Kenneth Frank Weatherbee 1916 - 2009

HUTCHINSON — Kenneth Frank Weatherbee, 93, died Nov. 14 at Promise Regional Medical Center in Hutchinson. He was born Sept. 28, 1916, at Emporia, the son of Paul and Ethel Newton Weatherbee. He graduated from Muskogee (Okla.) High School in 1933, and in 1936 graduated with a degree in diesel engineering from Hemphill School in Memphis, Tenn. He married Winifred Grace Altenbaumer on June 4, 1940, in Bushton. She died Nov. 23, 2008. He had been a Hutchinson resident since 1987, when he retired from his work as a State Farm Insurance Agent in Great Bend. Following his retirement, the Weatherbees wintered for over 20 years in Arizona and Texas.

Mr. Weatherbee served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Hutchinson and a former member and trustee at the First United Methodist Church in Great Bend; Lions Club and Optimist Club, both of Great Bend; member and past president of the Bushton School Board; and member of the Salt Minors, Wesley Towers Choir and a volunteer with RSVP, all of Hutchinson.

Survivors include a son Larry and his wife Sandy of Longwood, Fla.; two daughters, Cheryl Harmon and husband Ken of Hutchinson, and Diana Weatherbee of Durham, N.C.; four grandchildren, Christopher Harmon and wife Anne of Crown Point, Ind., Garrick Harmon and wife Nichelle of Madrid, Spain, Dawn Weatherbee of Longwood, Fla., and Ryan Weatherbee and wife Maria of Longwood, Fla.; and five great-grandchildren, Chloe Harmon of Crown Point, Ind., Elyse, Caleb and Elena Harmon of Madrid, Spain, and Autumn Weatherbee of Longwood, Fla. He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, a brother Paul and sister Jewell Weatherbee Matthews.

Cremation will take place with private family services to be held at a later date. Burial will be in the Lyons Cemetery in Lyons. Friends may sign the book from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Wednesday at Elliott Mortuary in Hutchinson. Memorials may be sent in lieu of flowers to Trinity United Methodist Church, Wesley Towers Scholarship Fund or the Alzheimers Association, all in care of the mortuary. Personal condolences may be sent online to www.elliottmortuary.com. Funeral arrangements provided by
Elliott Mortuary & Crematory*
1219 North Main
Hutchinson, KS 67501
620-663-3327
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Nov. 17, 2009