“Chef Charlene” Patton | Jan. 14, 1953 - Sept 20, 2026 | Obituaries - Bing Chef

“Chef Charlene” Patton | Jan. 14, 1953 – Sept 20, 2026

“Chef Charlene” courtesy Kansas Soybean Commission.

Chef Charlene of the Kansas Soybean Commission was a featured guest for years on the KOAM Morning News. She appeared with all our morning anchors over time including: Samantha Walker, Chris Warner, Elyse Noe, Tawyna Bach and others. She will be dearly missed by KOAM-7 and FOX-14 staffers. We thank Chef Charlene and the Kansas Soybean Commission for not forgetting us in SEK and making an effort to share recipes and ideas with our viewers. We extend our deepest condolences to her family.

“Chef Charlene” with KOAM’s Tawyna Bach.

Charlene Sue (Kendall) Patton, 73, of Grantville was born January 14, 1953 to John and Juanita (Uhl) Kendall. She passed away peacefully on September 20th, 2026 at the family farm, surrounded by her beloved husband, Dan, their loving daughters and family.

She grew up in Grantville and at the Grantville United Methodist Church where she was a life long member and attended for over 70 years. She was a member of the Grantville 4-H club and was a State and National Foods and Nutrition project winner. She was a 4-H leader in Foods and Nutrition in Jefferson County and in later years Shawnee County with her daughters. She graduated from Jefferson West High School in 1971.

Charlene’s lifelong dedication to food and community service began with 4-H in Jefferson county and flourished through her education at Kansas State University where she earned a degree in Foods and Nutrition in Business in 1975. K-State is also where she met her sweetheart and husband, Dan. They were wed on June 18, 1977 and have 4 daughters: Jana, Krista, Megan and Lori. Dan and Charlene were just 9 months shy of their 50th wedding anniversary.

Charlene had a long career in foods and nutrition spanning over 50 years. It started at the Kansas Department of Agriculture where she entered as a Marketing Specialist before becoming the Domestic Marketing Coordinator. She spent 21 years promoting Kansas food and agriculture products both domestically and internationally.

In those 21 years Charlene worked under 5 Kansas governors and 7 Kansas Secretaries of

Agriculture. She worked agricultural exhibits at the Kansas State Fair each of those years. In 1978, she was instrumental in establishing the department’s first trademark for Kansas agricultural products – the “From The Land of Kansas” Trademark is used by numerous Kansas companies to identify their products in markets throughout this country and the world.

In 1996 she began her work as a consultant with the Kansas Soybean Commission as Media and Consumer Specialist. In 1997 she also became Executive Director of the Home Baking Association retiring from that role in 2023. Throughout her career, she passionately educated through presentations and media appearances, sharing soy recipes and agricultural insights on WIBW-TV, KAKE-TV, and KOAM-TV. In September 2025 WIBW celebrated her with, “50 years of Cooking with Charlene”, a special news program. She treasured her time developing recipes and promoting Kansas products.

Charlene also worked with the Kansas Wheat Commission. The 2024 edition of the Annual Kansas Wheat Commission Recipe book featured six of Charlene’s favorite recipes.

Her expertise in nutrition came from a lifetime love of baking and knowledge instilled from her mother, Juanita, and her grandmothers, Nora and Tressie. She has passed this same love to her daughters, her grandchildren, and countless others. She shaped cherished family traditions for not only her own family but for so many. Some of those favorite family traditions included her Czech heritage which she was very proud of. She was a longtime member and Secretary of the Bohemian Hall (ZCBJ Moravan Lodge #128) in Rossville, Kansas which her great grandfather helped to start. She loved music, especially Czech Polka and loved to attend dances at The Hall.

The Dan and Charlene Patton family were named Kansas State’s 4-H family of the year in 2008. She won the 2011 National Benjamin Franklin Book Award for her Baking with Friends Cookbook which was also named to the Kansas Notable Book list that same year. In 2023 she was honored with the Friend of Soy Award. She has received numerous other rewards for her leadership and commitment to youth education in foods and nutrition.

Her faith was central to her life as a member of Grantville United Methodist Church. She taught Sunday school, led the youth group and served on numerous committees over the years.

An avid sports fan and K-State season ticket holder, she loved cheering on her Cats, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals with her family.

Of everything she loved and all of her accomplishments, nothing was more important than her family. Her life revolved around her husband, children and grandchildren. She loved attending dance recitals, music concerts, sporting events and anything her children and grandchildren were involved in. For 40 years she and her family made it a priority to take a summer vacation all together. So many wonderful memories were made. She made Christmas stockings for her husband and daughters and was working on stockings for each grandchild. She wanted to make everyone feel special and loved.

Charlene and family want to say “Thank you” to Madonna Rehab in Lincoln, Nebraska, Jefferson County Home Health and Stormont Vail Hospital for taking such good care of her these past several months.

She was preceded in death by her loving parents John and Juanita (Uhl) Kendall and nephew Ryan W. Kendall.

Survived by her devoted husband Dan Patton; daughters Jana Patton, Krista (Kyle) Kramer, Megan (Aaron) Pavez and Lori (John) Patton Aguilar; Brother Ronnie (Julie) Kendall and Sister Karen (Robert) Norris; 11 Grandchildren Lee, Ezra, Sunny, Charlotte, Ophelia, Isabel, Danny, Madelyn, Everett, Josie and Noa. As well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews.

Visitation will be on Sunday, September 27th from 5pm-7pm held at Parker Price & Davidson funeral home in Topeka (245 NW Independence Ave). A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, September 28th at 10am at the Grantville United Methodist Church (3724 South Street, Grantville, KS). If you are unable to attend in person, you are invited to join for live streaming on the following Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/grantvillechurch/.

Memorial contributions can be made in her name to the Moravan Lodge #128 c/o Parker Price & Davidson Funeral Home (245 NW Independence Ave, Topeka, Ks 66608) or the Grantville United Methodist Church, (P.O. Box 164, Grantville, KS 66429).

Obituary courtesy Parker Price & Davidson Funeral Home.