Oh if a man tried

To take his time on Earth

And prove before he died

What one man's life could be worth

I wonder what would happen

to this world

Owen Ross Wingfield was born July 14, 1925 in Hugo, Colorado and passed away December 15, 2022 in St. Francis, Kansas at the age of 97.

Owen was the only child of Ross Richard Wingfield and Grace Bell (Welch) Wingfield. His father was in banking for about 73 years and started in Colorado where the family lived in Arriba and Owen was born in the nearby hospital in Hugo. When Owen was about one year old, the moved to Norcatur, Kansas for about a year, moved to Tracer, Kansas for about five years, and then to Herndon, Kansas for about two years. Owen attended first grade in Herndon.

The family moved to McDonald in June 1933 on a day when the dust rolled in and turned the sky to night. Owen resided in McDonald for most of his life. He graduated from McDonald Grade School in 1939and from McDonald Rural High School in May 1943. He was in college at Kansas State College (now University) in June 1943 when drafted into the Army Corp of Engineers. He was given a temporary deferment to finish the college semester and entered active duty at Ft. Logan in Denver, Colorado in February of 1944. He was honorably discharged in May 1946 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as a Sergeant. During his Army career, he served about 20 months overseas, spending most of that time in several conflicts in Germany, including the latter stages of the Battle of the Bulge.

Upon returning from service, he again attended Kansas State and graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He also graduated from the School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin in 1956 and from the School of Banking at the University of Colorado in 1967.

While at college at Kansas State in 1948, Owen met his future wife, Phyllis. On July 30, 1950, Owen married Phyllis Louise Larsen in Aulne Methodist Church in Aulne, Kansas and they celebrated 72 years of marriage. To this union, three children were born, Debra Louise, Gregory Allan, and David Lloyd, who only lived one day.

Owen was in banking for over 56 years and he held positions in The People's State Bank in McDonald, Kansas from custodian, bookkeeper, teller, cashier, Vice President, Chief Executive Officer, to President and Chairman of the Board of Directors. He belonged to several banking organizations, holding offices and serving on several committees. Included was the Kansas Bankers Association Bank Management Commission where he served on the education committee as Secretary and President of the Northwest Kansas chapter of the National Association of Bank Auditors and Comptrollers.

Owen was active in the McDonald community, serving in a number of ways. He served on the Board of Elders of the Federated Church as treasurer for many years, on the city council several years, and on the City Fire Department, reaching a position of captain. He helped organize the McDonald Rural Fire Department and served a Fire Chief for several years. He served as Commander of the Chester Phipps American Legion Post and helped finish the Legion building when he was Commander. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and advanced through the offices to become Master. Owen was also a sports announcer in McDonald for many years, announcing games for softball, baseball, basketball, and football.

Owen became a member of the McDonald Lions Club in 1952 and served in various officer positions for over 54 years. In 1960, he was elected Lions Club District Governor 17NW Kansas, which covered seventeen counties of Northwestern Kansas. He served on the Kansas Lions State Council for two years and was the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee for two years. He attended several Lions International Conventions and served on that organization's Elections Committee for two years. In 2021, Owen was honored for 75 years of membership in the Lions Club.

Owen enjoyed flying and owned his own planes. He accumulated 1500 flying hours. His wife Phyllis was reluctant originally when he took up flying, but later learned to enjoy it to the point where she would help him navigate. His children and father-in-law Louis shared his enthusiasm. Owen participated in Kansas flying activities including those that gave local children airplane rides. He flew over much of the midwestern and southeastern U.S. His other flights highlights included flights in Florida, Hawaii, and Iowa.

Owen had a lifelong interest in woodworking, which began in his youth when his grandfather, Robert Welch, built and gave him a wooden toolbox. He enjoyed working in his workshop and filled it with a large variety of tools.

His first job during the Dust Bowl days was stacking and salting thistles for cattle feed on a local farm. As a "jack of all trades", he held positions with the McDonald Standard newspaper and the local movie theater. He also had a job as a grease monkey at John McCain's garage. Later in life, he worked farmland that he and Phyllis owned.

He was preceded in death by his parents Ross and Grace Wingfield, his in-laws Louis and Grace Larsen, his brothers-in-law Don and Jacque Larsen, and his infant son David Lloyd.

Owen is survived by his wife Phyllis, his children Debra of Gibbon, Nebraska; Greg and wife Dina of Cedar Point, Kansas; his grandchildren Orion Shey Wingfield and wife Carlie Beach of Berkeley Lake, Georgia; and Molly Alaine Wingfield and husband Scott Kaitz of Baltimore, Maryland.

Owen absolutely loved the community of McDonald and was its dedicated servant. The family is so very grateful that the community loved Owen.