Frederick Newton Six

Fred and Lilian Six.  We are holding a celebration of the lives of Fred and Lilian Six on Thursday May 9, 2024, at 11:00am at Plymouth Congregational Church followed by a reception at the Cider Gallery.  The family invites anyone who knew them to attend and remember their wonderful lives.  

Frederick Newton Six died on April 27, 2024, at home in Lawrence, Kansas. Fred was born to Deal Demmi Six and Gladys Newton Six in Independence, Missouri on April 20, 1929. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Lilian Six. 

Fred graduated from Liberty Memorial High School in Lawrence, Kansas and from the University of Kansas in 1951with a degree in history.  At KU he was an assistant editor of the Jayhawker Yearbook, participated in Rock Chalk Review and University Theatre, and was President of the Forensic League. Fred was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. 

Fred served in active duty as a First Lieutenant with the United States Marine Corps from 1951 to 1953 and in the Korean War from 1952 to 1953 where he received the Korean Service Medal with two stars and the United Nations Service Medal. 

Following his military service, he received a law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1956, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Kansas Law Review, recipient of the C.C. Stewart Award for graduating first in his class, and Order of the Coif. Fred later obtained an LLM in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia in 1990. 

Fred began his legal career at the Reid & Priest law firm in New York, and then returned to Kansas to serve as an Assistant Attorney General. He then joined the law firm of Asher, Ellsworth & Six, and then the law firm of Barber, Emerson, Six, Springer & Zinn from 1961 to 1987. He was appointed as a judge on the Kansas Court of Appeals in 1987, and then served as a Justice on the Kansas Supreme Court from 1988 to 2003. He was an adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law and a Lecturer in Law at the Washburn Law School.  Fred served in several roles on the Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualifications. 

Fred was a member of many professional organizations.  He was a Fellow of the American Bar and Kansas Bar Foundations, President of the University of Kansas Law Society, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Kansas Bar Association. He served as Chairperson of the Kansas Client Security Fund, Chairperson of the Continuing Legal Education Committee, and in various roles for the Douglas County Legal Aid Society. He was co-founder and President of the Judge Hugh Means American Inn of Court.  Fred received numerous professional awards including Kansas Bar Association Outstanding Service Award, the Philip Lewis Medal of Distinction, the University of Kansas School of Law Distinguished Alumnus Award to name a few.

Outside of the legal arena Fred served numerous service organizations, including as Chairman of the Kansas Water Resources Board, as Secretary on the Lawrence Human Relations Commission, and in 1957 was the drafter of the Lawrence Fair Housing Ordinance. He served in leadership roles with the Lawrence Symphony, Penn House, Salvation Army, Bert Nash Mental Health Center, The Villages, Douglas County Visiting Nurses, Haskell Indian University Foundation, Bleeding Kansas National Heritage Committee, and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. Services will be later.

Fred met Lilian Olsson in 1960 when she was attending Kansas University on a Rotary International Fellowship and they married in Stockholm, Sweden on May 11, 1961. He and Lilian raised two children, Catherine and Stephen.

Fred believed in education and the arts. He loved museums, opera, theatre, and history.  He had a persuadable mind. He was open to new information and, if the case was made, he would reevaluate his position. Raised in the Reorganized Church of Latter-Day Saints he later became a secular humanist.  Before his judicial service he was Chairman of the Douglas County Republican Party and Chairman of Congressman Robert Ellsworth’s successful campaign.  After he retired from the Supreme Court he worked as a volunteer for the election of President Obama and on Governor Laura Kelly’s campaigns.

Fred loved to travel and visited most of the world with Lilian and his children. Fred was always active and over the years he played in several tennis and golf groups where he made many lasting friendships.  He enjoyed skiing into his 80s and was able to play tennis with his grandchildren into his 90s. Fred enjoyed nothing more than walking on his property south of Lawrence with Lilian and her dogs, often hunting for morel mushrooms, or simply watching the changing landscapes. He loved the history of Kansas and researched the path of the Oregon Trail over Blanton’s Crossing on the Wakarusa River at his property and gave talks on the history of Douglas County.

When an occasion called for more than casual attire, Fred could be found wearing his trademark bow tie and was pleased he passed on the tradition to a few of his grandsons.  A life-long learner, when his first grandchild was born, he bought a copy of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care to freshen up his knowledge. He was a master of crafting engaging stories and told them with enthusiasm to his children and later his grandchildren. He genuinely enjoyed the company of others and although he outlived most of them, had a large circle of friends. He would research guests so he was ready with questions to ask about topics of interest to them to encourage a robust conversation. He had a way of conveying his genuine interest in what others had to say. Fred was a true Renaissance man.

Fred is survived by a daughter Catherine Six-Sallerson (Peter) of East Hampton, NY, and son Stephen Six (Betsy) of Lawrence, KS. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Emily, Samuel, Henry, and William Six. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Sally Six Hersh. He and Lilian are survived by a niece Jennifer Hersh and her daughter Addie Seideman of Brooklyn, NY, a nephew Chris Hersh (Carolyn), Middleburg, VA and his children Demmi and Karrer Hersh, a sister-in-law Gunilla Pluim, Ede, Netherlands and her children Nicole, Michiel (Martine Peper), and Babette Pluim (Michael Turner).