It is with great sadness that the family of Vernon J. Kimsey, 100, announces his passing to be with his Lord and Savior on January 17, 2024. The freshwater fish and cribbage players in heaven stand no chance.
V. J was born in Arkansas City on October 18, 1923, to Albert Edwin and Pearl Isma (Rodman) Kimsey. He was one of 11 children: 8 sisters and 2 brothers. Two sisters died in infancy.
After graduating from Arkansas City High School, V. J joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He trained a radio operator, radar technician, and gunner at different posts around the States. After training, V. J returned home on leave to marry the love of his life, Violet Marie Butcher, in Arkansas City, on May 12, 1944, before her high school graduation. Their honeymoon was short, as he was called to war.
Stationed in the Aleutian Islands, V. J’s B-23 aircraft crew flew many combat missions before being declared MIA and eventually POW in Russia. Violet did not hear from Vernon or know his whereabouts for six months. During this difficult time, she kept busy by working on military airplanes in California with three of her high school girlfriends.
He safely returned home in 1945 and retired from the Army. To commemorate their service, he and Violet traveled to Washington, D.C. on an Honor Flight, accompanied by their daughter Kay.
Their first home was established in Arkansas City, where their first daughter Vicki Sue was born. Valorie Joyce was born in Wellington, and then Kay arrived after the family moved to Medicine Lodge, where they lived for 63 years.
Vernon worked for the Santa Fe Railroad for 36 years, starting as a brakeman in Wellington. For 31 of those years, he was a conductor based out of Medicine Lodge, servicing the Gypsum Mill. As much as V. J loved the rhythm and camaraderie of the railroad, he later blamed his hearing loss on the squealing brakes and his bum knee on jumping on and off train cars.
After retiring from the railroad in 1984, V. J was a long-standing volunteer at the Leisure Time Center, where he drove the bus, delivered meals, and was the handyman. V. J also played a mean game of pool. The number of lives he impacted thru the Leisure Center is immeasurable. He was a member of the First Christian Church for the past 70 years and served as a deacon for many of those years. He was the treasurer, and a life member, of V.F.W. Post 7625 and belonged to the American Legion Post #69.
V. J rarely went a day without solving the newspaper’s crossword puzzle, meeting the guys for coffee, and (after a brief nap) puttering around in his woodworking garage. He was an avid fisherman and he and Violet took summer trips to Montana, where he fished the “Mighty Mo” with his daughter Valorie, her husband Keith, grandkids, and a bag of Cheetos.
V. J is survived by: his daughters, Vicki Singer and husband Peter of Germany, Valorie Joyce Clark and husband Keith of Helena, MT, Kay Jones of Hutchinson; 6 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; 2 step great-grandchildren; 5 great-great-grandchildren; brothers, Don Kimsey of Winfield, Albert Kimsey and wife Connie of Wichita; and many extended family members.
He was preceded in death by: his parents; wife, Vi; and 8 sisters.
Funeral service will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 27, 2024, at First Christian Church, 300 S. Main St., Medicine Lodge. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery, with military honors conducted by Fort Riley Honor Guard.
Friends may view from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Elliott Mortuary, Hutchinson, or from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday, at First Christian Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Leisure Time Center in Medicine Lodge, Kansas Honor Flight, or Hospice and HomeCare of Reno County, in in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501.