Wilbur Leebrick

Wilbur Leebrick Obituary Wilbur P. Leebrick was born November 4, 1918 in rural Rawlins County, Kansas to Charles H. and Minta Lewis Leebrick and died June 25, 2014 in Colby, Kansas. He was the last born in a family with three sisters and a brother who died in infancy. Wilbur attended rural schools through eighth grade and graduated from Atwood High School in 1936. In the fall of 1937 he began teaching in the Sappa View school with 13 students in six grades. The salary was $55 per month, which was considered good during the Dirty Thirties. In the fall of 1939, he enrolled at Fort Hays State Teacher's College. Because of his father's illness, he came back to the farm after only one semester of college. In 1943, he met Virginia Hartzell who was teaching in the McDonald High school. They were married November 1, 1945, at the Methodist Church in Atwood. To this union four children were born; David, Nicolee Jo, Linda and Lance. In 1947, they moved to a farm in Southern Rawlins County which became their home for the next 58 years. Wilbur conducted a lambing operation in the winter for many years, as well as raising wheat and milo. In later years he added corn to the crop rotation. Wilbur's Christian faith was a central focus of his life. Wilbur gave his life to Christ while attending Steven's Chapel, a rural Methodist church southwest of Atwood, and was baptized in the nearby Beaver Creek as a youth. He and his siblings, and then later, he and Virginia, were actively involved in that church until it closed in the late 1950s. They then became members of the Herndon Covenant Church and supported the various ministries of that church until they retired and moved to Colby in 2005. There they attended the Colby Wesleyan Church until his passing. For Wilbur, his faith was not just a compartment of his life separate from everyday events. Instead, his faith informed virtually every activity and decision in his life, and as a result, his faith influenced not only his children, but nearly everyone he came into contact with. Wilbur's funeral will be held at the Colby Wesleyan Church on Monday, June 30, 2014 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of lowers, memorial contributions may be made in his memory to the Missions Fund, Colby Wesleyan Church.