Walter Leo Kerschen

Walter Leo Kerschen, 90, was born March 1st, 1935, to Francis Xavier Kerschen and Anna Scheer Kerschen at home on the family farm in Aleppo Kansas. He left his loved ones to journey to his heavenly home on Wednesday, July 16th, 2025.

The youngest of 10 children, Walt lost each of his parents at a young age, at which time his older siblings stepped in to help with his upbringing; especially his sister, Loretta Voth, with whom he lived with for many years. Walt attended school at St. Mary’s of Aleppo until moving to Wichita in 1948 where he attended 8th grade at St Joseph Catholic School. He graduated from St Mary’s Cathedral High School in 1953.

During high school he worked at a barber shop, sweeping floors and running errands for the owners. The owner of the barber shop offered to pay Walt’s tuition to attend college but he was more interested in having a full-time job and financial independence. Shortly after high school he began working for Boeing Aircraft. A short time later he enlisted in the U.S. Army and then the U.S. National Guard. His army years were conveniently nestled after the Korean War and before the Vietnam War, much to the relief of his family. After a mass-layoff at Boeing he worked for Associated Grocers Warehouse until it closed its doors in the late 1980s and then returned to Boeing until his early retirement at age 58. After his retirement, the hard work began of grandkid school pick-ups (with Dairy Queen stops), attending grandchild sporting events, choir and band concerts, and becoming one of the cherished team grandpas (only known as “Yankee” to most), even providing transportation and lodging for other players at out of town tournaments. Additionally, he volunteered many hours to the Guadalupe Clinic for non-medical needs; transporting supplies and providing transportation for other volunteers unable to drive. He became the go-to call for his sisters, many nuns and ladies at the church who could not drive themselves. He enjoyed being needed and rarely uttered a complaint. In his downtime he enjoyed casinos, turkey shoots or playing cards at the Orchard Park senior center, driving country roads just for the heck of it, and traveling in general. Two trips he spoke of the most: riding the mules into the Grand Canyon in 1956 and his trip to Rome for the canonization of Saint Maria De Mattias in 2003.

On May 5th, 1962, he was united in marriage to Jill Alicia Morgan.  They enjoyed 27 years of marriage until Jill’s passing on July 6th, 1989. They raised four children who enjoyed his well planned family vacations each year, most memorably to the scenic views of the Rocky Mountains, Arizona and Utah canyons, South Dakota Black Hills, Yellowstone and other National Parks. And of course, there were the one or two trips to Kansas City each year to watch the Yankees beat the Royals. If you attended one game, you may as well attend all 3. Most of the destinations were accomplished with a car pulling a pop-up tent type camper. While camping, he often took responsibility for the cooking and dishes, because “this was Mom’s vacation”. He loved his wife dearly and was her primary care-taker during her cancer fight, tending to her every need, only shifting his focus after she passed to his kids and grandkids “because it’s what she would have wanted”.

After 10 a.m. Mass at St. Francis each Sunday, he sat in the recliner with the Sunday paper while one of the kids fetched him a breakfast consisting of a bowl of ice cream and a glass of Pepsi. He bowled with the Knights of Columbus league every Tuesday night, sometimes with a tag-a-long who wanted to learn the skills and terms. He truly enjoyed being a dad, teaching his kids math and reading well ahead of where the class was in the textbook; coaching little league baseball and supporting them in any activity they chose to pursue. He was so proud of every one of them. He later did the same for his grandkids, even if it meant sitting all day in the summer heat to watch their swim meet.

Besides his parents and wife, Walt was preceded in death by his siblings, Sister Remigia Kerschen, Loretta (Leon “Bud”) Voth, Louise (Robert) Bestgen, Grace (A.J.) Nilles, Alfred (Mardella) Kerschen, Mary Alice (Bernard) Gatz, Sister Lucille Kerschen, Marlene Kerschen, Genevieve Kerschen; and great-grandson Christian Dean. Walt is survived by sons, Tim Kerschen and Tom Kerschen; daughters, Laura Dean and Linda (John) Waters; grandchildren Courtney (Danny) Huff, Shelby (David) Knifley, Kirsten (John) Sponsel, Jessica (Bryan) Campbell, Alicia (Sebastian) Constable, Joey (Molly) Dean, Derek (Liz) Dean, Megan (Colton) Slusser, Danah Dean (Colson Riemann), Kenzie Dean (Dakota Dugan), Heidi Hudson, Maudie Jo Hudson; great grandchildren, Cyrus, Scott, Gabe, Briana, Koby, Jordynn, MJ, Hendrix, Julian, Bella, Creed, Dodge, Asher, Lucas, Norma Jean, Matthew; and many nieces and nephews. Walt passed along his love of baseball and the New York Yankees to his children, grandchildren, his siblings, their children and grandchildren.

Rosary at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 21, 2025, Funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, both at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Final resting place at Resurrection Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Guadalupe Clinic, 940 South St. Francis, Wichita, Kansas 67211.

Arrangements handled by Downing & Lahey West Mortuary. Special thanks to Vintage Park @ Waterfront staff and community and Rivercross Hospice.