Wilfred "Ike" Henry Eichman

Wilfred Henry“Ike” Eichman, 85, a resident of Wamego, Kansas and also recently of Texas, passed away Thursday, January 10, 2013 at the Good Shepherd Homecare and Hospice House of Manhattan. His entire life, Ike was known for his quick wit and the twinkle in his eye. He will be greatly missed by family and friends. Ike was born in Wamego on October 21, 1927 the son of Henry and Elizabeth Schlutermann Eichman. He attended St. Bernard’s Grade School and graduated from Wamego High School in 1945. He held the honor of being the first Boy Scout in Wamego and Pottawatomie County to earn the Eagle Scout Award. Ike was a member of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, Wamego, Knights of Columbus and the American Legion. He entered the Navy in a program called the Kiddie Hitch shortly after graduating from high school. His time was spent on the tanker USS Waccamaw, supplying fuel from Saudi Arabia to ships in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. After returning from the service, Ike and his brother Alfred joined their father Henry in the Wamego Sand Company. Then in 1959, they started the ready-mix concrete aspect of the business. Upon retiring in 1989, Ike turned his part of the business over to his sons John and Rob, which is now Midwest Concrete Materials. Ike was very involved in the progress of Wamego. He spent 25 years as a volunteer fireman with much of that time as fire chief. He served 14 years on the Wamego Hospital Board and was also active in the Chamber of Commerce helping with the many programs that needed his varied expertise. He initiated the restoration of the blades of the Old Dutch Mill in the city park. Ike married Ruth Julien, the mother of their four children on October 21, 1950. She preceded him in death in 1986. In 1989 he married Karen “Sue” Scott Ebert. She survives of the home. Also surviving Ike is his daughter, Cindy Eichman-Call and her husband John of St. Louis, MO; his three sons: John and wife Jaque of Wamego, Rob and wife Jan of Wamego, and Jim and wife Nancy of Ridgefield, CT; his two step-daughters, Kim Myer and husband Bob of Houston, TX and Kelli Klauber and husband Adam of Chicago, IL; one sister: Marie Broxterman, of Topeka, KS; one brother: Alfred Eichman of Wamego 11 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and 5 step-grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Stella Cazier. Mass of Christian Burial for Mr. Eichman will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, January 14, 2013 at St. Isidore Catholic Church, Manhattan, KS. Burial will follow in the St. Bernard’s Cemetery, Wamego. Ike will lie in-state beginning at 12:00 p.m. Sunday, January 13, at the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego. A Prayer Service will be recited at 2:30 p.m. followed by a visitation until 5:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wamego Community Foundation for a scholarship in Ike’s name, or the Wamego Fire Department Auxiliary Endowment Fund, and may be left in care of the Stewart Funeral Home, PO Box 48, Wamego, KS 66547.