Terry William Backhaus, age 72, died at his home in Ness City, Kansas, on Friday, March 9, 2018. He was born on January 2, 1946 in Garritson, South Dakota, the son of William George and Orpha Marion (Henjum) Backhaus.

Always a lover of the sport of bowling, Terry was the owner and operator of Tumbleweed Lanes Bowling Alley in Ness City since 2003. Prior to that, he owned and operated Rawhide Lanes in Lusk, Wyoming, for 7 years. He was a veteran of the United States Army having served as a medic in Vietnam and at Fort Hood, Texas.

On May 11, 1985 he married Billie (Janssen) Reed in Berthoud, Colorado. She survives.

Other survivors include two brothers, David Backhaus of Arcadia, California and Bob Backhaus and his wife, Dede, of Wilmot, South Dakota; two sons, Tony Reed and his wife, Jeannine, of Firestone, Colorado and Tyler Reed and his wife, Leslee, of Milliken, Colorado; two daughters, Tammy Zayas and her husband, Joe, of Loveland, Colorado and Tonya Sykes and her husband, Bill, of Loveland, Colorado; 12 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; 2 nephews and 2 nieces.

Terry was preceded in death by his parents.

Although a quiet man, Terry had a wonderful, dry sense of humor and was an unrivaled jokester who loved to give his friends and family a good laugh. He had a great appreciation of classic cars and was a connoisseur of blues music. One of his favorite pastimes was camping and 4 wheeling in “Nelly”, his beloved 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser.

Above all, Terry loved his family deeply and was happiest when he was spending time with any or all of them. He will be forever loved and missed.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date.

Memorial contributions in memory of Terry may be given to the William F. Janssen Memorial Scholarship Fund, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or Vietnam Veterans of America.