Loren Wentworth Kemp

Loren Wentworth Kemp, 71, died Tuesday night Oct. 14, 2003, at Midland Hospice House after surviving four years with pancreatic cancer. Born Jan. 26, 1932, to Viola Wentworth Kemp and Lorin W. Kemp, Loren and his sister, Jean Kemp Blount, Elk Grove Village, Ill., were raised by their mother in Winfield. Loren graduated from Winfield High School in 1950 and attended Oklahoma A & M, Stillwater, Okla., on a football scholarship. Loren began his 31-year career with Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Kansas in 1965 in Winfield, transferred to Pittsburg, in 1971, and then to Topeka in 1984. Loren retired from Blue Cross-Blue Shield in July 1996 as Director of Marketing Research. Before his employment with Blue Cross-Blue Shield, he was employed at Boeing Aircraft Co., Wichita, as a flight line hydraulic systems technician for the B-47 and B-52 and as a hydraulic system instructor for the B-52; at Hurst Motor Co., Augusta, as a car salesman; at Continental Baking Co. as a route salesman; and at Merchandise Mart, Winfield, as assistant manager. Loren was a member of the United Methodist Church in each community he lived and served on numerous committees and task forces. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1951 until his honorable discharge in 1959 and was named Honor Man of his Company in 1952 at the Naval Air Station in the Great Lakes. He was a charter member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Winfield, and later an active member in Pittsburg, where he accompanied groups of high school and college athletes to summer camps in Estes Park, Colo. In Winfield, he served on the retail committee of the Chamber of Commerce; on the Board of Directors of the Winfield Tennis Association; held various offices in the Winfield Jaycees and served as president in 1964 to 1965; served as State Chaplain for Kansas Jaycees in 1965 to 1966; received Outstanding State Chaplain, United States Jaycees in 1965 to 1966; was listed in Outstanding Young Men of America Jaycees and selected as one of three Outstanding Young Men of Kansas Jaycees; received the Jaycees Distinguished Service Award; was a lifetime member of JCI Senate; and directed the Miss Winfield Pageant for three years. For many years he sang with the Winfield Oratorio Society as they annually performed the Messiah and Elijah concerts. He also sang with the Pittsburg Centennial Chorus; was a member of the Pittsburg Board of Education; and served as United Way president in Pittsburg. In Topeka, he was an active volunteer with the Topeka Railroad Days and Great Overland Station, serving as president and on the Board of Directors. Loren was an avid toy train and accessory collector, spending a lifetime restoring, researching, and generously sharing his knowledge with others. He was never without a project in the works, read endlessly on subjects of his interest, and enjoyed listening to music. Loren Kemp and JoAnn Keely were married in Winfield, on June 6, 1954. Survivors include his wife; daughter, Terri and husband, Duane Bond, Topeka; daughter Connie and husband, Steve Usery, Jacksonville, Fla., grandson, Scott Bond; and the extended families of Loren and his daughters. According to Lorens wishes, body tissues have been donated to the Johns Hopkins Rapid Donation Research Project for Gastrointestinal Cancers and cremation has taken place. Contributions may be sent to a memorial fund established with the Topeka Community Foundation, 5431 S.W. 29th, Suite 300, Topeka, 66614. Memorial services will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Klasse Chapel at First United Methodist Church, Topeka. Friends and family are invited to gather for fellowship and celebration at First United Methodist Church, Winfield, on Sunday at 3 p.m.