Luke D. Nihart

Luke D. Nihart, 32, of rural St. George, Kansas, and a Law Enforcement Officer with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, died early Saturday, June 26, 2010 at Mercy Regional Health Center of Manhattan from injuries sustained from an accident while working at the Country Stampede. Luke was born on August 11, 1977, the son of Robert Douglas and Cindy (Seematter) Nihart. He graduated from Wamego High School in the class if 1995, then attended Cloud County Community College for two years prior to attending Kansas State University and graduating in 2000 with a B.S. from the College of Agriculture and also the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in December of 2000. After graduation, he began his career working for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks as a Park Ranger. After a short time in Eldorado, KS, he moved to a position at Tuttle Creek State Park, where he has been a Park Ranger since. Luke was a recipient of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Award of Valor in 2005 and also received the Kansas Recreation and Parks Service Award in 2003 and 2004. He also started the annual Youth and Disabled Spring Turkey Hunts, which continue to this day. He married Keri Lynn Herrman on April 26, 2003 in Wamego, KS. She survives of their home. Luke was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed participating in competitive archery since his childhood. He was the State of Kansas Archery Champion several times, and competed in Regional and National Competitions. His survivors also include his two children, Hunter and Brooke Nihart, also of their home; his parents, Doug and Cindy Nihart, of Wamego, KS; one sister, April Bayless and her husband Scott, of Wamego; two grandparents, LaVone Nihart, of Wamego, Ray Seematter, of Manhattan, KS; his father in-law and mother in-law, Glenn and Beverly Herrman of Winchester, KS; his sister in-law, Kimberly Squire and husband Troy, of Eudora, KS; one niece, Lacy Bayless and two nephews, Jon Squire and Logan Bayless. Funeral services for Luke will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, July 1, 2010 at the Wamego Sports Complex. He will lie in-state beginning at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Stewart Funeral Home, where the family will greet friends during a visitation from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Burial will follow in Admantha Cemetery, south of Westmoreland. Memorials are suggested to the Nihart Children Education Fund, and may be left in care of the Stewart Funeral Home, P.O. Box 48, 66547.