John Franz

John Preston Franz “JP” Died peacefully at home in Weir, KS, surrounded by family on August 9, 2018. John was born in Colby, KS on June 17, 1937. He was a lifetime resident of Kansas, and resided in Colby until he retired in 1999. He was a 1955 graduate of Colby High School. John is a veteran of the United States Army.  He also worked in many industries and finished his career as a professional salesman. John moved to Southeast Kansas to be closer to his two children Kevin and Lisa. John had a very active retirement. When he wasn’t spending his time fishing with Kevin, he became an international traveler with his son Kevin and his wife Nadine, getting his first passport at age 75. John made trips to Jamaica, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and all over the Caribbean. Each trip always consisted of a fishing trip with his son Kevin. John really enjoyed these family trips and looked forward to them yearly. John loved spending time with his daughter Lisa, her husband Gary, and their three children. Lisa loved having her dad as her next-door neighbor, as they were able to share many visits while exploring their shared love of politics. John loved helping his daughter and at the start of every school year could be seen helping her setup her library, or during the school year he would help her and Gary judge at their debate and forensics tournaments. John’s other passions included KU basketball and woodworking. But at the end of the day, family was most important to John. John was his children’s biggest cheerleader in their lives, never missing a school activity and always being their biggest supporter in their chosen professions. As a grandfather of three, he was very involved in attending recitals, baptisms and other activities. He loved to spoil his family at birthdays, Christmas and every opportunity he could when the family was together. His last request was to have everyone over for a family barbeque. It was a perfect day for John as his whole family was together for a day filled with good food, good stories and lots of laughter. John is survived by his son Kevin Franz and his wife Nadine of Overland Park, KS, his daughter Lisa (Franz) Leiker, her husband Gary, and their three children Kaitlyn, Adriana and Alex of Weir, KS. He was preceded in death by his parents Arvid and Zelma Franz. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in memory of John P. Franz to Avalon Hospice at http://www.avalon-hospice.com/donate .