James Kohl

James Alexander Kohl, age 68, of Ellis, passed away Saturday, November 22, 2014 at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita as a result of an automobile accident. He was born September 10, 1946 in Hays, Kansas to Alexander and Helen (Weber) Kohl. He graduated from St. Joseph Military Academy in 1964 and received a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Fort Hays State University. He married Jackie Graves on June 5, 1981 in Hays, KS. They renewed their vows in 1991 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Ellis.



He is survived by his wife, Jackie of the home; four sons, Dan Kohl and wife Tina of Schoenchen, KS, Rick Kohl and wife Kelly of Moundridge, KS, Scott Kohl of Manhattan, KS and Sean Passmore of Lawrence, KS; a daughter, Kelly Passmore of Benbrook, TX; his mother, Helen Kohl of Hays; a brother, Ken Kohl and wife Diana of Ellis; a sister, Ann Pfannenstiel and husband Ken of Munjor and five grandchildren, Russ and Faith Kohl of Schoenchen, Trevor and Collin Kohl of Moundridge and Nickolas Passmore of Lawrence.



Jim spent his life working at merely two things. Yes, just two, raising his family and the running the family farm. It could be said that Jim's favorite thing was to have family out at the farm helping in some way, shape, or form. In fact, on the occasions that the kids had a friend over for a weekend or even an afternoon visit, Jim would usually find a way to use those extra sets of hands too. The boys' girlfriends were occasionally used in the convoy moving equipment from field to field at harvest. Jim was excellent at making the best use of his available resources.



The main two things grown at the farm were wheat and cattle, along with the many things cattle eat. In order to do things of that nature, Jim picked up a few items along the way. Like pickups. Jim never had just one pickup for the farm. He had a pickup for every job. He had a run-around-pickup that got good mileage driving all over from pasture to pasture and whatnot. Jim had a fuel-hauling pickup. He had a cattle-hauling pickup, a church-going pickup, a bale-hauling pickup, a backup pickup just in case one of the other pickups broke down, and he even had a backup to the backup pickup. A Toyota 4-Runner (also four-wheel-drive). Jim rarely owned a vehicle that got traded in for something else.



Something that many people didn't know about Jim is that he was quite fond of recycling. Perhaps not recycling in the way most folks think, but Jim recycled in two ways. First, Jim had a great fondness for auctions. Jim enjoyed going to auctions looking for bargains. Whether it was a bargain truck, bargain tools, or bargain piles of "treasure," Jim wasn't shy about going to auctions and recycling other peoples' stuff. Secondly, Jim didn't throw anything away. Ever. Someday, sometime, someplace that thing can be reused. Jim was an avid recycler.



Over the years, Jim picked up a few hobbies. He occasionally went deer hunting. In fact, Jim was pretty good at hunting deer. He didn't even need a deer stand! Of course, anyone with a milo field doesn't need a deer stand. Jim also enjoyed taking the kids out to hunt pheasants. From working on the farm, Jim knew the best hiding places that the birds used, and Jim's kids will report to this day that no one ever had a better eye for seeing a pheasant in the ditch while driving down the road. On more than one occasion driving the boys between fields Jim randomly hit the brakes to pull over telling the boys that there's one in the ditch about a hundred feet back. Sure enough, he was the only one who saw it, and it was always right where he said it would be. Jim had a great eye for finding pheasants.



While Jim was finishing his Bachelor's in Sociology at Fort Hays State University, he spent time volunteering at CASA of the High Plains. Jim spent a couple of years as a court appointed special advocate for youth. In 1992 Jim ran for the Kansas House of Representatives, where he was narrowly defeated. He ran again in 1994, but again was unsuccessful. Jim was fond of politics and volunteering for a great cause.



Another of Jim's endeavors was the oil business. He and his brother Ken and their wives started Double K Oil Company, and later Jim and Jackie started JAK Oil Company. Just like every Kansas oil company, Jim's experienced prosperous years and lean years.



One of the perks of owning cattle is that the family always had fresh, home grown meat in the freezers, all three of them. Occasionally Jim would raise a few hogs alongside the cattle to have home grown pork in the freezer, and a bit of venison from deer hunting too. Jim's kids never had a shortage of fresh meat for dinner.



A farmer has many tools. Large tools, small tools, specialty tools, and multi-use tools. Jim's favorite tools were a hammer and a plier. Jim nearly always had a plier pocket hanging from his belt, even in the kitchen! A plier is a versatile tool, but one thing that Jim taught all of his kids is that a plier is an excellent tool for holding whatever you're hitting with a hammer. Saves the fingers! Jim had a lot of tools, and he knew how to use them.



Jim was both a gentleman and a scholar. He kept up with current events, was a college graduate, and worked hard to keep up on the latest technologies and equipment to use on the farm. He was a volunteer. He was generous with his time, and he did a terrific job at raising a family. Jim will be truly missed.





Funeral services will be 10 AM, Wednesday, November 26, 2104 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Ellis with burial in the church cemetery.



Visitation will be Tuesday 6 PM - 8 PM at St. Mary's Church and Wednesday 9 AM - 9:30 AM at Keithley Funeral Chapel 400 E. 17t Ellis, KS 67637.



A rosary and parish vigil service will be Tuesday at 7 PM at the church.



Contributions are suggested to St. Mary's School.Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or emailed to keithleyfuneralhomes@gmail.com











Service Information









Visitation Tuesday

November 25, 2014

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

St. Mary's Catholic Church

703 Monroe

Ellis, Kansas 67637









Recitation of the Rosary Tuesday

November 25, 2014

7:00 PM

St. Mary's Catholic Church

703 Monroe

Ellis, Kansas 67637









Vigil Service Tuesday

November 25, 2014

7:00 PM

St. Mary's Catholic Church

703 Monroe

Ellis, Kansas 67637









Visitation Wednesday

November 26, 2014

9:00 AM to 9:30 AM

Keithley Funeral Chapel

400 E. 17th Street

Ellis, Kansas 67637









Funeral Service Wednesday

November 26, 2014

10:00 AM

St. Mary's Catholic Church

703 Monroe

Ellis, Kansas 67637