Jack Glaves

Jack Glaves, 93, passed away on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Preceded in death by his parents, Sterling and Frankie Glaves; and son, Craig Glaves. Survived by his wife, Connie; son, Chris; daughter, Cathleen (Joe) Tinker, and their mother Corinne; 7 grandchildren; 6 great-grandchildren; 2 stepdaughters, Devon (Mike) Packard and Jennifer Graf Smith; ­­9 step grandchildren; and 3 step great-grandchildren. Jack grew up riding horses, raising cattle and working in the oil fields in Butler county near Latham. He joined the navy and went to law school at Washburn University to follow his dream. He loved what he did and wouldn’t retire for 70 years. After law school, he became the Sedgwick County Deputy Attorney and quickly fell in love with politics. He served in the KS Legislature as the 66th district Representative from 1956 - 1960 during which time Bobby and Jack Kennedy talked him into being the 4th District Campaign Chair for JFK during his successful 1960 presidential race. Jack had many stories during this time, including having dinner with JFK at the Fairland Café where they played pinball until 2am. Jack always loved a bargain and remembered fondly how they dined on chow mein and a bowl of ice cream for 45 cents. One of the most interesting times in his career was being the Kansas Democratic State Chair from 1962-64 when he met Harry & Bess Truman, Adlai Stephenson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson and the Kennedy clan. He loved boasting about his beloved native state of Kansas. A pivotal change in his career was serving as General Counsel for the KS Corporation Commission starting in 1968. He spent the next 50 years representing and lobbying for natural gas companies. To everyone who knew Jack, he was humble, easy-going, hard-working, and fair. He loved being a weekend farmer on his Allis-Chalmers tractor, riding horses, and raising cows. He traveled all over the world, especially enjoying cruises and spending winters in Arizona. He was an avid reader and always read the Wall Street Journal cover to cover. He had a great business acumen and loved nothing more than going to auctions to bid on farmland or good deals he just couldn’t pass up. We never knew what he might bring home next - bronze sculptures, a bull, a horse, even a rickshaw to ride around the front pasture. His optimism saw no limits. His career and family were his passion and rewarded him greatly with what he called a wonderful, exciting life where events just unfolded in a magical fashion. Behind it all was help from lifelong friendships from law school, law practice, business and politics. We will all miss him deeply. As he would say, Cheers. Memorial Service will be at 2:00 pm, Monday, March 8, 2021, at Downing & Lahey East Mortuary. Service will be live streamed and available to view by clicking "Watch Event" below. In lieu of flowers, a Memorial has been established with Washburn University Foundation - Class of 1950 Law School, 1729 SW MacVicar Avenue, Topeka, KS 66604.

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