INDEPENDENCE — Manuel C. Schlegel, 81, of Independence, Kan., died at 4:25 a.m. Oct. 25 at the Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Mo.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Potts Chapel in Independence. Friends may register at Potts Chapel from noon until 8 p.m. today with family receiving friends from 6 until 7:30 p.m. Interment will be in Mount Hope Cemetery with military rites conducted by a Fort Riley Military Detachment.

Manuel Clayton Schlegel was born Sept. 26, 1929, at Otis, the son of Manuel Schlegel and Ruth E. (Miller) Schlegel. He grew up and attended schools in the Otis area.

On Jan. 27, 1951, he was united in marriage to Wanda Adams at La Crosse, and she survives at the home.

He was inducted March 14, 1951, in the United States Army, receiving the rank of corporal and was honorably discharged Dec. 15, 1952. He was a lifetime member of the VFW Post No. 1186 and the American Legion Post 139.

In 1962 he moved to Independence and began work with the 7-Up Bottling Company, working 43 years in mastering numerous duties before his retirement.

Memorial remembrances are suggested to the VFW and they may be left at Potts Chapel.

Survivors include his wife of the home; one son, Rodney Schlegel of Neodesha; four daughters, Linda Hadley of Harrisonville, Mo., Nancy Thompson and Carolyn Bean, both of Independence, and Norma Hamel, Kingwood, Texas; three sisters, Bonnie Woodard, Virginia Champ and Georgia Meade; 18 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one daughter, Loretta LaForte.

Funeral arrangements provided by

Potts Chapel

Box 801

Independence, KS 67301

620-331-5600

Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Oct. 27, 2010