Arthur (Art) Edward Bluthardt

Arthur (Art) Edward Bluthardt, 83, of Frankfort, Kansas and formerly of Flush, Kansas, passed away Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka, Kansas. He was born May 4, 1924 in Manhattan, Kansas, the son of Edward Jacob and Margaret Marie (Bechtel) Bluthardt of Flush, Kansas. He attended rural schools near Emmett, Kansas, served in the C.C.C.’s as a youth, and was a WWII veteran with the Army Merchant Marines and Coast Guard. Art married Virginia Keene of Topeka in 1945. They moved to California and later divorced. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and worked as an engineer at the Las Vegas Hilton until his retirement. He moved back to Kansas and purchased the family farm. In 1992, Art married Betty (Carlton) Holzer of Alta Vista, Kansas. He was a member of the St George Black Jack American Legion, and a past member of the International Union of Operating Engineers. Art is survived by his wife Betty, of Frankfort, Kansas; two sisters, Mary Harden of Topeka, Kansas and Marjorie Umscheid of Flush, Kansas; five sons, Mark, Mitch, Phillip, Dan and Mike Bluthardt, all of California; two daughters, Amy Tobines of California and Marsha Becker of Gold Bar, Washington; two step-children, Pam Avery of Shakopee, Minnesota and Bill Holzer of Junction City, Kansas; eleven grandchildren, and six step-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by three brothers, Ronald, Bob and Ray. Funeral services for Mr. Bluthardt will be held Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 1:00 p.m., at the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego. Burial with military honors will follow in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Flush, Kansas. He will lie in-state at the funeral home beginning at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, where a visitation will be from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.