Stephen Anderson English, Sr
March 27, 1947 - May 21, 2025
Arkansas City, Kansas - Stephen A. English, Sr., 78, passed from this world on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at his residence in Arkansas City, Kansas. There will be a visitation where family will greet friends at Rindt-Erdman Funeral Home and Crematory from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, and funeral services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 5, 2025 at the First Presbyterian Church of Arkansas City. A private graveside service will be held for the family at a later time. Steve was born on March 27, 1947, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania to Temple Jackson English, Jr. and Elizabeth (Warner) English. He graduated from Burlington Senior High School, New Jersey, in 1965 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota - Duluth in 1970. Immediately after graduating, Steve accepted a position as a trust examiner with the Comptroller of the Currency. During the next six years, he worked his way up to become a Representative in Trusts, the highest field position available to trust examiners. He graduated from The Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University with a Trust major in 1978. Steve received the designation of Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) in 1991. On June 20, 1970, Steve married Janet Lynn Ross at the First Presbyterian Church of Arkansas City. The couple lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 6 years. In 1976, they moved to Ark City where Steve accepted a position as vice president and trust officer for Home National Bank. During his eleven years at that bank, Steve established the trust department and proudly watched it grow. In 1987, Steve then moved to Southwest National Bank in Wichita where he headed the bank's trust department. In 1989, Steve was instrumental in passing new legislation that allowed for the creation of independent trust companies in the state of Kansas, and in 1990 founded The Trust Company of Kansas (TCK), the first independently owned trust company in the state, headquartered in Wichita. Steve had 50 years of experience in the trust industry, serving 30 of those years at TCK. The day of his passing also marked the 35th anniversary of The Trust Company of Kansas. Steve was an active community leader. In Arkansas City, he served as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Arkansas City, as a past president of the Arkansas City Rotary Club and the Arkansas City Jaycees, as a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and as a board member of the Cowley College Foundation. In Wichita, Steve served as President for Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, as a director and board member of Music Theatre Wichita, as Treasurer for the Rotary Club of Wichita, on the Advisory Board for the Wichita State University College of Fine Arts, and was on the executive council of the Quivira Council Boy Scouts. Survivors include his two sons, Stephen (Chip) English, Jr. of Springfield, Ohio; Christopher (Chris) English and his wife Tracey English of Lawrence, Kansas; a daughter, Kathleen (Katie) Smith and her husband Trey Smith of Boerne, Texas; brother Richard (Rick) English and his wife Carol English of Florence, South Carolina; brothers-in-law, Stephen (Steve) Ross of Arkansas City; Dr. David Ross and his wife Rhonda Ross of Overland Park, Kansas; Rotary son Eduardo Contreiras Rodrigues and his wife Marcia Weber Da Fonte and children Marina and Lucca of Porto Alegre, Brazil; and grandchildren Abigail, Keely, Connor, and Libby English; and Hailey, Reese, and Landry Smith. He was preceded in death by his lovely wife of 38 years, Janet Lynn (Ross) English; his parents, Temple Jackson (Jack) English, Jr. and Elizabeth (Warner) English; his brother, Temple (Terry) Jackson English III and his wife Diane English; and sister-in-law, Melinda Ross.
The family suggests memorials be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Arkansas City (Reid, Ross, Fesler Fund) or the Cowley College Foundation-Stephen and Janet English Endowed Scholarship. Contributions can be made and will be arranged through the Rindt-Erdman Funeral Home and Crematory. Online condolences are welcome at
www.rindt-erdman.com.
Published by Wichita Eagle from May 30 to Jun. 3, 2025.