Lester Vahsholtz

Lester Martin Vahsholtz, 70, of Lenexa KS, passed away peacefully at
home on Saturday, December 8th, 2012 of complications from ALS. He was
surrounded by his loving family.

Les was born December 1, 1942, in White City, Kansas, the son of
Martin Leonard and Eleanor Mathilda Vahsholtz. When he was born, his
parents and older sister, Geraldine, lived on a farm one mile near
White City, KS, near Council Grove. By the time he was 11, the family
moved to another farm north of Council Grove, where he attended a one
room primary school. He was one of nine students, and the only one
in his seventh and eighth grade class.

He graduated from Council Grove High School in 1960, in a class of
only 42 students, then from Washburn University with a Bachelor of Fine
Arts and a strong minor in business administration, in 1966. Members
of his high school class have kept in contact over the years, and
enjoyed a 75% turnout for their 50th class reunion in 2010.

Les joined the Kansas Army National Guard in 1961 and went through
basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He served in the Army
reserves for close to nine years.

After college, Les went to work for WIBW-TV in Topeka as a staff artist,
while continuing to work on a Business Administration degree. In
1967, he married and moved to Kansas City to work for WDAF-TV as a
staff artist. In those days, a staff artist drew slides and designed
type for broadcast.

Les' artistic experience soon landed him a job at the Federal Water Pollution
Administration, which was then incorporated into a new federal agency,
the Environmental Protection Agency. He spent the rest of his career
there, as a Visual Information Specialist, from 1970 until his
retirement in January of 2011.

That doesn't mean that was Les' only job. He signed on in the early
80's as a salesman for TeleCable of Overland Park. This was when
cable TV was in its infancy.

Les was married to Cindi Gilchrist from June, 1967, until their divorce in
1990. He married Carole Armentrout Taylor in 1991. They moved to
Lenexa, and have lived there since 1992.

Les' Christian faith was very important to him. He was a member of Christ
Lutheran Church in Overland Park, KS. Les and Carole ministered to
dozens of members through their DivorceCare support group. He was a
faithful member of Prime Time weekly devotional group and an avid listener to Bott radio,
especially Hank Hanegraaff.

He really enjoyed making, drinking, and sharing his home brewed beer
as his favorite hobby.

Survivors include Les' wife, Carole, of the home; his son, Tim
Vahsholtz, of Little Rock, AR; his daughter, Jennifer (Vahsholtz) &
Daniel Werner, of Topeka, KS; step-son Nathan & Tara Taylor of Kohler,
WI; step-son Ryan & Julie Taylor of St. Louis, MO; grandchildren
Taylor, Michael, Katie and Ben Reynolds of Topeka, KS, Sophie
Vahsholtz of Clackamas, OR, Alex and Haiden Taylor of Kohler, WI;
Ainsley Taylor of St. Louis, MO; Clayton, Cameron, & Collin Werner of
Topeka, KS and his sister Geraldine (Vahsholtz-Anschutz) & Jim Tate of
Topeka.

Memorial contributions may be given to The ALS Association Keith
Worthington Chapter, or Christ Lutheran Church Building fund.