Maxine Siler

Maxine Jean Baumgartner Siler, age 96 of Olathe, Kansas went home to our Lord January 25, 2024. Maxine was born June 14, 1927 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the daughter of Alvin C. Baumgartner and Eva McCormac Baumgartner. Her family moved from Henderson, Iowa to Wilton, Iowa in 1929 where Maxine’s father became Superintendent of Schools. In 1941 her family moved to Chicago, Illinois. Maxine graduated in 1945 from Calumet High School, the same year World War II ended. She had been very active in clubs and the band. After graduation, Maxine worked as an optical technician and attended Northwestern College. At Northwestern, she became a member of Chi Delta Alpha Sorority. She then attended the University of Illinois at Navy Pier.

Maxine moved to Kansas City, Kansas and started working as a bank teller at Commercial National Bank in one of the first drive-in banks ever built. While working at the bank, she met Henry Clifford Siler, Jr. They wed May 2, 1959, and enjoyed 53 years of marriage.  Cliff was in sales in the meat and food industry, and together they owned and operated several Griff’s restaurants. Two children, Susan and Marc, were born to them and Maxine was a stay-at-home mother with a side flower arranging business. Maxine started working at Hall’s Crown Center when it opened and became Assistant Manager of the Fashion Accessory Department. When Cliff retired, they moved to Camdenton, Missouri, at the Lake of the Ozarks and enjoyed many years of boating, fishing, and travel.  Maxine also treasured time in her gardens. 

Maxine was a member of Camdenton United Methodist Church and later Grace United Methodist Church in Olathe, Kansas. She was a member and served as president of the Camdenton United Methodist Women (UMW) and of Ozark Brush and Palette. Cliff and Maxine were charter members of the Ozark Jazz Society. Maxine belonged to the Niangua Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and later the Olathe chapter of the DAR. She was a member of the Red Hat Society, VFW Auxiliary Post 5923, New Horizons, Camden County Historical Society, the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, and the Greater Lake Area Arts Council. She served on the Dogwood Festival Committee for five years. She volunteered for the Lamb House, and together with Cliff, volunteered with the Lake Regional Hospital Auxiliary (over 2,000 hours) as well as for Meals on Wheels, community blood donation drives, and the local election polls. 

Maxine was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and one sister, Virginia Thomson. She is survived by her children: daughter, Susan Seitz, her husband, Quentin (Chip) Seitz and their two daughters, Britnay and Brooke, great-grandchildren, Barry, Aaliyah and Stormi (Olathe, Kansas); son, Marc Siler and his wife, Anita, and their children, Emily and Kyle (Kansas City, Missouri); a sister and husband, Carolyn and Matt Gregg (Peshtigo, Wisconsin); nephews and nieces; and three stepchildren: Sondra Tyree, Harriet Mosco, and Clifford Siler and their families. 

Maxine was a beautiful woman both inside and out. Family and friends will always remember Maxine for her kind and caring heart, grace, humor, enthusiastic and adventurous spirit, positive attitude and bright smile.   She loved crossword and word search puzzles and games, especially Yahtzee, Chinese Checkers, Bingo, and Bridge. She enjoyed music and the arts and loved to dance with her husband. 

A private family gathering will be held at the Terrace Park Funeral Home and Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri. Should friends desire, donations may be made in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Association, Camdenton United Methodist Church (Camdenton, Missouri), or Lake Regional Hospital Auxiliary (Osage Beach, Missouri).