Lawrence O. Tinsley

Lawrence Olin Tinsley, 91, of Paola, Kansas died Friday, April 19, 2019 surrounded by family. He was born July 31, 1927, in Bronson, Kansas, the second of four children, to Charles Samuel Tinsley and Leota May (Williams) Tinsley. He graduated from Parker High School in 1945. He attended Fort Scott Junior College. He met the love of his life, Jacqueline Marie (Day) Tinsley while studying at Fort Scott. Lawrence and Jackie married on June 5, 1950 in Fort Scott, Kansas. He proudly served first in the Maritime service and then in the Army, for over 4 years. Lawrence served 2 years in Manila, Philippines. He was called back into service from the Army Reserves after he and Jackie were married, serving another 10 months and 20 days in Korea during the early months of the war. His units included the X Corps and the 24th Infantry Division. He was awarded the Commendation Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, the Korean Service Medal with Three Bronze Service Stars, and a medal from the President of the Republic of Korea. He was honorably separated from active duty on 29 October 1951 with the rank of Master Sergeant. Lawrence graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business from Pittsburg State College in 1954. He and Jackie became parents of three children, Mark Charles, Lawrence Kenton and Randall James. Lawrence’s career included being an accountant, owner/operator of a bowling alley, a family affair, with the help of his spouse, parents, sister and sons. His longest career was his work for Kansas Social Rehabilitative Services, primarily in Miami County and Crawford County Kansas. When he retired from social work in 1987, he and Jackie became “Winter Texans” in Zapata for approximately 10 years. His joys were golfing, bowling and his children Mark (Cindy) and Larry (Mary) and his grandchildren Heidi Nichole (Tinsley) Shulista (Bob), Nathaniel S.S. Tinsley (Jennifer), Michael Lawrence Tinsley (Kayla) and Raechelle Marie Tinsley. His greatest joy was the love of his precious wife Jackie. After retirement Lawrence enjoyed genealogy research, during which he discovered very interesting ancestral members that he treasured. Most especially, there were seventeen Branstetter cousins, one of whom was Lawrence’s great grandfather Thomas L. Branstetter, who enlisted together in the Missouri Union Cavalry on April 19, 1863 in a cause for freedom. His great-great grandfather Wheeler Branch Southwick died while serving with the Union Army of the Potomac in 1864 during the Civil War. As much as he was proud of his ancestral history of freedom fighting and his own, Lawrence espoused the belief that the “love” of war should never become a family value. He also found that one of his grandmothers, Emma Jane Williams was a descendant of Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick, who as Quakers, endured seizure of their Peabody, MA, homestead and glass factory along with being exiled from the mainland due to the greed and religious persecution of the early 1600s. Lawrence was preceded in death by his parents, 2 siblings Lloyd Authur and Catherine Charlene, his son Randy and spouse of 65 years, Jackie. He is survived by his sons Mark (Cindy), Larry (Mary), his sister Charlotte (Tinsley) Earley (Gary), his 4 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, 1 great-great grandchild along with many nieces, nephews and other friends and relatives. The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made to VFW in Paola, Kansas. A memorial service and military honors will be held at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, July 13, 2019 at Dengel & Son Mortuary. Burial of ashes will be in Fort Scott National Cemetery, Fort Scott, Kansas. To share you memories of Lawrence or leave a special condolence message for his family, please click on the Share a Memory tab.