He was born on May 16, 1924, on the family farm near Parsons to Willard and Ellen (Shaw) Lansdowne. Mr. Lansdowne attended Salem Elementary School and graduated from Labette County Community High School in 1942. He attended the fall 1942 semester at Kansas State College, and the second semester he joined ROTC. March of that year, he was called into active duty for World War II.
In March 1944, he was home on furlough, during which he married his high school sweetheart, Margaret Herold of Altamont. In October 1944, he was shipped out for Europe and served under General Patton. He was captured south of Metz, France, in the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, and was a prisoner of war in Germany until three days before the surrender of Germany. He received the Purple Heart among several other awards and citations.
Following his honorable discharge in 1946, they moved to Manhattan to complete his college degree. Upon graduation in January 1949, he joined Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., where he served as a claims adjuster, retiring in 1986.
Robert was a member of Grace Baptist Church, where he served as an elder, deacon and a trustee and taught an adult education class for many years. He loved to landscape his yard and work in the garden. He loved his country and was very proud to fly our flag. He was also a member of American Legion Post No. 17.
To the union of Robert and Margaret, they were blessed with five children, Miriam (Zeibert) Kindle and her husband, Harry, of Manhattan, Bob J. Lansdowne and his wife, Patty, of Hutchinson, Mark Lansdowne and his wife, Amy, of Lewiston, Idaho, Kathy Lansdowne of Springfield, Mo., and David Lansdowne and his wife, Kathy, of Hutchinson.
Robert is also survived by a sister, Laura Davis of Lubbock, Texas; 18 grandchildren, Sandi Zeibert, Mindy Sturr, Bill Lansdowne, Jenny Springer, Joe Lomax, Dawn Nicholson, Michael, Kristin and Tara Lansdowne, Lane, Zanthia and Jacqulyn, Benjamin, Andrew and Linde Underwood, Matthew, Whitney and Amanda Lansdowne; 19 great-grandchildren; a great-great-grandchild; and many nieces and nephews who are all greatly loved.
Robert was preceded in death by his parents; four brothers, James, Harvey, Harold and Ralph; four sisters, Olive Cooper, Mary Bailey, Ethel Burkland and Lucy Moodie Lacey; a granddaughter, Laurie Hill; and a great-grandson, Alex Shivley.
The service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Grace Baptist Church, 2901 Dickens Avenue, Manhattan, with Pastor Bob Flack officiating. Interment will follow with military honors at the Kansas Veterans’ Cemetery at Fort Riley. The family will receive friends from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home.
Memorials are suggested to Grace Baptist Church or Hospice Care of Kansas and may be left at or sent to the funeral home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, 66502.
Online condolences may be left at www.ymlfuneralhome.com.
Post a Comment