St. Francis resident Eleanor Kathleen (Curry) Avery, aged 88, died on Friday, July 24, at Cheyenne County Village in St. Francis. Her funeral service will be held on Friday, July 31, at 10 a.m. at Knodel Funeral Home, 202 S. Benton. Pastor Bob Higgins will officiate. Inurnment at the Lawn Ridge Cemetery will follow the funeral dinner at Peace Lutheran Church, 202 N. College. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Donations may be made in care of the funeral home to NWKareS, (Hospice Services of Northwest Kansas) or the Cheyenne County Community Foundation's Raile Legacy Fund for Music and the Arts.

Eleanor was born on Jan. 4, 1938, in St. Francis, the first child of Harold and Aleene (Moore) Curry. They lived on the C.E, and Florence Curry homestead in Cheyenne County's Lawn Ridge neighborhood. Eleanor and her sister Ruth Anne were active in the Lawn Ridge 4-H Club and Lawn Ridge Methodist Church. She owned Cheyenne County farmland at the time of her death. Eleanor graduated from St. Francis Community High School in 1955 and Kansas Wesleyan University in 1959, where she sang in the choir. After graduation, she taught physical education and home economics at Clyde High School and later at Larned High School, both in Kansas. She married Norman Avery of Larned on June 23, 1964.

Soon after their marriage, the couple became involved in the aerospace industry. He traveled extensively for Estes Industries, a model rocket manufacturer. She often met him at the airport for clean clothes before he jetted off to another destination. She accompanied him to spaceflight launches at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the couple were guests of Mission Control. During the 1970s, the couple traveled the western United States in a motor home they called the "Gypsy Moth." He gave numerous school presentations about science, engineering, aviation, and space.

He wrote the futurist book "Time out for Tomorrow" in 1977, dedicating it to his editor, Eleanor Avery. She also edited his articles for Frontier Airlines' in-flight magazine, and Air and Space Magazine, among others. They published the National Space Newsletter until the 1986 USS Challenger explosion ended the project. Additionally, she edited many people's master's and doctoral dissertations. She also worked for May D&F stores in the Denver area.

Norman became the Manager of Communications/Marketing for Projects at Denver's Stapleton International Airport. His duties required him to escort prominent people like President Jimmy Carter, and numerous movie and television stars, through the airport. Eleanor accompanied him many times. As a paraplegic, he helped to design Denver International Airport's accommodations for the disabled. His efforts won worldwide acclaim for DIA. After his retirement, the couple established the Futurgram Network, a public relations firm for small airports. He also consulted with airports worldwide to improve their accommodations for disabled people. Eleanor traveled with him to places like Bahrain, Dubai, Singapore, and Budapest, charming people wherever she went. She became his primary caregiver after he retired. He died on June 3, 2021, a few days before their 57th anniversary. She returned to live in St. Francis after his death, occupying an apartment in Cheyenne County Village. She moved to the nursing home in April of 2024, where she enjoyed spending time with her sister, also a resident.

Eleanor is survived by her brother-in-law, Merlyn Yonkey of St. Francis; sister-in-law Bonnie (Ken) Milano of Thornton, Colo.; nephew Eric (Roxie) Yonkey of Goodland; niece Angela (Ryan) Milano Anzai of Aurora, Colo., and their children, Karter and Kollins.

Her parents, father- and mother-in-law, Everett and Lenora Avery of Denver, her husband, and sister, Ruth Anne (Curry) Yonkey, preceded her in death.