Cecil L. O’Brate
Cecil L. O’Brate – farmer, banker, oil and gas producer, ethanol investor, real estate developer, and devoted philanthropist – passed away today in Garden City, Kansas at the age of 95.
O’Brate is survived by his wife of 76 years Frances, who continues to reside in Garden City, KS; four sons Patrick (Jennifer) of Houston, TX, Michael (Judy) of Garden City, KS, Steve (Bonnie) of Garden City, KS, and Mark (Marilyn) of Bentonville, AR; eight grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and one great-great granddaughter.
O’Brate was born in Enid, OK and later moved to Kansas, graduating from Syracuse High School in 1946. He attended Oklahoma A&M in Stillwater, OK. He then began his illustrious career as a successful farmer and rancher in Southwest Kansas. In 1966, he purchased Palmer Mfg. and Tank Inc., which still operates today. He also owned several banks, farm implement dealerships, and many other ventures. He was well known as one of the largest independent oil and gas producers in the state of Kansas, with the flagship company American Warrior, Inc. He also invested heavily in ethanol production and real estate development, including the forthcoming indoor sports complex in Garden City.
O’Brate was passionate about giving back to community, especially youth. In 2013, Cecil and Frances established the O’Brate Foundation. To date, they have awarded over $7 million in college scholarships to students, most of whom grew up either in foster care or economically disadvantaged. A die-hard Oklahoma State University Cowboys fan, Cecil was the lead donor for the construction of O’Brate Stadium. His namesake baseball stadium proudly displays his mantra, “Make it Happen.”
Plans for a Celebration of Life ceremony at First United Methodist Church are pending. Funeral details and full obituary will be posted on Garnand Funeral Home’s website.
OBITUARIES
Celebration of Life for Rosalie Abney
The family of Rosalie Abney invites community members to join them in celebrating the life of Rosalie Ann Abney, (nee Nemechek). February 19,1940 – October 16, 2024. The family of Rosalie Abney will be gathering to celebrate her life, and they’d be honored if you’d... [More]
Jon Kelly Davidson
Jon Kelly Davidson, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, at the tranquil Kansas City Hospice House, at the age of 73. Jon was not a name familiar to those who knew him. They would’ve known him as Kelly.... [More]
James Dale Fisher, Jr.
James Dale Fisher, Jr., age 78, passed away at his home in Scott City on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. He was born on September 7, 1946, in Nashville, Kansas to James Dale and Mary Ann Vierthaler Fisher. After graduating from High School, James earned a B.A. in History... [More]
Dayna Ann Bechard
Dayna Ann Bechard passed away peacefully on April 2nd, 2025, in Tribune, at Greeley County Health Services. She was born in Salina, Kansas on November 7, 1978. Graduating from Tescott High School in 1997, she went on to attend Fort Hays State University. She graduated with... [More]
Committal Service for Harold Grubb
The time has come for the committal service for Harold Grubb’s ashes. We’ll meet at the Greeley County Cemetery at 11:00 am M.T. on Friday, April 18. There will be a reception/lunch following the service at the Grubb home at 820 Martin Avenue to share stories... [More]
Walter James Waldren
Walter James Waldren, age 54, passed away on Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Wichita County, Kansas. He was born on October 28, 1970, in Leoti, Kansas, the son of Walter Donald and Carolyn Lea Lemmer Waldren. He was a farmer. James married Mary Jane Kelley on April 22, 1994,... [More]
Shane Gregory Smith
March 27, 1977 - March 1, 2025 Son, even though you didn’t make it to the end of our story, we will always have the corner folded down on your page .... because it was one of our favorites. - Dad & Mom With heavy hearts we mourn the sudden passing of our beloved... [More]
Donovan Anderson
Donovan Anderson passed away February 16, 2025. He was born May 28, 1953 to the late Doris and Darrel Anderson. He is survived by children, Shane Anderson of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Tanya (Eric) McSwan of Amarillo, Texas; siblings: Debbie (Rod) Meltabarger of Cassville, Missouri;... [More]
More Obituaries
- Patricia “Pat” McKinley
- Keith Smyth
- Beth Ann (Myers) Tenan
- Vayrena Dee Hamilton
- Ronald Lehman
- Walter Donald Waldren
- Bonnie Jean Larkin
- John “Johnny” Schulz
SPORTS
Golf team takes first at Regionals, headed to state tourney in Dodge City
Photo caption: Senior Elias Sherer shot an 88 and finished in ninth place at Friday’s NWKL tournament in Sharon Springs. Photo by Brecken Mangan. Editor’s note: After claiming first place at the Regional Meet in St. Francis Monday, May 19, the Jackrabbits... [More]
Shafer signs to play basketball at Kansas Wesleyan
Family members joined senior Lincoln Shafer for his official signing to play basketball at Kansas Wesleyan University last Wednesday, May 14. Standing, from left to right, are Stan Shafer, Debbie Shafer, Scarlett Shafer, Jett Shafer, Charlize Shafer, and Rhonda Moritz. Seated... [More]
Junior High Track team finishes their season at NWKL Meet
Photo caption: Kamri Myers, right, handed the baton off to Scarlett Shafer in the 4x100-meter relay. Photo by Trista Shafer. The Junior High track team traveled to Quinter to compete in the NWKL track meet on May 15. For the seventh-grade girls, Scarlett Shafer placed fourth... [More]
High School Track team competes in NWKL Meet
Photo caption: Annaleigh Long, center, competed in Thursday’s NWKL meet at Quinter. Photo by Trista Shafer. The Greeley County High School Track team attended the NWKL Track meet in Quinter on May 15. Kenna Bain placed seventh in the 100-meter hurdles with... [More]
High School Jackrabbits compete in Dighton Invitational
Photo caption: Logan Harris, right, competed in the 100-meter dash at the Quinter meet last Friday, May 2. Photo by Trista Shafer. Editor’s Note: We weren’t able to make it to the Dighton Invitational on Friday, May 16. The photos accompanying this story are... [More]
Varsity golf competes at Oakley, Johnson; JV plays in Grinnell Scramble
Photo caption: Guilherme Evans, Maggie Votruba, Greta Massman, and Bishop Talbott played in a JV scramble in Grinnell Friday. Evans and Talbott placed second and Votruba and Massman placed sixth. Photo by Adriana Evans. High school golf season is winding down, with only... [More]
Junior High Track competes in back to back meets
Photo caption: Bailey Moritz, Brielle Harkness, Baileigh Schmidt, and Reagan Hahn took first in the 4x400-meter relay at the Tribune meet on Thursday. Photo by Jentri Hahn. Tribune Junior High Border Relays Thursday, May 8, 2025 The Junior High Track team hosted several... [More]
High School Jackrabbits compete in Leoti, Quinter
Photo caption: Charlize Shafer competed in Tuesday’s meet at Leoti, setting a new personal record of 15.15 in the 100-meter dash. Photo by Trista Shafer. The High School Jackrabbits traveled to Leoti on Monday, April 28, to take part in the Wichita County Invitational... [More]
More Sports
- Golf team continues to hit stride midway through their season
- High School Jackrabbits compete in Scott City, Montezuma meets
- Varsity golf claims second place at Atwood, competes well in Dodge City
- Junior High Jackrabbits take part in Cheyenne Wells Meet
- Varsity tees off season in Goodland, JV competes in Grinnell, Leoti
- Junior High Jackrabbits compete in Oberlin, Leoti
- Jackrabbits host three track meets last week to begin 2025 season
- Logan Harris places second, Mia Reynolds takes third at State Powerlifting Meet in Claflin
NEWS
Class of 2025 graduates Saturday
Photo caption: Confetti rained down over the graduates after Saturday’s ceremony, courtesy of Superintedent John Niehues, who had been engaged in an ongoing confetti battle with the class. See more graduation coverage beginning on page 11. Photo by Sheryl Crotinger. The... [More]
Ruth Fees to retire from Plainview School after 50 years of teaching
Editor’s Note: My junior high and high school English teacher Ruth Fees is retiring from Plainview School this year, after teaching there for fifty years. We sat down to visit about her career and what lies ahead. A reception in her honor is scheduled for this Thursday,... [More]
Memorial Day Service planned for Monday, May 26
The Greeley County VFW and VFW Auxiliary will host their annual Memorial Day program at the Greeley County Cemetery on Monday, May 26, at 10 .m.
Cruisin’ & A Movie set for Sunday, June 1
The Horace Greeley Museum will host Cruisin’ and a Movie on Sunday, June 1, in downtown Tribune. From 2-4 p.m., attendees are invited to eat, cruise, and check out the cars on the main streets. Downtown restaurants will be open and serving. At 4 p.m.,... [More]
Candidate Filings
Janet L. Crittenden filed for Horace City Council. Nathaniel Mark Larkin filed for Horace City Mayor. Justin Phillips filed for the USD #200 Greeley County School Board.
Full slate of activities scheduled for first full weekend of June
Kick Off the Summer in Greeley County – June 6–8! Garage Sales, Livestock Shows, Live Music & More Dust off your calendars and mark the dates—June 6 through June 8 is going to be a weekend to remember in Greeley County! With a packed lineup of events sponsored... [More]
Temperatures rise, no moisture falls
Photo caption: A tree trimming crew has been making its way through the community, cutting branches out of the way of power lines. This photo was taken Wednesday afternoon, May 14. A Wednesday night dirt storm left the community without power briefly, but the western... [More]
Academic Awards Ceremony held at Greeley County Schools
Photo caption: Jadence Stewart, Hailey Nolan, Bishop Talbott, Maggie Votruba, James Marquardt, and Peyton Jenkins were honored for surpassing the Sunflower State Standard on their ACTs. By Maggie Votruba On Tuesday, May 14, Greeley County High School held an academics... [More]
More News
- High School sports and activity awards ceremony Tuesday night
- Greeley County Health Services hosts Second Annual Color Run
- High School Graduation Saturday
- Eighth Grade Promotion Sunday
- Filing Deadline June 2, 12 noon
- Candidate Filing
- Elementary students present spring concert
- Junior High and High School students perform spring concert
OPINIONS
Letter to the Editor: With Trump and Musk driving U.S. policy, Kansas farmers have been played for suckers
By Ben Palen Also published in the Kansas Reflector Back in November, I wrote a column for Kansas Reflector that discussed the likely adverse effects of President Trump’s proposed tariffs on U.S. farmers. The piece noted that 398 million acres of cropland has been... [More]
Letter to the Editor: Donald Trump is not our king
Donald Trump is not our king. He was elected with less than 50 percent of the popular vote and his margin of victory was 1.5 percent. There is no mandate in those numbers. Our elected members of Congress have a sworn duty to support and defend the Constitution and the... [More]
Open letter to Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall
On March 1 at Oakley in western Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall held a town hall meeting for area constitutents wanting to know more about activities in Washington DC that have impacts on them. The following written questions were submitted by Louise Ehmke. Unfortunately they were... [More]
Letter to the Editor - School bond issue
Sometimes I wonder what drives our government to do things in our name but don’t make sense. With regard to our School Bond election and the Kansas Attorney General’s ruling, how can it be that a law is enacted that has such serious flaws in it. SB 221... [More]
Insight: Your vote counts
In about two weeks or so, it will be Election Day. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I cannot wait for it to be over. I will not say another word about the campaigns because my mother told me, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at... [More]
Volunteers are the heart of our community
As we celebrate National 4-H Week this week, 4-H Members across the country are celebrating this wonderful youth organization with Friends, Family, and the Communities that support this youth development program. In addition to celebrating the hard-work and dedication of... [More]
A tribute to Tribune and her friendly residents
In 2023, we visited our good friends Julie and Bill Lawrence of Tribune, Kansas. We fell in love with Tribune! During one of our subsequent visits, we found and purchased a great house and will move in, in 2026. Everyone, and I mean everyone, we’ve come... [More]
Letter to the community from Superintendent Niehues
Dear families and community members, I hope this message finds you well. I want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support and engagement with our school community. Over the past few weeks, we have become aware of an issue regarding our school bond vote. As... [More]
More Opinions
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