and Colorado, as well as with organizations in Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, and Spain. She was a member of Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston.
Twyla is survived by her brother Fredric Selzer, sister Ruth Akpan, daughter Gwen (Jenny Deaton) White of Greenwood, IN, and Bruce (Melody Hardin) White of Palisade, CO; six grandchildren: Mikaela Selamawit (Yonathan Wezeli) Kauffman, Alex (Catherine Ball) Kauffman, Gabriel Kauffman, Isabel Betelehem Kauffman, Sarah (Drew Schumann) White, Zebulon White; and eight great grandchildren: Carmaine, Carmiyrah, Acarri, Oonii, Oliver, Grace, Boaz, and Autumn.
She was preceded in death by her husband Ivan, parents, and sisters Goldie Piland and Grace Histand.
A celebration of life will be held at Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston, Kansas, over Labor Day weekend on Sunday, September 6, at 4:00 pm.
Memorial contributions may be mailed to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, 709 County Rd 62, Divide, Colorado 80814 or on their website at www.rmmc.org.
Arrangements are being handled by Miller-Ott Funeral Home, Hesston, Kansas.
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