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Service:
A celebration of life will be conducted at a later
date in Russell, Kansas.
Funeral home:
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader, Mount Pulaski
Obituary
John C. Stannard was a stockman, a
soldier, a family man, a mentor and an educator. He
had a smile on his face, a song in his heart and a
maybe even a joke to share.
John was born February 18, 1947, in Scottsbluff,
Nebraska to Donald and Louise Stannard. He had an
older sister, Barbara Ann, and spent many of his
growing up years on his grandparents’ farm in
Mitchell Valley. John is a 1965 graduate of
Scottsbluff High School. He served his country in
the Army National Guard, attending Officer Candidate
School in Ashland, Nebraska. He was discharged as a
First Lieutenant. He attended the Herdsman’s
Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and followed his
dreams of working on registered cattle ranches from
Nebraska to New York.
In 1968, he married Connie (Raymer) and they built
their lives on several ranches, spending multiple
years at Cox Herefords in Mullen, Nebraska, and
Iodence Hereford Ranch, Hemingford, Nebraska, until
the cattle cycle dipped in the mid-1980s, and John
decided to continue his education at Chadron State
College. He studied agricultural business, and
shortly after graduation, moved his family to Saint
Francis, Kansas, where he started his career at
Kansas State University as a county extension agent
for agriculture and 4-H from 1989 until 1996, when
he transferred to Russell County, Kansas. He retired
from a 24-year career in extension in 2013.
Moving to Russell County not only
allowed John to work with some great cow-calf
producers, but it also offered access to some great
fishing in central Kansas, and he and Connie took up
fishing. He enjoyed the sport, the peacefulness of
it, and he especially liked encouraging others to
fish. He became a leader and promoter of the 4-H
Sportfishing Program in Kansas. |
Besides mentoring young 4-H members
with various livestock projects, his greatest
protégé was his daughter Shelia Ann. John, Connie
and Shelia built a flock of registered Hampshire and
Dorset ewes. Attending sheep sales and shows become
a family vacation each year and allowed John to grow
his circle of friends.
John and Connie moved to Mount Pulaski in 2014, to
be closer to family. In 2015, they welcomed
granddaughter Lily Kay into their lives. After many
health challenges, John entered into his Heavenly
home on July 28, 2021.
He is survived by wife Connie, of the home; daughter
and son-in-law Shelia and StanLee Grobosky of
Alexis, Illinois, granddaughter Lily of Alexis,
Illinois, sister Barb Robek, Anchorage, Alaska, and
a host of friends.
Memorial contributions can be made in John’s honor
to the Russell County 4-H Development Fund or the
Nebraska Children’s Home.
Cremation rites are entrusted to
Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home in Mount
Pulaski.
A celebration of life will be conducted at a later
date in Russell, Kansas.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the family of John C.
Stannard
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John
C. Stannard