William Dible

William J. “Bill” Dible, 89, of Rexford, KS and Bonita Springs, FL passed away on August 9, 2022, at the Landmark Hospital of SWFL, in Lee County, Florida.

Bill was born in Rexford, KS on June 2, 1933, the youngest child of Ray and Almeda (Long) Dible. Bill spent his childhood on the farm northeast of Rexford, Findlay, OH, and Manhattan, KS. He earned his private pilot’s license and graduated from Manhattan High School in 1951. He attended the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Oklahoma, receiving his Airframe & Power Plant License and Commercial Pilot License.

Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1953 and married Donna Connelly on July 26, 1953, during his first leave. While in the Army he worked on helicopters, and taught instrument flying using LINK trainers. They lived in Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Alabama the first three years of their marriage, while Bill served in the U. S. Army. The following three years they lived in Wichita, KS, where Bill worked at Boeing Aircraft working on B-52 Bombers, and most interestingly, the RB-47H, which was a signal reconnaissance plane. They returned to Rexford in May 1959, to farm full-time.

Throughout his lifetime, Bill was industrious and enjoyed being involved. In addition to farming, he drove a school bus, worked at Bencken’s Welding, served on the city council, was elected Mayor for 32 years, and drove a tractor to Washington, D.C. in 1979 with the American Agriculture Movement Tractorcade. Bill treasured family time together, the Dible reunion, and continuing family traditions – including his homemade peanut brittle.

Bill loved to travel. In the beginning it was family vacations with five kids in a station wagon, later in an RV as snowbirds in Texas, Arizona and Florida, to eventually purchasing a home in Florida. Bill and Donna also traveled to Mexico, China, and Italy.

He loved everything about aviation, from building and flying models to flying private aircraft; NASCAR and local racing, sunset walks on the beach with Donna, and continually reading and learning. He was an early adopter of technology. Much to his wife’s annoyance, he loved to visit, as Bill never met a stranger! He was lovingly known by the family as the “baby-whisperer”. The majority of his charitable donations were to children’s charities, including St. Jude’s and the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park, KS.

Bill loved to farm and mentored many with his knowledge. He valued his close relationships with Keizer Carmen, Lionel & Chachi, Bruce Keiser, Chad Focke, Tom and Judy McCarty, the McCarty boys, as well as many others.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents Ray and Almeda Dible; stepmother Agnes Dible; siblings, Donald Dible and Margaret Haughawout; nephews, Peter and Robert Haughawout, Dennis Brown and Kenneth “Butch” Dible, and grandson, Dominic Passantino.

He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 69 years, Donna, of Bonita Springs, Florida; children, Robert, Lynn (Mike) Zimmerman, Michelle (Lenny) Patmon, Susan (Gary) Pfrang, Anita (Rocky) Passantino; 11 grandchildren, Nathan (Magdalene), Drew (Amy), and Skylar Zimmerman; Lindsey (Nate) Moore, Whitney (Kile) Zerr, and Jenna (Mitch) Gatz; Derek (Jessica) Pfrang, Kehley (Charles) Marion, and Corbin Pfrang; Alexis and Gabriella Passantino and 12 great-grandchildren, Ivan, Thane, Lydia, Emersyn, Mallory, Lennyn, Reata, Pate, Natalie, Cash, Dawson, and Quinn.

Visitation will be held at Baalmann Mortuary in Colby, on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, from 5-7:00 p.m. Funeral service will be at the Rexford Community Church on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. with burial to follow at the Rexford Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Rexford Community Church, and sent in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. For information or condolences visit www.baalmannmortuary.com