Dale Knisely

Dale was the husband to Gloria (Fogarty) for 70 years.  He was the father to sons Phil (Leanne) and Mike (Kelli), grandfather to 5 and he had 8 great grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents Clarence and Mary, three siblings and a daughter, Karen.

Dale was born in Brownington, MO and graduated from Deepwater High School.  He hitchhiked to Kansas City where he got a job delivering milk to homes for the Country Club Dairy.  Soon after, he served in the Korean War and was stationed overseas.  It was during his service when his high school friend introduced him to Gloria through the mail.  They began writing and met for the first time after he was discharged. They married in 1953.

When Dale returned to Kansas City, he became employed by the Kansas City Power and Light where he loyally served for 35 years. Dale retired young and kept young by being involved with his family.  He enjoyed his grandchildren and cherished his time playing.  Pulling the red wagon or making an obstacle course in the driveway were a couple of things he would come up to occupy his and their time. Of course, his day would start early with him washing his car nearly everyday in the garage.

Everyone was Dale’s friend.  He never met a stranger and enjoyed socializing.  It was very common for his family to go looking for him and find him talking with someone he had just met.  He and Gloria were active members of the Overland Park Christian Church.  Dale was also involved with the Masons, Boy Scouts and coached basketball.

Dale inherited his father’s ability to “Do it Yourself.” He was very handy and was available at a moment notice to take on a “project.”  His motor wouldn’t stop until the project was complete.

We will miss his caring, his friendliness, his smile and his laugh.  He loved to laugh. His favorite restaurant was the “6940 Club” (his home), his favorite advice to his young/wild boys was “to shut up and have fun” and we will miss the updates on how much rainfall he had.