Hays Joseph Hays Stout, 78, passed away August 14, 2023, at the Good Shepherd Hospice House in Manhattan.
He was born October 5, 1944, in Strong City, KS, the son of Wilbur and Beryl Stout. Joe and his brother, Mike, grew up on their family farm. When not on horseback caring for cattle, Joe was on a tractor. Joe attended the one room Bazaar schoolhouse next to their family farm. After his eighth grade graduation, he went to high school in Cottonwood Falls, where he was valedictorian of his class. Following in his brother’s footsteps, Joe attended Kansas State University and became a member and eventually President, of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He pursued a degree in agricultural economics and graduated in 1966. Following graduation, Joe went to work at the Fourth National Bank in Wichita. He was successful in the banking industry for over 30 years.
Joe met Mary Lea Holmquist in 1964, at K-State. After dating for two years, they were married in Hutchinson. They made Wichita home after graduation for 16 years during which time their sons Brady and Ben were born. The family then moved to Emporia in 1983, where Joe became President of Citizen’s National Bank of Emporia.
Community service was important to Joe. This commitment was expressed through serving in numerous civic, charitable, professional and social organizations including Flint Hills Technical College Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman, Emporia State University Foundation Trustee, Camp Wood YMCA Board of Directors, Emporia Gazette Reader Advisory Board Member, 12th Avenue Baptist Church, Emporia Theatre Guild, South Fork Watershed District, Flint Hills Community Church and 4-H Foundation (18 years). His accomplishments included Leadership Kansas, Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board, Lyon County United Way Drive Chairman, Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year, Emporia Rotary Club President and KSU Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Joe preferred the outdoors whether it be cattle ranching in Chase county, fly fishing in Colorado or supporting his beloved Wildcats. Most of all he loved his family and was blessed with meaningful relationships that connected him to them and many friends over the years. Joe was preceded in death by his father in 1974, his mother in 1993, and his oldest son, Brady in 2021. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lea, of 57 years; son, Ben (Jennie) of Manhattan; granddaughters, Ellie and Sophie; daughter-in-law, Jeri Lynn of Bazaar; grandsons, Joseph and Caleb; brother, Mike of Wichita; sister-in-law, Carole Ann Paramore of Lenexa; and his treasured nieces and nephews as well as dear friends.
Funeral service will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday, August 19, 2023, at Flint Hills Community Church, Cottonwood Falls, with Pastor Garen Forsythe officiating. Burial will follow in Bazaar Cemetery, Bazaar. Family will greet friends from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Friday, August 18, 2023, at Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home, Cottonwood Falls. Memorial donations may be made to Good Shepherd Hospice or Kansas 4-H Foundation, in care of Brown-Bennett-Alexander Funeral Home PO Box 220, Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845.
