William "Bill" Ray Trueblood

William Ray Trueblood, 77, passed away Sunday, September 17, 2017 at the Osage Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.                          He was born October 13, 1939 in Barclay, Kansas the son of Claude L. and Ellen Marconett Trueblood. Bill attended Osage City High School and graduated with the Class of 1957. He would later attend Emporia State Teachers College.  Bill joined the Kansas National Guard in 1960. After serving for 30 years he retired as a Master Sergeant in 1990.  He was joined in marriage to Shirley Scott on September 4, 1960 in Osage City, Kansas. They would late divorce. Bill farmed his entire life in the Barclay area. He began working for the Kansas Department of Transportation as an engineer in January of 1961. His work took him throughout eastern Kansas. Bill retired with 40 years of service in 2001. He put his vast experience to work as a private consultant on numerous highway and construction projects until his second retirement in 2009.  Bill shared his love of agriculture with the youth of the area and served as leader for the Willing Workers 4-H Club for several years. He enjoyed a lifelong love of fishing and served as a judge for countless Bar-B-Que competitions. Bill had been a member of the Osage City Lions Club in past years.   He will live on in the hearts of his daughter, Crystal Sixbury and her husband Dan of Lenexa, Kansas; sons, William “Scott” Trueblood of Osage City, Kansas and Brent Trueblood of Reading; grandchildren, Austin Trueblood, Andrew Trueblood, Blake Trueblood and Jackson Trueblood Sixbury; great-granddaughter, Reagan Trueblood.  A celebration of his life will be held at 11:00 A.M., Sunday, September 24, 2017 at the VanArsdale Funeral Chapel in Osage City. Inurnment will follow services at Barclay Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Johnson Center For Basic Cancer Research at K-State or the Wounded Warriors Project and sent in care of the funeral chapel.  Condolences may be expressed at vanarsdalefs.com.