Alva Review-Courier -

Bessie Irene (Helmley) Colson, 93, passed away on January 1, 2023 in Lebanon, Missouri. She was born to Charles and Belle (Webb) Helmley on June 24, 1929 in Kiowa, Kansas.

Bessie and her brother and sister attended a country school three miles from their farm. Her high school years were at Kiowa High School. She attended three years of college in Emporia, Kansas, before returning home to Kiowa, where she worked at the newspaper office. While working at the newspaper, she met her husband, John Colson, and they were later married on May 16, 1954. John's two sons, Willis and Richard, lived with t...