Lucille Elaine (Kuykendall) Riegle

Riegle, Lucille Elaine Kuykendall, 91, retired interior designer and art gallery owner, passed away on October 4, 2012. A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 13, 2012, 11:00 A.M., Downing Lahey Mortuary East. Lucille was born on September 27, 1921, in Cloverton, Minnesota, in a log cabin and was delivered by her father. She grew up in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas and her parents settled in Chanute, Kansas, where her father raised registered Hereford cattle. She attended Chanute High School and Chanute Junior College. In 1942, during World War II, she moved to Lawrence, Kansas, to attend the University of Kansas, majoring in Interior Design. In 1947 she married Robert M. Riegle, who was from Chanute and was attending KU. While Robert finished work on his degree, Lucille worked in the Bursars office at the University and was responsible for veterans records and payments. In 1950, after Robert graduated, they relocated to Wichita, where Robert joined an architectural firm and Lucille returned to work at Boeing, while attending Wichita State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Art. She worked as an interior designer for Innes Department Store, Sauders Interiors, Marion Alley Interiors and the Sign Of The Acorn Art Gallery. In 1960, Bob and Lucille enjoyed a five week trip to Europe, visiting the art and architecture treasures they had studied and in following years visited the art museums in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, as well as making many trips to the art communities of Taos and Santa Fe. This interest in art, led to the opening of The Wichita Gallery of Fine Art, in downtown Wichita, in 1977. They operated the gallery for 35 years, representing the finest local, regional and national artists, retiring in January of 2012 and closing the gallery. Lucille is preceded in death by her parents, Charles Horace and Lola Elsie Kuykendall. She is survived by a niece, Sandra Reinhardt, and her husband, children, and grandchildren. A memorial has been established with Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita, KS 67202.