Esther Maxine Peel, age 81, of Fort Scott, died Friday, August 25, 2006 at the Medicalodge Nursing Home. She was born June 1, 1925 in Hiattville, Kansas, the daughter of Alfred Roy and Bessie Eisenbrandt Ater. Maxine graduated from Uniontown High School. She married L. Leon Peel on November 2, 1942 in Uniontown, Kansas. She and her husband moved to Fort Scott 1959. She worked as a bookkeeper for Sunflower Supply for 13 years, she served as a nurse aid for Mercy Hospital for eight years, retiring in 1987. She volunteered for Tri-Valley and the Beacon.

She was a member of the Hiattville United Methodist Church, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and the Association for Retarded Citizens.

She is survived by her husband, Leon of the home; a son, Larry of Fort Scott; three daughters, Joyce Metcalf, Fort Scott, Margie Bukaty, Grain Valley, Missouri, and Susan Percy, Pittsburg, Kansas; four sisters, Thelma Buntain and Arla Hartman, Fort Scott, Mabel Miller, Hiattville, and Evelyn Shull of Maize, Kansas; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Waneta Ater; a brother, Elwayne Ater; and twin great-granddaughters, Nicole and Jessica Harris.

By Maxine's request, her body was donated to medical science. Memorial services will be held on Wednesday, August 30, 2006 at the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home beginning with a visitation at 10 a.m. and then funeral services at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Dallas Peterson officiating.

Memorials for Maxine may be made to the Hiattville United Methodist Church Scholarship Fund. Donations may be sent to or left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Expressions of sympathy may be e-mailed to expressions@konantz-cheney.com.