Bobby Joe Mead, 78, died May 4, 2015, at Hays Medical Center in Hays. Born Sept. 18, 1936, in Fredonia, he was the son of E.O. and Aldine LaRue (Randall) Mead. Bob married Carole Annette Cronenberg on Sept. 18, 1955, in Great Bend. She died on July 1, 2002.
Mr. Mead was a Pawnee Rock resident for 40 years. He built several airplanes and enjoyed flying. A builder and business owner, he was a public servant his entire life, serving four terms as 112th District State Representative, serving as Acting Secretary of Kansas Department of Health and Environment, serving on Governor Bill Graves’s Transition to Office Committee, and retired from the Kansas State Parole Board. He was a former mayor of Pawnee Rock, also serving on the Pawnee Rock City Council and was City Marshal of Pawnee Rock. Most recently he was elected to the Barton Community College Board of Trustees.
Mr. Mead was a United States Army veteran, serving with the 82nd Airborne. He was a member of First Christian Church in Great Bend.
Survivors include one son, Alan K. Mead and his wife Cynthia of Lindsborg; one daughter, Karla Kaye Mead and her husband Steve of Salina; five grandchildren, Skyler Reinert and his wife Kimberly, Sawyer Reinert and his wife Tiffany, Kristin Herrman and her husband Lenny, Katie Bishop and her husband Dylan, and Kerri Mead; eight great-grandchildren, Emily, Britton, Kaden, Stella, Chloe, Bellami, Jaiden and Weston; and companion, Rosalia Schick. He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers, Bill Mead, Gary Mead, and Rodney Mead.
Funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 7 at the First Christian Church in Great Bend with the Rev. Joshua Leu officiating. Interment will be at the Pawnee Rock Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday at Bryant Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to the American Cancer Society, in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be sent and notice viewed at www.bryantfh.net.

Funeral arrangements provided by
Bryant Funeral Home*
1425 Patton Road
Great Bend, KS 67530
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, May 6, 2015