William Kitchen

William Charles “Bill” Kitchen, passed away peacefully early in the morning of December 22, 2011 at Pioneer Ridge in Lawrence, KS.  A Memorial service will be held at a later date.

Born on May 3, 1924 in Hays, KS, he was 87 years old.
 
Bill grew up in Hays, KS.  After graduating from Hays High School in 1942, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was stationed in England during World War II, serving his country as a radar technician.  After his discharge from the army, he attended Fort Hays State College, where he met his future wife, Doris Jean Barry, in the cast of a college theater production.    The couple married in 1951.  After he graduated with a degree in physics and chemistry, he earned a Masters degree in clinical psychology, also at Fort Hays State.  Bill and Jean taught school in several small Kansas towns.  They bought a home in Columbus, KS in 1953 and started the family there.  Bill taught chemistry and physics at Columbus High School.  In 1959, the family moved to Hutchinson, KS.  Bill’s speaking and acting skills proved very useful in his job as physics instructor and later as chairman of the science department at Hutchinson Community College, where he also coached tennis.  In 1978, he and his family moved briefly to Lindsborg, KS.   They spent many years in Manhattan, KS, and Bill spent his final years in Lawrence, KS. 

Bill worked professionally as a photographer in his younger years, and enjoyed photography as a serious hobby throughout his life.  He also was a hi-fi audio consultant.  Bill loved sharing his knowledge.  In his leisure time he enjoyed fishing and bicycling.  He was also an avid golfer. 

Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Doris Jean, parents George and Barbara, brother Robert, and sister Patricia.  He is survived by his sister Mary Jane Roper of Dallas, TX, and his brother Don of Hays; his children, Colleen Dick of Corvallis, OR, Kirk of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Todd and Jocelyn of Lawrence, KS, and Sara of Austin, TX; his grandchildren Jean, Connor, Eamon, and Eleanor Dick of Oregon, Mulligan Greenwell of California, Ida Greenwell, Keegan and Eleanor Matheis of Lawrence, and numerous in-laws, nieces, and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made in his name to a Charity of Donor’s Choice and may be sent in care of the mortuary.