Dorlan Clio Bales

Dorlan Clio Bales, 78, passed away peacefully on March 31st, 2026 surrounded by his family.

Born on October 10th, 1947, he was the first of four children to George Bales, a Friends pastor, George Fox College professor, athletic director, and coach, and Elenita Mardock Bales, a teacher and counselor.

Dorlan spent his early years in Oregon and Washington and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from George Fox College, a Master of Divinity degree from Earlham School of Religion, and a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Chicago. Dorlan touched many lives through his service as a recorded Quaker minister. He served as a pastor at West Milton Friends Church and Chicago Friends Meeting before coming to University Friends Meeting in Wichita, Kansas, where he made a life for himself and his family for over 40 years.

Dorlan’s commitment to peace and justice was unwavering. He lived his faith in action through decades of activism supporting economic justice, racial equality, and anti-war action. As a conscientious objector, he spent two years of alternative service in a South Vietnamese hospital. He co-founded the Friends of Jesus community, a multiracial fellowship in Wichita dedicated to the gospel work of racial reconciliation and economic justice. In the mid-1990s, he led a campaign to advocate for LGBTQ+ church members, willing to lose his ministerial credentials to stand for their full inclusion in the church. Dorlan co-founded Sunflower Community Action, a nonprofit grassroots organization focused on racial and economic equity, and helped establish the Peace Center of South Central Kansas.

Dorlan moved with a gentle patience, a dry wit, and unassuming nature that made his passions shine as you discovered them. In the 1980s, he taught himself to build violins, making a dozen over the years and repairing instruments for Kansas school districts. In the early 2000s, he designed and built an eco-home in north Wichita, drawing from Prairie School architecture.

Dorlan is survived by his two children, Micah Martin Bales (Faith Kelley) and Andrew Geordon Bales (Andrea Valliere), and their mother, Donna Martin Bales; his grandchildren, George, Francis, Amos, and Ruth Bales; and his sister, Marla Bales Godfrey. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Andrea Bales and Thea Cowley.

Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.