Arthur (Art) L. Bayha

Arthur (Art) L. Bayha was born July 25, 1924, at his parents’ home in Kismet, Kansas, to Gustav and Gertrude (Andrews) Bayha. Art was an energetic boy and always found someone who needed a good “hand” to help with a job. He went through Kismet schools until his senior year in high school when his family moved to Fowler, Kasnas. Between his junior and senior years, he took a bus to Kansas City, Kansas, and found a job working at the Emprize at a munitions factory, hand digging storage pits. He then returned to Fowler, and graduated from Fowler High School in the spring of 1942. In September, 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy where after boot camp and a bout of pneumonia, he was stationed on the destroyer, the U.S.S. Stack. Art took part in seven major battles in the South Pacific Theater while serving on the Stack.

When the war ended, Art lived with an uncle in California for a while then returned to Fowler where he found work. In the fall of 1948, he briefly dated then married Marie (Zortman) Bayha who was the love of his life for over sixty-six years. Art and Marie embarked on many adventures during their life together, living in several different places and trying their hands at various professions throughout the years. They returned to Fowler in 1955, and remained residents there until moving to Meade in December, 2013. Art passed away on May 1, 2015, in Wichita, Kansas.

Art’s legacy includes three children: Ardith (Bayha) Lewis, Charles Bayha, and Daniel Bayha; five grandchildren: Todd Lewis, Sarah Lewis-Finke, Laura H. Lewis, Daniel (Danny) Bayha, and Kimberly (Bayha) Donnell; nine great-grandchildren: Taylor Finke, Nicholas Finke, Elizabeth Lewis, Bailey Lewis, Bristol Lewis, Tristin Lewis-Dierking, Skyler Donnell, Holden Bayha, and Seth Bayha; and three step-great-grandchildren:Andrea Herran, Layne Herran, and Haley Herran. Art was preceded in death by his parents, older brother, Jay Bayha, and an older sister Helen (Bayha) Sarle and her husband Nicholas Sarle. Art is survived by his wife, Marie; younger sister Virginia (Bayha) Ireland and her husband Gerald of Buena Vista, Colorado, his daughter Ardith and her husband Ronald Lewis of Fowler, Kansas; son Chuck Bayha and wife Cathy of Ponca City, Oklahoma; and son Dan Bayha of Meade, Kansas; grandson Todd Lewis and wife Brenda and daughters of Fowler, Kansas; granddaughter Sarah Lewis-Finke and children of Meade, Kansas; granddaughter Laura H. Lewis and her son of Meade, Kansas; grandson Danny Bayha and his wife Cheryl and children of Ponca City, Oklahoma; granddaughter Kim Donnell and her husband Clint and daughter of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Graveside services will be held Saturday, May 30, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. at the Fowler Cemetery, Fowler, Kansas. Cremation has taken place.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Disabled Veteran’s Foundation or the Friends of Kibina Hospital in care of Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary, Meade, Kansas.