GREAT BEND/BURDETT — Elmer Lee Musil, 74, died Jan. 25, 2024, at Azria Health in Great Bend. He was born Sept. 22, 1949, in Marysville, Kan., to Elmer Ray and Ellen Berniece Brownlee Musil. He was a farmer, cattleman, seedsman, journalist, community leader, husband and father.
Lee was president of the first graduation class of Pawnee Heights High School. His senior year he received I ratings at state competition in speech and trombone trio. He also excelled in track, placing second in the state in the two-mile run, setting a school record of 9:45, which still stands today, 58 years later. He went on to run on the freshman cross country and track team at Kansas State University, and then in intermural competitions, where he earned honors for his beloved fraternity, Delta Upsilon. His crowning track achievement probably was running on the winning team at the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1967. That year he was also named state 4-H swine champion with his herd of registered SPF Hampshires.
After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture journalism from K-State and serving in the ROTC, Lee spent seven years working in various capacities as an ag journalist and editor and then as agricultural assistant to First District Congressman Keith Sebelius in Washington, D.C., during the Farm Strike, tractorcades and farm bills of the late 1970s.
From there, Lee returned to the farm at Burdett. He married Carolyn Reich on May 3, 1980. In April of 1989, they adopted their only son, Richard, at birth.
On the farm, Lee assisted his dad, with the farming, irrigation, certified seed wheat and beef growing operations, which eventually grew to 10 quarters of land and 3,000 cattle backgrounded per year. When Elmer retired, Lee downsized, rented his cattle pens and farmed only what he could handle himself. He took a job as a power plant operator on the graveyard shift at Larned State Hospital and worked there for 10 years until his retirement.
Lee’s wife and parents encouraged him to get involved in local, regional, and state organizations. His dad willingly covered Lee’s farm responsibilities while he served.
Lee was a past member of the Burdett United Methodist Church, where he served in numerous capacities. He was a longtime member of the Burdett Lions Club and, later, the Larned Noon Lions Club. He was active in the Larned Masonic Lodge and participated in the Burdett American Legion firing squad at Memorial Day services and military funerals. He also served as chairman of the Pawnee County Republican Party and secretary of the Burdett Coop Board.
Lee served as an officer of several water agencies. He also served on the Pawnee County Farm Bureau Board and the state Farm Bureau Resolutions Committee. One year he won the state Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet and competed in the national discussion meet in Phoenix. He also served on the board of directors of the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership program.
Lee took the time to coach the Pawnee Heights designated pitch baseball team and helped Richard with his 4-H crops and livestock projects. He also enjoyed trips to Africa, Europe and the Holy Land and spent a summer in Bolivia.
In earlier years Lee wrote a weekly news column in the Larned Tiller and Toiler and the Jetmore Republican newspapers, a practice his mother started many years earlier. He served as editor and publisher of Delta Upsilon’s alumni magazine, The Avenger.
In 2016, Lee and Carolyn moved to Great Bend, where they became members of Trinity United Methodist Church. Lee also was active in the Great Bend Rotary Club and served as club president. He was forever and always an enthusiastic supporter of KSU and tried hard to never miss watching its sports teams whenever they were televised.
Lee kept notebooks in which he wrote down quotations, scripture verses and his thoughts. One entry, dated January 23, 2016, was entitled “Summary of my life.” Lee wrote: “Sitting at the top of the heap is not the exhilarating part. It’s the climb. The joy is in the journey. God has blessed me and brought phenomenal people across my path. My experiences have been overwhelming. I can’t thank my family and friends and hometown and the whole state of Kansas enough for making this possible. I am eternally grateful. Thanks be to God!”
Lee is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and son, Richard of Great Bend and grandchildren Conner and Briezlyn of Great Bend. Funeral service is 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 30, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Great Bend with Pastor David Vandenburg and Reverend Paul Stallsworth presiding. Visitation will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Beckwith Mortuary, Larned. Memorial Graveside service will be 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Brown’s Grove Cemetery, Burdett. Memorial gifts can be given to the Golden Belt Community Foundation or Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership in care of Beckwith Mortuary, P.O. Box 477, Larned, KS 67550.
Funeral arrangements provided by
Beckwith Mortuary
P.O. Box 477
Larned, KS 67550
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune. Jan. 30, 2024
