Gerald “Deed” Stockebrand, 82, Yates Center, passed away Sunday, March 26, 2017, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Deed was born July 10, 1934, in rural Yates Center, the son of Edward William and Edith Bessie (Weide) Stockebrand. He grew up on the family farm and graduated from Yates Center High School in 1952. In the 1960s he and Carolyn Johnson were married. Deed adopted her two children, Larry and Karen. He and Carolyn were later divorced.
Deed was a lifelong farmer and stockman in the Yates Center area.
On Aug. 4, 1977, he and Elizabeth Lou “Betty” Gustin Sowder were married at the United Methodist Church in Yates Center. They made their home on the family farm northeast of Yates Center, which was designated a Century Farm, and Deed became the father figure for her five children, Carey, Jana, Rhonda, Susan and Annette.
Deed was a lifelong active member of the Yates Center United Methodist Church holding various offices and serving in various ways over the years. He served on the Woodson County A.S.C. Committee for nine years and was a member of the Kansas Livestock Association. Deed was a sports fan. He followed his children’s and grandchildren’s games and activities and even ran the chains at Yates Center football games for 25 years. He also enjoyed coyote hunting with greyhounds and bowling.
His wife, Betty, preceded him in death on April 1, 2011. He was also preceded by five brothers, Maynard, Milton, Wendell “Pete,” Kenneth, and Larry Joe, and two sisters, Thelma Cline and Lois Stockebrand.
He leaves two sons, Larry Stockebrand, Yates Center, and Carey Sowder, Eureka; five daughters, Karen Rienbolt and husband Ken, Fort Scott, Jana Slagle, Chinle, Ariz., Rhonda Trahan, Topeka, Susan Mulsow, Iola, and Annette Van Anne and husband F.J., Chanute; 21 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; three sisters, Annie Coltrane, Iola, Gwen Tucker, Lee’s Summit, Mo., and Judy Swibold, Derby; numerous nieces and nephews; many other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Yates Center United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Yates Center Cemetery.
The family will meet with friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Campbell Funeral Home in Yates Center.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Yates Center United Methodist Church or the Yates Center Senior Center and may be sent in care of Campbell Funeral Home.
‘Deed’ Stockebrand
