Oneta was the sixth of eight children born to Alvin A. Kite and Cora Edes Kite in Hollis Oklahoma on June 28, 1928. Here youth on a cotton farm was shaped by the Great Depression and World War II.

She graduated from Westview H.S. in 1946 and in 1950 from what was then known as Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) with a BA in General Household Arts. After graduating she worked for two years for the state of Oklahoma Extension program in Hobart. In college she met Darrell Meisenheimer and they married on January 25, 1953. They moved to Trinidad, Colorado and taught junior high school before moving to Palisade where Darrell was recruited to teach and coach football.

Five children were born in quick succession. Letitia in 1954, twins Brock and Kadette in 1956 and a second set of twins, Dana and Dane in 1959. She will be forever remembered as the mother of two sets of twins.

Oneta returned to teaching in 1960 with Dana and Dane's kindergarten class at Taylor Elementary. She moved from Taylor to Fruitvale Elementary and finished her career at Pomona in 1990. She often said she would have continued teaching had she known how long she would live. Her colleagues admired her kindness, caring and commitment to her students plus her welcoming way with new staff.

After divorcing in the early 70's, Oneta married Gerald Smith in 1984. Gerald was a longtime acquaintance who tragically passed away a few short months after their wedding.

Oneta took up painting after retiring and found a love of art, using a variety of media, mostly pastels. Painting transported her to another plane. She created many works of art with a variety of subjects that are cherished by her family. She did not consider herself as artist because she had no formal art education, however her work was good enough that a pastel she submitted to an art show was rejected by the judges because they thought it was a photograph. She enjoyed travel and made several trips to Europe where she never missed a museum, cruised the Caribbean a couple of times and attended many family reunions with her children and grandkids in cities and states all around the US. Oneta played golf and was a reputed to have a decent game. She played many courses around Colorado, some she said were nothing more than "cow pastures" however, that did not diminish her fun. She enjoyed coffee and cinnamon rolls at Pufferbelly with colleagues from Pomona for many years. In 2021 she moved to assisted living in Denver where she made new friends, continued to exercise most days and lived a very independent life, surrounded by many family members. She was greatly admired for her style and colorful dresses.

She is survived by four children, (Brock passed away in 2012) six grandchildren, six great grandchildren and sister Gale Wright.

A remembrance is planned for Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 10:00am in the Garden Room at the historic Redlands Community Center, 2463 Broadway, Grand Junction, CO 81507.