Louis Jay Fankhauser

Louis Jay Fankhauser, 93, of Bern, Kansas passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, February 8, 2025, at the Apostolic Christian Care Home in Sabetha, Kansas.

Jay was born on October 24, 1931, on the family farm near Four-Mile Church, just south of Humboldt, Nebraska to Daniel and Loretta (Nellie) Fankhauser.

Growing up on the family farm during the Great Depression, Jay learned the values of hard work, resilience, and persistence. After graduating from Humboldt High School in 1949, he attended Nebraska Wesleyan for a semester before enlisting in the United States Navy in early 1950. While in the Navy, he was stationed in the Panama Canal for 29 months and participated in a goodwill tour that took him around the world.

Upon his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1954, he declined a buddy’s offer to accompany him to California. He dropped his friend off at Union Station in Kansas City, saying “he had a girl he wanted to go visit.” That girl was Janice Meyer, who had moved to Kansas City after graduating from Bern Rural High School in 1953. A romance developed, and on August 21, 1955, Jay and Jan were married at the Bern Evangelical United Brethren Church in Bern. 

The couple settled in Lawrence, Kansas where Jay earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Kansas. Jay later earned a master’s degree in education from Kansas State University. While in Lawrence, their first son, Greg, was born. After graduating from KU in 1958, Jay accepted a teaching position in Onaga, Kansas where another son, Jamie, joined the family. The next few years brought teaching positions in Humboldt and Alma, Nebraska, where Jay and Jan’s daughter, Lisa, was born.

In 1966, Jay was offered a position at the State Bank of Bern in Bern. While he loved teaching music, he was concerned about being able to provide for his growing family. So, he accepted the bank offer on June 1, 1966, while vowing to keep music an important part of their family life. Jay thrived in both areas, enjoying a long and successful career in banking as well as in the bank’s insurance agency which became known as Fankhauser and Sheik Insurance Agency. During his career, he graduated from the Colorado School of Banking, earned his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation, and served as president of the Kansas Association of Insurance Agents. Jay’s dedication to his work kept him active in both the bank and insurance agency until his retirement in 2016 at the age of 84.

Jay had an even longer career as choir director of the Bern United Methodist Church, serving in that capacity from 1966 to 2023. Additionally, he and Jan sang at countless weddings and funerals in northeast Kansas, helped to organize the annual Bern Day festivals, and starred in the roles of Harold Hill and Marian Paroo in the Bern community production of The Music Man in 1972. A few years earlier, when the music teacher was unexpectedly called to Vietnam, Jay became the music teacher at the Bern schools for a year while also continuing his work at the bank. In later years, he delighted in singing lead tenor with the barbershop quartet, The Bern Boys and Ben.

Jay’s contributions to the Bern community extended well beyond banking, insurance, and music. In 1975, he was instrumental in the formation of Bern Extrusion, Inc., now known as Alphia. He also held leadership roles in various community and service organizations including the Arab Shrine, Sabetha Golf Club, Seneca Golf Club, and the Nemaha Valley Hospital Board. 

No matter where he was or who he was with, Jay enjoyed himself and made sure others did too. He was not hard to find, as his distinctive laugh was easily recognizable, and carried above even the largest crowd. 

Jay was preceded in death by his parents, Daniel and Loretta (Nellie) Fankhauser, and by his twin sister, Luella Mae (Dolly) Wittwer.

Jay is survived by and will be greatly missed by his wife, Jan, of the home; his two sons, Greg (Amy) Fankhauser of Topeka, Kansas, and Jamie (Sharon) Fankhauser of Spring, Texas; his daughter, Lisa (Ron) Aul of Lawrence, Kansas; his seven grandchildren; his five great-grandchildren; his brother, Steve (Melva) Fankhauser of Richland, Washington; his nieces and nephews; and his many friends. His family is quite certain that when he arrived at Heaven’s gate, he looked around and exclaimed with awe, “Look at all that glory!”

A visitation hosted by the family will be held on Sunday, February 16, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Popkess Mortuary in Sabetha, Kansas. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Monday, February 17, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at the Bern United Methodist Church in Bern. Interment with military honors will be made in the Bern Cemetery. A luncheon will be served after the interment at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial contributions be made to the Bern United Methodist Church, the Bern Community Center, or the Apostolic Christian Home sent in care of the Popkess Mortuary, 823 Virginia Street, Sabetha, Kansas 66534.