Mahlon Roy Stauffer, Jr

Mahlon Roy Stauffer (1920 - 2014)

Obituary

Mahlon Roy Stauffer passed away Friday, (April 11, 2014) in Wichita, one day after his 94th birthday. He was born April 10, 1920, in Duluth, Minn., the son of Lucy Jane Oliver Stauffer and Mahlon Roy Stauffer, Sr. The family moved to Newton when Roy, Jr. was a boy. He was a graduate of Newton High School. After attending college at Emporia State, Roy was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and became a decorated fighter pilot in WWII, flying an F6F Hellcat 310 off the carrier USS Wasp in the Pacific Theater. Wasp was sunk by Japanese torpedoes while Roy's squadron was airborne, but he and others running low on fuel were able to land safely on the carrier Hornet. Roy continued to fly combat missions as the Navy Hellcats helped the Allies establish air superiority in the Pacific.

After the war, Roy returned to Newton, bringing with him his love of high-performance aircraft with the purchase of a highly maneuverable Swift airplane that he kept at the Newton airport. He went to work as a partner with his father in M.R. Stauffer & Son Construction Company, then one of the largest construction companies in Kansas. The Stauffer Company had projects across the state, as well as having built many of Newton's finest homes, churches, chapels, schools, the historic Newton depot, Lindley Hall, and buildings on the Bethel College campus.

Having honed his skills as an expert estimator for important construction projects, Roy was lured away from Newton to take a succession of positions with large construction companies in Kansas, Colorado, and California. A gifted thinker and planner, he was considered by many to be the finest "conceptual estimator" in the country. His last position was as Executive Vice-President of Lee Saylor, Inc., Beverly Hills, Calif., where he was the project estimator for some of the largest amusement parks in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. After retirement, he continued to do freelance work all over the country out of his home office.

Roy is survived by his wife, Dorothy Werner Stauffer; Gregg Roy Stauffer and Gary Robert Stauffer; Kim and Rachel Holdeman of Walnut Hill, Fla.; Mark and Judy Holdeman of Salt Lake City, Utah; Tracy and Sherrie Holdeman of Wichita; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

A private family celebration of life is planned. Baker Funeral Home cremation services.