Donald Eugene Mundell's Obituary
Donald Eugene Mundell,100, formerly of Walnut, died on January 26, 2017, at a local healthcare facility.
Cremation has taken place and a celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Don was born on May 24, 1916, in Anthony, Kansas, to Jesse A. and L. Pearl Mundell. When Don was in elementary school, the family moved to Wichita, Kansas, where he graduated from East High School in 1934. He trained to be a draftsman and was employed until the end of World War II by Stearman Aviation, the predecessor of Boeing Aviation.
February 5, 1939, Don married Dorothy Patricia Hall in Wichita, Kansas. In 1942, they purchased a farm five miles south of Stark, Kansas, but didn't move there until 1945. Don became an electrician for Fritz Electric in Chanute.
During the Korean War years, Don returned to Boeing and was in the Procurement of Parts for Change Orders Division and supervised a staff of over 40 people. He and the family moved back to the farm south of Stark in 1952. Don worked for the same electrical company in Chanute under new ownership, Lassman Electric, where he was a journeyman electrician until his retirement in 1978. He wired many of the large buildings that were being built in Chanute, Humboldt, and Iola at the time. All of those years, he and Dorothy farmed.
He was known as an avid reader and could be counted upon to have a comment on almost any topic because he had read about it. He subscribed to numerous magazines and was a frequent visitor to the library. After reading, Don's favorite pastime was fishing the lakes and streams of Kansas and Missouri.
In 2010 at ninety-four years of age, he and Dorothy were still living on the farm they purchased in 1942. In November of that year they moved to Guest Home Estates in Erie.
Don was preceded in death by his wife, who died in 2015; his parents; his brother, Ralph Reid Mundell; and a sister, Ruth, who died as a child.
Don is survived by his four children: Suzanne (Leonard) Waring of Great Falls, Montana; Kathleen Craig of McLouth, Kansas; David (Claudia) Mundell of Carthage, Missouri; and Laura Hawkins of McLouth, Kansas. Grandchildren are Kelly (Kristina) Waring of Anchorage, Alaska; Keith (Linda) Waring of Bozeman, Montana; Jim (Shelley) Lawhorn of Eudora, Kansas; Darin (Cheryl) Lawhorn of Meriden, Kansas; Morgan (Jessica) Mundell of Jefferson City, Missouri; Micah Mundell of Pittsburg, Kansas; Jennifer Hawkins of Olathe, Kansas; Erin (Eric) Lyche of Denver Colorado; and eleven great-grandchildren.
Online condolences may be left at www.countrysidefh.com. Memorial contributions have been suggested in Don Mundell's name to the Savonburg Public Library, Savonburg, Kansas, and may be left with or mailed to the funeral home. Arrangements have been entrusted to Countryside Funeral Home, 101 N. Highland, Chanute, KS 66720.
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