John Edward (J.E.) Demuth, age 65, passed away suddenly January 1st, 2015 at his home in Louisburg, KS. Admirer of American made automobiles, especially Corvettes, collector of Smith and Wesson guns, glassware, radios, telephones and any and all antiques, John Edward (J. E.) Demuth possessed a visionary and creative nature that guided him throughout his life. He was a self educated "techie," keeping up with every new "gadget" that came on the market. His collection of Logan memorabilia began at an early age and followed him up until his death. Although he spent most of his adult life in the Kansas City area, he never wavered in his love of his hometown of Logan. One of the enjoyments of his retirement was surfing ebay looking for any and all artifacts which might be connected to his beloved Logan. Dr. A.B. Limes delivered J.E. to John and Iris Demuth on October 16, 1949, at the Limes Clinic. He attended Logan Public Schools, graduating from Logan High School in 1967. He attended the University of Kansas and quit after his junior year to begin working for the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City. In 1971 during the skyjacking period, John became a Sky Marshall, jointly implemented by the U.S. Department of Justice, Treasury and Commerce, a job that took him far beyond his Kansas roots. Returning to Logan, he began working for Donald Forssberg at the Logan Lumber Company, a job that was the start of his love affair with construction work. When the Hansen Plaza was built, with Don"s blessing, J.E. signed on with the Plaza construction firm, a decision that was an important mentorship and learning experience that led him to his successful career in commercial construction. Most of J.E."s forty years in commercial construction projects were centered around the Kansas City area. Some of those projects were the building of Kohl"s store, construction of the Quivira Crossing strip mall, complete remodeling of the Marion Merrill Dow administrative offices, and constructing the Schlagle Environmental Teaching Center at Wyandotte County Lake. Although J.E. took pride in all of his projects, two of them were particularly close to his heart: (1) the remodeling of several old buildings in downtown Kansas City, MO, because it gave him the opportunity to use his very own creativity and vision to implement a final and successful outcome, and (2) the building of the grandstand area for the CBS network for the 1988 Final Four Basketball tournament at Kemper Arena. This really excited him because he was right up in the booth with the final four commentators throughout the entire tournament, and his KU Jayhawks ended up winning. His final employment before retirement was with the Corp of Engineers as a Construction Manager overseeing construction projects on the Fort Riley Military Base. He is survived by his wife Lana of the home, mother in law, Irene Vandament of Arapahoe, NE, two step daughters, Kristie (Matt) Bridges and Karmin (Steve) Powell, and three step grandchildren, Austin, Haylee and Levi, all of Lincoln, Nebraska; he is also survived by two sisters, Rosemary (Don) Douglas and Nancy (Larry) Richardson of Greeley, CO; three nephews, Phillip (Bonnie) Demuth, Jeffrey (Anne) Demuth and Bill (Allison) Koch; and one niece, Betsy (Bryce) Lund. He was preceded in death by his parents John and Iris Demuth, one brother, Randall and sister in law, Louise. In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to a Humane Society of your choice or to the Cedar Cove of Louisburg C/O Penwell-Gabel Louisburg Chapel. First Christian Church Logan, Kansas Service: Saturday, January 31, 2015 at 10:30 AM Visitation: No Visitation
Visits: 1
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors