Delwin L. Dougherty, 90, passed away Saturday, October 4, 2014 at the Catholic Care Center in Wichita, KS, surrounded by loving family.
He was born July 9, 1924 in Plainville, KS to Floyd and Ethel Ardna (Edson) Dougherty. On February 15, 1943, he married Armella Pfannenstiel at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Hays, KS.
He was a WWII Navy veteran who served as a Yeoman Officer in the Asiatic Pacific from 1943 to 1946. On March 29, 1946, at meritorious mast, he was commended for his faithful service and devotion to duty and awarded the Victory Medal of Honor for his excellent attention to and performance of duty. He was employed by Champlin Petroleum Company (Anadarko Corporation) for 38 years and was the Mid-Continent District Production Supervisor until his retirement in 1986.
He was an Honorary Life Member of the Bishop Cunningham Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, Hays, KS, the Knights of Columbus Third Degree Council No. 10044, the VFW Post No. 9076, and a member of St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, Hays, KS and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, Wichita, KS.
Delwin was a devoted husband and father. He loved hunting and wood-working and built children’s furniture for great grandchildren and bird houses, clocks, and memory boxes for family and friends.
Survivors include: sons, Dale Dougherty and wife, Debbie, Lancaster, CA and Bruce Dougherty and wife, Suzanne, Kansas City, KS; daughters, Sheryll Bolinger and husband, Michael, San Diego, CA, Colleen Brunton and husband Larry, Newton Square, PA, and Kathleen Caldwell, Wichita, KS; sister Eleanor Swanson, Glendale, AZ; sisters-in-law, Jeanie Pfannenstiel, Canadian, TX and Katie Pfannenstiel, Hays; ten grandchildren, twenty-one great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Armella, brother, Edgar, and twin sisters, Hilda Goetz and Hilma Bauer.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 10, 2014 at St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church, Hays. Burial with military honors by the Hays VFW Post No. 9076 will be at St. Francis Cemetery, Munjor, KS. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Thursday and from 9 to 9:45 a.m. Friday all at Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home, 1906 Pine.
The Bishop Cunningham Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus will stand honor guard from 5:30 until 6:30 pm, a parish vigil service will be at 6:30 p.m. followed by a combined third and fourth degree Knights of Columbus rosary at 7:00 pm, all on Thursday at the funeral home.
Memorials are suggested to St. Nicholas of Myra Catholic Church or Good Shepherd Hospice, Wichita, KS in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com.