LeRoy James Windholz, Quinter, was born on December 9, 1933 near Emmeram to August and Regina (Bieker) Windholz. He passed away on September 6, 2016 at Hays Medical Center, Hays, at the age of 82.
LeRoy grew up on his family’s farm near Emmeram. He attended Lost Canyon country school through 8th grade. During his teenage years he moved to Hays and did varying jobs from setting up pins in the bowling alley to working in the oil fields.
On November 4, 1953 LeRoy was united in marriage to Catherine (Katy) Riedel, in Walker. To this union two sons, Gerald (Gary) and David, were born. LeRoy and Katy made their home in Russell, Natoma, Emmeram and Hays before moving to Quinter in 1956, where LeRoy lived for the remainder of his life.
From 1956 to 1976 LeRoy and Katy owned and operated Hill Top Service, a gas station and tavern along highway 40 in Quinter. Throughout the late 1950s and the 1960s LeRoy also owned and operated a television shop in Quinter, where he repaired and sold some of the very first color television sets in Gove County. In the early 1970s LeRoy started farming and ranching for Warren and Opie Munsell in southern Gove County. Farming was always the career he truly loved. In 1983 LeRoy and Katy bought their own quarter section of ground near Grainfield. This land, along with the Munsell grounds, brought them many successful years of wheat and milo harvests. LeRoy retired from ranching in 1997 and from wheat and milo farming in 2003. LeRoy was a seasoned accordion player. He played many wedding dances with his brother-in-law’s ‘Olmer Wittman Band’ throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He also enjoyed visiting with and spending time with his family and the many friends he made in his lifetime.
Survivors include his wife, Katy, of the home; two sons, Gary Windholz, Quinter, and Dave (Jonita) Windholz, Hays; two grandsons, Kevin (Mindy) Windholz, Edmond, Okla. and Ryan Windholz, Hays; one granddaughter, Jennifer (John) Clements, Lenexa; three great-grandsons, Spencer Windholz, Aidan Windholz and Ryan Clements; one great-granddaughter, Emily Clements; two brothers, Francis ‘Gene’ (Helen) Windholz, Victoria and August ‘Augie” (Linda) Windholz, Jr., Hays; two sisters, Mildred (Olmer) Wittman, Hays, and Shirley (Albert) Flax, Ellis, and many nieces and nephews. LeRoy was preceded in death by his parents, August and Regina Windholz; a brother, Linus Windholz; a sister-in-law, Ida Windholz; a daughter-in-law, Paula Windholz; and a granddaughter, Jamie Windholz.
Visitation will be Thursday evening, at the funeral home in Quinter from 5 to 7. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, September 9, 2016, at St. Ann Catholic Church, Walker, with burial in the church cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Quinter Ambulance Service or St. Ann Cemetery Fund. Contributions to the organization may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67752.
Condolences may be left for the family via online guestbook at www.schmittfuneral.com.