Walter D. Rathke, 94, of rural Olpe, Kansas, died on October 30, 2012 at Newman Regional Health, Emporia.
Walter was born on June 23, 1918 in rural Olpe, the son of Samuel and Lydia Belle Cooper Rathke. He married Violet McElfresh on June 21, 1953 in Cottonwood Falls. They later divorced; she died in 2012. He later married Mary Wecker King. She died in 1996.
Survivors include: son, Daniel Rathke of Emporia; daughter, Marie Bauer of Bettendorf, Iowa; longtime companion, Naomi Finney of Emporia; and grandchildren, Grant Campbell, Ross Campbell, Joy Bauer, Peter Bauer, and Hope Bauer.
He is preceded in death by his parents, and his only brother, Robert Rathke.
As a teenager, he drove herds of cattle to railhead at Bazaar. He played baseball for Stoney Ridge for 20 years, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946 where he was radioman on the “Enola Gay,” and wired it days before dropping the atomic bomb. After the war, he became partner of a mechanic shop in Olpe, later selling his share of the partnership to do what he loved: living in the Flint Hills and working with horses. Nearly every year, he rode in the Strong City Rodeo Parade. He led many trail rides through the Flint Hills.
Walter was a founding member of the Eagles Creek Saddle Club. He served on the Rural Water Board, Livestock Board, and the Lyon County Fair Board. In 1998, he was awarded the Grassland Management Award. He gave up shoeing horses when he was 85. Walter enjoyed traveling all over, even driving to Alaska. He always looked ahead, not behind.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M., Monday, November 5, 2012 at Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, Emporia. Burial will follow in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Olpe.
A visitation will be Sunday afternoon, November 4, 2012, from 3:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions to Ebenezer Methodist Church may be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Walter D. Rathke, please visit our flower store.
Walter was born on June 23, 1918 in rural Olpe, the son of Samuel and Lydia Belle Cooper Rathke. He married Violet McElfresh on June 21, 1953 in Cottonwood Falls. They later divorced; she died in 2012. He later married Mary Wecker King. She died in 1996.
Survivors include: son, Daniel Rathke of Emporia; daughter, Marie Bauer of Bettendorf, Iowa; longtime companion, Naomi Finney of Emporia; and grandchildren, Grant Campbell, Ross Campbell, Joy Bauer, Peter Bauer, and Hope Bauer.
He is preceded in death by his parents, and his only brother, Robert Rathke.
As a teenager, he drove herds of cattle to railhead at Bazaar. He played baseball for Stoney Ridge for 20 years, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946 where he was radioman on the “Enola Gay,” and wired it days before dropping the atomic bomb. After the war, he became partner of a mechanic shop in Olpe, later selling his share of the partnership to do what he loved: living in the Flint Hills and working with horses. Nearly every year, he rode in the Strong City Rodeo Parade. He led many trail rides through the Flint Hills.
Walter was a founding member of the Eagles Creek Saddle Club. He served on the Rural Water Board, Livestock Board, and the Lyon County Fair Board. In 1998, he was awarded the Grassland Management Award. He gave up shoeing horses when he was 85. Walter enjoyed traveling all over, even driving to Alaska. He always looked ahead, not behind.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M., Monday, November 5, 2012 at Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, Emporia. Burial will follow in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Olpe.
A visitation will be Sunday afternoon, November 4, 2012, from 3:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions to Ebenezer Methodist Church may be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Walter D. Rathke, please visit our flower store.
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