Lee E. Figgins

Lee E. Figgins, 86, of Pomona, Kansas, passed away Monday, April 20, 2015, at Ottawa Retirement Village. Family will meet with friends from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday, April 24, 2015, at Dengel & Son Mortuary. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 25, 2015, at the mortuary. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery, Pomona, Kansas. Lee was born Monday, March 11, 1929, in Quenemo, Kansas, the son of Charles and Lula (Smith) Figgins. He lived in Ottawa, moving in 1957 to Pomona. He attended school at Schoolhouse #9 in rural Quenemo and graduated from Quenemo High School with the class of 1947. Lee joined the local National Guard unit in December of 1949. He was activated to active duty during the flood of 1951, flood of 1953, Topeka tornado June 8, 1966, and the racial riots at University of Kansas in July 1970, retiring in 1983. Lee was united in marriage with Edythe M. Swallow March 18, 1950, in Quenemo, Kansas. She preceded him in death January 30, 2007. Survivors include his children, Wayne Figgins and wife, Anita of Pomona, and Gayle Reeves and husband, David of Williamsburg; sister, Peggy Weiss of Fort Worth, Texas; four grandchildren, Daryl McFarland and wife, Sara, April Figgins Garcia and husband, Vince, Ryan McFarland and wife, Amber, and Mandy Tally and husband, Lance; and four great grandchildren, Jace, Justin, Rebecca, and Ethyn McFarland. He was also preceded in death by his son, Daryl William Figgins; parents, Charles and Lula Figgins; and brothers, Rankin, Forrest, Marlin, and Byron Figgins; and sisters, Ruby Broyles, and Vada Bachelor. Lee worked from 1950 to 1960 for the State Highway Department and part-time for Roy Miller Trucking in Pomona. From 1960 to 1962 he worked at Goodyear in Topeka and from 1962 to July of 1964 for Roy Miller Trucking in Pomona and Baldwin Ward in Ottawa. In July of 1964, Lee became self-employed hauling hay for nearly thirty years. In 1979, he bought his first tandem dump truck and started hauling anything that would fit and still come out, sometimes. He sold that truck and in 1993 he bought a brand new GMC white dump truck and began hauling rock and dirt. In 2010, he was awarded the Pomona Outstanding Citizen Award. He attended Pomona United Methodist Church. Lee will be remembered as a loyal husband, father, grandfather, brother, neighbor and friend. He was committed to his family and loved spending time with them. He enjoyed working with his truck and putting it in area parades, raising horses and taking care of them, telling jokes, and country music. He was a proud, tough, hard working man who never gave up until the job was done and done right. Lee’s loss is felt by all who knew and loved him. He will be greatly missed. The family suggests memorial contributions to Crossroads Hospice or Pomona United Methodist Church c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, Kansas 66067. Family and friends are encouraged to leave their condolences and memories on Lee’s Celebration Wall at www.dengelmortuary.com.