Dr. Henry S. "Hank" Tillinghast, Jr.

Dr. Henry S. “Hank” Tillinghast, Jr., 70, of Ottawa, passed away Sunday, July 28, 2019, at Olathe Hospice House after a courageous battle with brain cancer. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Sunday, August 4, 2019, Fredrikson Chapel at Ottawa University. Family will meet with friends immediately following. Private family interment at Highland Cemetery will be held later with military honors by the United States Air Force. Hank was born January 1, 1949, in Concordia, Kansas, the son of Henry Scott, Sr. and Lois Fern (Shellenberger) Tillinghast. He graduated Clifton High School in 1967 and then went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kansas State University. Hank served in the United States Air Force from September 1973 to June 1995 attaining the rank of Lt Col. Hank was stationed in Florida, New Mexico, Taiwan, Germany, Colorado Springs and Oxford, England, where he earned his PhD. in biochemistry. Hank was united in marriage to Phyllis I. Meyers June 23, 1973, at Central Christian Church in Kansas City, Kansas. She survives of the home. Other survivors include two daughters, Jennifer M. Johnson and husband Bob of Ottawa and Renata L. Wilson also of Ottawa; three brothers, twin Herbert S. Tillinghast and wife Linda of Kansas City, Missouri, John B. Tillinghast and wife Debbie of Clifton, Kansas, and Karl G. Tillinghast and wife Sue of Lincoln, Nebraska; and six grandchildren, Oliver B. Tillinghast, Larson W. Johnson, Shelby I. Fears, Brytin W.H. Fears, Shayden S. Johnson, and Haylee J. Wilson; 3 nieces and 6 nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Lois Tillinghast. Hank was a professor of science at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, and most recently Ottawa University from 1999 until his retirement in 2014. He was a member of Grace Community Fellowship serving as elder, trustee and Sunday School teacher; Military Officers Association of America, Military Christian Leadership Ministries, KSU Alumni Association, Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Alpha Zeta Fraternity and Ottawa University Master of Humane Letters. Hank enjoyed fishing with grandkids, yelling at the Royals, woodworking and completing projects around the house. He also enjoyed helping with the church, travelling far and wide, going to K-State games with his brothers, reading, teaching and crossword puzzles. He treasured his family, friends, and church family. The family suggests memorial contributions to the Grace Community Fellowship of Ottawa, Ottawa University Tillinghast Science Scholarship, or Kansas State University Alumni Association c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, KS 66067. Family and friends are encouraged to post their condolences and memories on Hank’s Tribute Wall at www.dengelmortuary.com