Bill Lewman

(From Derfelt Funeral Home)

Bill D. Lewman, 85, died peacefully at his home in Baxter Springs on June 3, 2022.

Bill was born on March 20, 1937, in Galena, Kansas, to Haven and Faith Lewman. He attended Galena High School and graduated with the Class of 1955.

Upon graduation, Bill married his high school sweetheart, Rosalie Robertson and moved to Baxter, where he lived the majority of his life. Bill and Rosalie had four children, Misty, Kevin, Jodi and Peyton.

Bill's occupation was a maintenance mechanic for several local chemical companies, including Gulf Oil, Spencer Chemical, Vickers and 3M. He was a volunteer fireman for 30 years and served as the Baxter Fire Chief for 9 of those years.

He also served in the Marine Reserves for 6 years and spent time at Camp Pendleton in Southern California.

Bill loved sports and served as baseball and softball coaches for his children's teams. For the local Baxter football and basketball teams, he ran the chains and the time clock for decades. He enjoyed cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs. However, his real passion was following the Kansas Jayhawks, always representing KU with his many Jayhawk hats and shirts, especially every morning at breakfast at Weston's Cafe. He was especially happy to celebrate one more national championship in 2022.

His other interests were attending car cruises with his 1952 Ford, deer and pheasant hunting and serving as deacon at the First Baptist Church in Riverton. Bill was a renaissance man who could do just about anything, including building his kid's bikes, repairing anything and working on cars.

Bill is survived by his wife Rosalie, sister Sue Bruce and her spouse, brother J.E. Lewman and his spouse, son Kevin and his spouse, daughter Jodi Stewart and her spouse and Peyton Kessler. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren are Daylean Beery, Drew Thiele, Clinton Cheney, Colton Kessler, Seth Cheney, Christopher Stewart, Brittnie Atkins, Jax Brumback, Sydney Deane, Chase Cheney and Colin Cheney. He was preceded in his death by sister Joy Stinnett and his daughter Misty.

A celebration of Bill's life will be held at the Derfelt Funeral Home in Baxter Springs on Thursday, June 9th. Visitation is 6pm, followed by the service at 7:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Riverton First Baptist Church.