Gaylen Horinek

Gaylen William Horinek, Sr. departed this life on January 27, 2024, at the age of 91. He was born February 11, 1932. He was the first of six children to Rudolph and Alice (Vrbas) Horinek.

Gaylen grew up on the family farm northwest of Atwood and graduated from Atwood High School in 1949. He joined the Navy in 1950 and served four years. Gaylen was a member of the Naval reserves until his marriage to Ellen Sherman on August 1, 1959, at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church. (St Cyril Catholic Church is now the Historical Church by the Atwood Museum.) During Gaylen and Ellen’s 64 years of marriage, they were blessed with seven children: Kimberly, Gaylen Jr. “Sonny”, Kelly, Troy, David, Stephen “Beav”, and Mary.

Gaylen was a heavy equipment operator and owned his own earth moving business in Colorado. He and Ellen returned to Atwood in 1964 where he continued his earth moving business. He built many dams, flat channel terraces and land leveled fields in Rawlins County. In 1976, Gaylen was full time Army National Guard and drove to the Colby armory for 12 years, serving in the Reserve National Guard, and was stationed in Saudi Arabia in 1991. He retired after 20 years of military service and belonged to the Sam Hubbard American Legion Post No. 46 of Atwood. He was the Atwood Legion Commander and adjutant for many years. He was also a proud member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars No. 1368 of Herndon.

After retirement Gaylen enjoyed flying his white and red Piper airplane, known as “Tweety”. His sons joined him in building and expanding his family home. Gaylen cherished his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He and Ellen delighted in attending the numerous sporting events to watch them all compete. Gaylen valued having coffee with his friends in the morning and afternoon at Williams Grocery. His compassion and love for animals was shown in his care of many feline family members. Gaylen passed peacefully in his sleep at the Good Samaritan Center.

Gaylen was preceded in death by his son Gaylen William (Sonny) Horinek and his father and mother, Rudolph and Alice Horinek.

Survivors include his wife Ellen; daughter Kim Leitner, husband Mike; daughter-in-law Nyla Mendenhall; daughter Kelly Teel; son Troy, wife Renee; son David, wife Kim; son Steve, wife Tielia; daughter Mary Wells, husband Chad; 30 grandchildren, and 30 great grandchildren; three sisters, Berdean Simminger of Atwood, Norma Haas-Just of Sheridan, WY and Madgie Carroll of Colby; two brothers, Gene Horinek of Atwood, and Doug Horinek of Albuquerque, NM; along with numerous cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends.

A joint service for Gaylen Horinek, Sr., and Gaylen "Sonny" Horinek, Jr., will take place. Visitation is from 5-7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 1, 2024, at Baalmann Mortuary, Atwood. The funeral service will take place Friday, February 2, 2024, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Atwood, at 10:00 a.m., with a Rosary prior at 9:30 a.m. Burial for Gaylen Sr. will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Atwood, followed by burial for Sonny in Fairview Cemetery, Atwood. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Rawlins County Food Pantry c/o Farmers Bank & Trust PO Box 279 Atwood, KS 67730. For information or condolences visit baalmannmortuary.com