Lance D. Hayes

Lance was born May 27, 1939, at home in Elkhart, Indiana, to Neva and Samuel Hayes.

He died Thursday, October 29, 2026, in Wichita, KS.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 52 years, Pat; his parents, Neva and Bob Hutchison and Sam and Evangel Hayes; and four Chihuahuas, Torre, Chipper, Pelusa, and Paco. He is survived by his dearly loved brother, Vern; one Chihuahua, Bug; cousins, Jodie and Larry Thach; nephews, Troy and Bret Hensley; several very good friends, including the two lifelong, from 1952, Bill Cullen and David Lloyd; and a host of truly loved and cherished students from 30+ years of teaching.

First, let it be said that Lance laughed. A lot. Mostly at himself. But he loved to joke and tease others, too. His life had the normal ups and downs, but he always vowed his sense of humor is what kept him alive through the worst of times.

Now…from the time he could remember, his mother stressed the importance of education. However, she didn’t demand success in school, she merely encouraged it.

His 4-years older brother and “third parent,” Vern, shared what he was already learning in his classes and also helped teach Lance to read. All of that established his passion for education.

Lance especially loved MOVIES for as long as he could remember. Then, for Christmas of 1953, his stepfather, Bob Hutchison, bought him a used, 8mm movie camera. Lance always wanted to make his own movies and now he could and did. And he learned.

He graduated from Elkhart High School in 1957 as one of three finalists for a National Merit Scholarship and came to the Municipal University of Wichita, enrolling in Speech and Drama. It was in acting that he met Pat Hensley, his future wife. He also became a deejay on student radio, KMUW-fm, beginning a life-long relationship with the station.

He graduated from the University in 1961 as one of five “Senior Honor Men,” and in 1962, he and Pat were both accepted into graduate school at the University of Kansas, Pat in Drama and Lance in Radio-TV-Film. Then, in 1964, having completed their course work for Master’s degrees, they got married and he began a position as Film Production Director for KTV-TV. In 5.5 years he produced hundreds of commercials and won the station’s first ever production awards, all told, 17 ADDYS, including several regionals and one national trophy. He also produced many documentaries, including the 2-year monthly half-hour series, “This is Kansas.”

In 1970 he left television for Walterscheid Productions, where he won 5 more ADDYS and in 1974, was awarded “Best Filmmaker in Wichita.”

WP owner, Bob Walterscheid, always wanted to make a feature film and he came up with the zany idea of a gorilla who knows martial arts, “King Kung Fu.” Lance, too, had ambitions to make a feature. He wrote the script, then directed and filmed its production. It premiered at the Crest Theatre in Wichita in 1987.

While employed at both KTVH and then at WP, Lance had also taught a filmmaking class at Wichita State as an adjunct instructor. In 1977, he took the offer of a one-year full-time teaching position in Radio-TV-Film at the University. He then became News Director, and later, Program Director of KMUW-fm, by that time a professional NPR affiliate. But he loved the classroom and in 1982, returned to full-time teaching.

In 1995, Butler Community College decided to create its Department of Radio-TV-Film and Lance was hired to make it happen. In his 13 years before retirement at age 70, his students won 146 Kansas Association of Broadcasters student production awards in both radio and TV. In the year 2000, Butler won more undergraduate awards than any school in the state, including the 4-year universities!

Lance and Pat celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2014. Sadly, he lost her three years later. But he had many happy years after that; he had much laughter. He truly loved life, his entire life. It was so good, so much fun. He was sorry to leave it.

Funeral Service will be at 10:00 am, Saturday, November, 14, 2026, at Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to public radio KMUW-fm, 121 N. Mead, Ste. 200, Wichita, KS 67202; the Lance D. Hayes Scholarship Fund c/o Butler Foundation, 901 S. Haverhill Rd., El Dorado, KS 67042; or Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside, Wichita, KS 67219.