Wilbur Dale Nickel
Obituary
Wilbur Dale Nickel, 76, was born June
19, 1938 to Menno and Rosa (Unruh) Nickel at Newton. He was their
only child and grew up on the family farm east of Newton. He
graduated from Newton High School and went to Bethel College at North
Newton for a year. Wilbur did selective service at a hospital in
Allentown, Pennsylvania and then came back to the farm when his
father became ill. He attended Wichita State University for a year
and went to business school.
Wilbur accepted Christ as his Savior
and belonged to the Grace Hill Mennonite Church, east of Newton, then
later belonged to Asbury United Methodist Church in Wichita, and
after moving to Anthony the Anthony United Methodist Church.
Wilbur married Dorothy Ann Umholtz on
February 16, 1964. To this union three sons were born: David Lee,
Jeffrey Lynn and Jason Todd.
Wilbur was an accountant in Wichita for
12 years before moving his family to Anthony in 1977, to work for
Morrison Company. Later he became a tax preparer. After retirement he
worked at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita. Wilbur loved the zoo
and all the people he worked with there. He enjoyed telling everyone
he knew about the animals and his job. Do to his health he ended that
work in the fall of 2013, but would go back to visit as often as he
could. He was on the USD 361 School Board for a number of years and
on the board of the Anthony Hospital Foundation. The Kiwanis Club was
something he enjoyed for years. He was a member of the Public
Accountants Association of Kansas, and was an enrolled agent to
practice before the Internal Revenue Service.
Wilbur passed away April 11, 2015 at
the Anthony Medical Center. He was preceded in death by his parents.
He leaves his family: wife, Dorothy of the home in Anthony; son,
David and wife, Kirsten of Longview, Texas, Jeffrey of Mulvane, and
Jason and wife, Emily of Bel Aire. He also leaves his grandchildren:
Carianne Marie Creger, Casey Lynn Nickel, Aaron Christopher Nickel,
Braden Alexander Nickel, Garrett Dempsey and Jackson Dempsey; and a
host of other relatives and friends.
Memorial Services will be held 2 p.m.
Saturday (April 25, 2015) at Prairie Rose Funeral Home in Anthony
with Pastor Kim Martin officiating. Diane Miller will sing "How
Great Thou Art" and "Wind Beneath My Wings"
accompanied by Martha Hadsall. Inurnment will be in Forest Park
Cemetery, Anthony.
Friends may register from 9 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the funeral home.
Memorials in memory of Wilbur may be
made to the Anthony Medical Center, Sedgwick County Zoo or the
Anthony United Methodist Church, and may be sent in care of the
funeral home.
Prairie Rose Funeral Homes, Inc., 602
E. Main St., Anthony, KS 67003, is in charge of arrangements.
www.prairierosefuneralhomes.com
Published in The Kansan on Apr. 18,
2015
