Thomas Wayne Skinner

1933 - 2023

William Thomas William Skinner, 90, died Friday July 7, 2023, at Meadowlark Hills in Manhattan, Kansas where he was residing since 2021. He was born January 14, 1933, in Manhattan, Kansas, the son of Joseph William Skinner and Marjorie (Fisher) Skinner. He graduated from Manhattan High School (1951) and Kansas State University (1955).

He married Susan Rose Skinner July 27, 1954. They met the first day of KSU freshman orientation. They celebrated 50 years of marriage prior to her death (2005). While she remained the love of his life, he was blessed to again find love with Neva Anderson.

He served as a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force (1955-1957) in Little Rock, Arkansas and in the United States Air Force Reserves at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas until 1965.

He learned the automotive business as a teenager while pumping gas for Brewer Motor Company in Manhattan Kansas (1949-1951). He joined his father in Skinner Motor Company, following the purchase of the Chevrolet franchise in Clay Center (1952). Skinner Motor served the community for 66 years. He received the Time Magazine's Quality Dealer Award in 1983. He was the Kansas Department of Revenue Director of Motor Vehicles (1987-1991).

He was president of the of the Clay Center Chamber of Commerce (1966) and Clay Center Rotary International Club (1968) where he was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow. Along with his wife Susan, they helped to organize the Clay Center Alcohol Rehabilitation and Treatment Program.

He served as a KSU Foundation trustee, Ahearn Scholarship Fund member and Alumni Association Life Member. He was President of the KSU Sigma Alpha Epsilon Alumni Association where he was awarded the Phoenix Award (1981).

He was a member and trustee of the Clay Center United Methodist Church.

He was a delegate to multiple district and state Republican conventions. He and his wife Susan founded the Clay County Federation of Teenage Republicans (1971-1977).

Survivors include his two sons Michael Skinner, Junction City and Mark Skinner and husband James Matheson, Washington DC; three grandchildren Emily and husband Mark Schmidt, North Newton, Kansas, Alan Skinner and wife Sierra Hostetler, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Brian Skinner, North Newton, Kansas; four great grandchildren Zachary and Kaitlin Schmidt, and Gabe and Luka Skinner; Niece Amy Button Renz, and husband Allen, Manhattan, Kansas and nephews Dan Button, and wife Cheryl Lippert, Cape Canaveral Florida, John, and wife Heather Button, Jackson, Tennessee and numerous great nieces and nephews. Neva Anderson, Manhattan, and her three daughters DeeJo and husband Bob Miller, Gardner, Julie and husband Jeff Shaffer, Decatur, Illinois and Tamala, and husband Armstrong Yukub, London, England.

Memorials to the Susan Skinner Memorial Fund World Federation of Hemophilia U.S.A. (WFH USA) providing scholarships to young women with bleeding disorders in care of Neill-Schwensen-Rook Funeral home 918 7th Street, Clay Center, Kansas 67432 or on-line at www.wfhusa.org.

A celebration of life will be held at 10:30 AM, Saturday, August 5, 2023 at the United Methodist Church in Clay Center, Kansas.