The Sunflower Poetry Society of Kansas
Carolyn Estelle Litwin (founding member of The Sunflower Poetry Society of Kansas)
excerpt from obituary posted at Carolyn Estelle Litwin Obituary - Topeka Capital-Journal
Carolyn Estelle Litwin, 92, of Topeka, passed away September 1, 2026.
Carolyn was born on May 19, 1934, in St. Louis, Missouri to David and Etta (Abrams) Glazier. She graduated from University City High School, enrolled at Wellesley College and completed her undergraduate degree at Washburn University. Carolyn married Lawrence (Larry) Litwin in 1953 and moved to Topeka, KS where Larry was the proprietor of Litwin’s Family Clothing Stores.
Carolyn had many dreams, which she put on hold while pouring her energy into parenting and educating her 3 children.
After Larry’s death in 1989, and once her children were launched, Carolyn obtained two Masters degrees in Teaching ESL and English. Strong, independent, intelligent and curious, she built a new life and found many ways to contribute to the community.
Carolyn brought her love of language to students from all over the world, most recently as a tutor to a young mother in the Ukraine. Their last meeting was just days before Carolyn’s death.
Judaism was central to Carolyn’s life. She served as president of the Sisterhood and chair of the Social Action Committee at Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka. She was deeply committed to bringing together people of different faiths, and helped to found the Topeka Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, a group of Muslim and Jewish women dedicated to peaceful cultural exchange.
Carolyn received multiple awards for her garden and was featured in Better Homes and Gardens. As a member of Master Gardeners, she developed programs for disabled children and adults that helped them experience the earth and the cycles of life.
She enjoyed music, theater, swimming, tennis and skiing and later in her life became an avid poet and pursued drawing, painting and mahjong.
Numerous community service activities included reading for the blind, voter registration, supporting Midland Hospice, preparing and serving Christmas meals at the Ronald McDonald House and volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.
Jeffrey Coy Meredith (founding member of The Sunflower Poetry Society of Kansas)
Jeffrey Coy Meredith
January 22, 1953 – August 8, 2025
Jeffrey Coy Meredith, age 72, of Seattle, Washington passed away on Friday, August 8, 2025.
A simple life,
if I lived just for me.
That life would've been temporary.
I Lived a life looking out for we.
The more you give the happier you will be.
More importantly,
What you do for others lives on eternally.
by
DOM
Ronda J. Miller (founding member of The Sunflower Poetry Society of Kansas)
source: The Lawrence Times https://lawrencekstimes.com/2024/12/20/obituary-ronda-j-miller/
Obituaries December 20, 2024 - 2:48 pm
Obituary: Ronda J. Miller
Ronda J. Miller
11/3/1952 – 12/9/2024
Lawrence, KS
Ronda Jae Miller passed into the next life on December 9th, 2024. She was born in Fort Collins, Colorado on November 3rd, 1952, the youngest child of Gerald and Peggy Wiggins. After the death of her mother at age three, she was raised by her maternal Grandparents Leonard and Helen Miller on the high plains of Cheyenne County, Kansas. She was shaped greatly by the tragic early loss of her mother but found enjoyment in her childhood reading, riding horses, running track, and exploring the expansive beauty of western Kansas around their family farm with her siblings and cousins.
Upon graduating from Saint Francis High School in 1970, Ronda settled in Lawrence, Kansas, and quickly found her place in a community she admired for its diversity and freedom of thought. She attended the University of Kansas, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and completed postgraduate coursework in Human Development/Family Life. Over the years she worked as a union organizer, restaurateur at The Casbah, commercial fashion model, police officer, and early childhood educator for 30 years, retiring in 2018.
Ronda was married twice, to Joseph Goodman in 1978, and to Dimitry Shreders in 1987. With Dimitry, she welcomed her two beloved children into the world, a son Scott in 1988 and a daughter Apollonia in 1991. She was also the loving stepmother of Dimitry’s two older sons, Sasha and Nick.
Later in life, she rekindled a passion for words, beginning a prolific 15-year stretch of writing and sharing poetry, often traveling across the state to participate in events with the Kansas Author’s Club. She was the author of five published books, a contributor to many others, and was working on a memoir. During the final three years of her life, she taught creative writing to incarcerated people. She advocated for countless organizations and causes, hosting many events. Ronda profoundly impacted the local writing community and left a lasting legacy of poetry. She believed that her purpose in life was to connect with others through the transformative power of the written word. She would often state, “It isn’t about my life, it is about allowing myself to meet the poems I am meant to write.”
She is survived by two children, Scott Shreders (Anna) of Michigan, and daughter Apollonia Racca (Gabriel) of California; two step-sons, Alexander “Sasha” Shreders of Massachusetts, and Nicholas Shreders (Julie) of Massachusetts; four siblings: sister Jena Acors (Vernon) of Virginia, brother Scott Wiggins of Colorado, half-sister Vanessa Ostrom of North Carolina, and half-brother Calvin Wiggins of Arizona. Ronda also leaves behind many loving cousins, nieces and nephews, step-siblings, in-laws, many incredible friends, and her sweet rescue dog Patience.
Ronda was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, half-brother Andrew Wiggins, niece Sorrel Wiggins, many beloved uncles and aunts, cousins, friends, and the father of her children, Dimitry Shreders.
A Celebration of Life ceremony is planned for March 15th, 2025 at Maceli’s in Lawrence, Kansas, with interment in St Francis, Kansas. Please contact the family for more information. Donations in her honor are accepted at The Transformative Language Arts Network, The Lawrence Humane Society, and The Kansas Land Trust.
Poems of Remembrance
"She's In the Sun, the Wind, the Rain" by Christy Ann Martine
She’s in the sun, the wind, the rain,
she’s in the air you breathe
with every breath you take.
She sings a song of hope and cheer,
there’s no more pain, no more fear.
You’ll see her in the clouds above,
hear her whisper words of love,
you’ll be together before long,
until then, listen for her song.
“Remember” by Christina Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve;
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
“Remember Me” by Christine Currah
Remember me when I am gone
But not with sorrow, pain and grief
Think of me as a turning leaf
That in the winter falls from its branch
To be born again in spring
And live forever in your heart