John E. Diehl

July 5, 1918 - March 16, 2017

John Edwin Diehl, 98, formerly of Fort Scott, died Thursday, March 16, 2017 at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas. He was born to Oscar and Zona (Cripe) Diehl in Beaver, Iowa, July 5, 1918.  He attended school in Beaver; Wacker, Illinois; and Stet, Missouri before heading off to college.  He graduated from McPherson College in 1940, and taught in Luray, Kansas for two years where he met his future wife, Ina Mae Anderson.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Navy for flight training.  After receiving his wings, he transferred to the Marine Corps and served as a twin-engine transport pilot in the South Pacific.  Upon his return to the states, he and Ina Mae were married March 5, 1945 in San Francisco.

After his discharge from active duty with the rank of Major, John worked for a CPA firm in Kansas City, and in 1947 he moved his family to Fort Scott where he worked for the Winchell Manufacturing Company.  He then opened a Fort Scott office for the Kansas City CPA firm in 1949, and eight years later purchased that practice and opened under John E. Diehl & Co.  Over the next 40+ years he added partners and staff to grow the business to become what is now Diehl, Banwart, Bolton.

John believed in contributing to his community and served as president of the Chamber of Commerce, president of the Fort Scott Rotary Club, and president of Mid-America Inc.  He was active in the First Presbyterian Church where he served as church treasurer, Sunday School Superintendent, Deacon and on the Session.  Other areas of involvement included terms on the School Board, the Library Board, and on the Mercy Hospital Advisory Board, Hospice Board, and Endowment Board.   In his professional capacity, John served as president of the Southeast Kansas Chapter of CPAs, president of the Kansas Society of CPA Endowment Association, and was on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Society of CPAs.  John belonged to the Rising Sun Lodge in Fort Scott, and the Scottish Rite, Mirza Shrine.

John and Ina Mae moved into the Lawrence Presbyterian Manor in 1998 where he served two terms as president of the Resident’s Council as well as on numerous other committees.

John is survived by his daughter Nancy Rumsey and her husband James of Lawrence, daughter Susan Diehl of New York City, two granddaughters, Sarah Walker and Kate Baker, both of Kansas City, their husbands and 5 great-grandsons. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Bessie, brothers Kenneth and Mose, and by his wife of 56 years, Ina Mae.

Rev. Jared Witt will conduct graveside services at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at the Fort Scott National Cemetery under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home. Family and friends will meet at the funeral home at 9:00 a.m. and leave for the cemetery at 9:45 a.m. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Lawrence Presbyterian Manor Good Samaritan Fund or to the First Presbyterian Church of Lawrence, Kansas, and may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, PO Box 309, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.