Patricia Taplin

Patricia Kaye "Patty" Taplin, 82, of Abilene, Kansas, left this life on May 15, 2025 to be with her Lord in Heaven.
Patty was born on Saturday, February 20, 1943, in Manhattan, Kansas, to Paul Louis Furbeck and Margaret Lucile (Munger) while her father was overseas in WWII. She spent her early childhood in Manhattan until after the war, and both of her parents had graduated from Kansas State University. The family moved to a rural farm south of Abilene, where Margaret taught elementary school for over 30 years and Paul was an engineer for Kansas Power and Light. Patricia graduated from Abilene High School, attended Bethany College briefly on a viola scholarship, and graduated from Kansas State University in 1964 with a BS in Education and a minor in Home Economics.
She married George Earl Taplin, May 28, 1964 at Trinity Lutheran Church, in Abilene. George is the son of Frank Lorenzo and Dorothy Fern (Ricard) Taplin of Ogden, Kansas. Patty taught school in Abilene during George's last year at KSU. George entered the Air Force and they traveled to Oklahoma, and then Germany for three years, where she taught in the American school on base. George was assigned to Thailand and Patty returned to Abilene and taught for another year. They were transferred to upper New York where their son Frank was born, and later to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where their son Seth was born. George left active duty and they stayed there for over 25 years, and Patty worked to have their home recognized by the Cheyenne Historic Preservation Board.
Patty attended Concordia University in Nebraska to complete her studies as a Commissioned Minister, and taught elementary school for eight years at Trinity Lutheran School in Cheyenne. Patty was left at home again when George was called back to a brief National Guard duty during Operation Desert Storm. They moved to Hulett, Wyoming, where they both worked in the school for a year, then to western Kansas where George taught for two years. Patty wanted to return home, so they returned to Abilene in 1999 where she taught preschool at St. Andrews and George taught at Solomon High School until they retired.
She loved her family, her faith in the Lord, and the many students she taught. She was an excellent seamstress and created many of her own clothes and quilts. She made quilted robes, parkas, gauntlet mittens, and gaiters for the family to use cross-country skiing, and crafted a tent and sleeping bag that are still being used. She kept feeders for the birds in the yard and tended many flowers in her gardens. She particularly loved her many rescue dogs.
Patricia was preceded in death by her parents Paul and Margaret, and her grandparents, George Edwin and Lillie Gertrude (Larson) Furbeck, Harold Hawley and Julia "Jane" Delaney (Green) Munger. She is survived by three siblings, Richard Steven and his wife Trudy (Manion) Furbeck of Fort Collins, Colorado, Rebecca Susan (Furbeck) and her husband Marc Polzella of Abilene, Kansas, and Jacqueline Jeanne (Furbeck) Staab of Abilene, Kansas; two children, Frank Lloyd and his wife Rhonda (Bostick) Taplin of Belle Plaine, Kansas, and Seth Paul and his wife Cari (Miller) Taplin of Longmont, Colorado; and two grandchildren, Ethan Meade Taplin and Elizabeth Jade Taplin of Longmont, Colorado.
Donations in her memory can be made to Hospice of Dickinson County, or to Heifer International (heifer.org), one of Patty's favorite charities, where she always funded a year of education for a girl.