Life is that little dash between one’s birth date and the date of death. It is what one experiences, who one loves, what one does, and the choices one makes that makes up life. Guy’s life of 92 years was very full.
Guy Rengald Parsons Jr. was born Nov. 8, 1918, in a farmhouse near Degrass. He was the first child of Guy Rengald Parsons Sr. and Mary Adeline Abplanalp. Guy grew up on the farm and loved to ride horses and help with chores. He attended school in Potwin and Burns and graduated from Burns High School in 1937.
Following his father’s death, Guy, at age 18, became guardian to his four younger sisters and helped to raise them. He worked at the Burns Co-Op and then Beech Aircraft in Wichita.
Guy entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942 and served in the South Pacific as a corporal during World War II. While stationed in California, he met Cleta Tyler, a young woman from Texas who was working in the shipyards in California during the war.
After the war, Guy returned to Wichita and resumed working at Beech Aircraft. Cleta followed and they were married Nov. 14, 1947. They were married for 63 years and had two children, Susan Guylene and John Doyle.
Guy retired from Beech Aircraft as an inspector in 1983. Guy loved to read, especially western novels. He loved to hunt, fish, backpack, and be in the outdoors. His favorite vacation spot was Colorado and he enjoyed spending time at the family cabin near Buena Vista. He also enjoyed attending class reunions and Marine Corps reunions. He was a member of Olivet Baptist Church.
Family was very important to Guy. Starting in 1974, after his mother passed away, he decided that his family should get together once a month for a family dinner. This tradition continues today and often includes nieces, nephews, and grandkids, and cousins.
He loved spending time visiting with all of his family. He was a storyteller and wrote many stories about his life on the farm and in the military. After he began dialysis in 2004, his travel was limited but he and John would spend many weekends visiting relatives and friends and driving around Kansas, “seeing the cows.” He was a good dad, son, brother, husband, and grandpa.
Guy passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends Jan. 2, 2011. He will be missed by all.
Guy is preceded in death by his parents, sister Mary Parsons Long, brother-in-law Cecil Wright, and two infant children, Guyla Sue and Ronnie Guy.
He is survived by his wife, Cleta, of the home; a daughter, Susan Guylene Sanders of Derby; a son, John Doyle Parsons of the home; three grandchildren, Kimberly Jean Carter of El Dorado, Scott Rengald Sanders of Derby, and Jessica Lee Parsons of Augusta; two great-grandchildren, Sophia Carter and Bryson Bennigton; three sisters, Ruth Wright of Peabody, Marjorie Gfeller of Burns, and Nettie Graham of Hesston; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 837 S Hillside St, Wichita KS 67211.