Dr. Bill Feyerharm

William Robert Feyerharm, age 90, died Saturday May 24, at the Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community in Manhattan.
He was born on November 5, 1934, in Yankton, South Dakota, the son of Robert and Edith (Wicks) Feyerharm. The family moved to Northfield, Minnesota, where Bill graduated from Northfield High School in 1953. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, graduating in 1957 with a degree in Government and International Relations.
After a year into University of Michigan Law School, Bill realized his passions lay elsewhere. Seeking adventure on the new frontier, he joined the U.S. Antarctic Research Project after answering an advertisement in The Michigan Daily. From 1959 to 1960 he worked as a meteorologist at Byrd Station with twenty other men and "an ample supply of beer." For this he earned a congressional service medal and a geographic place name on the continent of Antarctica – Feyerharm Knoll. During the Berlin Crisis in 1961 Bill was stationed at a base in France with the Ohio Air National Guard, where his duties included "rooting out Communists from the bars and bistros of Paris on the weekends."
Bill resumed his studies the following year in Madison, Wisconsin, pursuing a master's degree followed by a PhD in History in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin. While in Madison, he met and courted Ann Dunwell. Ann and Bill hit it off and married in 1963. Life in Madison was not always tranquil – Bill witnessed the chaos of the anti-war riots in 1967.
During the 1970s Bill settled into a professorship at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. However, adventure called again. From 1974 to 1975 Bill was a visiting professor at the Institute of History in the University of Warsaw on a Fulbright-Hayes senior lectureship award. The family relocated behind the Iron Curtain, living in an apartment in Warsaw and sampling life in Communist Poland.
In 1976 Bill and his family left the plains of Illinois behind and journeyed to Heaven: Missoula, Montana, where Bill had been appointed Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Montana. Missoula was a paradise of hiking, birding, pow-wows, and new friendships among the natural wonders of the Bitterroot Valley and Glacier National Park.
In 1979 Bill relocated to Manhattan after accepting a position as Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Kansas State University, where he worked until his retirement in 1996. Bill continued to teach history, but he found his true calling helping students navigate through college and maintain their grades, including many student-athletes in the KSU football program. Quoting one of his favorite movies, The Blues Brothers, Bill liked to say, "I'm on a mission from God."
In 1991, Bill received the Presidential Award for Distinguished Services to Minority Education for his work with at risk minority students, especially in KSU's intercollegiate sports programs. He worked directly with students to support funding, implement academic programs, and provide policy interpretations. He was most proud of setting up an athletic Academic Core Curriculum Program and developing a Directed Study Program & Mentors Program. Thanks to his prowess, not a single athlete was lost due to academic reasons in the year 1990-91.
Bill's passions included golf, playing his flight simulator PC game, reading history, and visiting Kansas City for forays to Rainy Day Books and Westport. He traveled extensively with his family throughout the Western states and Europe. Paris and Provence held a special place in his heart; Peter Mayle was a kindred spirit. He enjoyed attending jazz festivals with his buddies. Bill loved silly jokes and was fond of Rumpole of the Bailey and Seinfeld. Eating good food with friends and family was a favorite pastime, and he'd never pass up a steak or chips and guacamole at The Hillside Café, which the family has patronized for over 40 years. He will always be remembered for his friendly "hello" and his ability to strike up a conversation with anyone whether it be the farmers at the cafe in Leonardville or the academics at various university events
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ann; son, Robert and daughter-in-law, Paula (Avon, CT); and daughter, Libby and son-in-law, Stewart (Corvallis, MT) and three granddaughters; Lauren Komer (New York, NY), Sarah Komer (Mission, KS) and Clara Feyerharm (Avon, CT).
A memorial service will be held at Meadowlark Retirement Community on June 30th at 3:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations to his favorite charity, St. Joseph Indian Mission (www.stjo.org) would be greatly appreciated.
Assisting the family with service arrangements is the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502