Garry Reiff was born January 1, 1948, in Salina, KS, at Asbury Hospital. He passed from this life on Sunday, August 9, 2026.

Garry grew up on a farm three miles west of Carlton, KS, and roamed the hills and fields at will during his youth. His grandparents, Francis and Pearl Thomsen, lived one mile west, across the pasture, and he would travel back and forth in the summer, playing at the ponds as he went.

As he grew up, he worked the fields for his dad, plowing, disking, and planting. When he was 13, he started working for Louis Ade, baling hay and driving a silage truck. Garry continued to work for his dad and area neighbors until he graduated from high school in 1965 at DCCHS in Chapman, where he drove the feeder bus.

High school was so different from the tiny grade school at Carlton. Beginning his junior year, Garry bought a ’57 Chevy and drove down to school a lot, taking Jim Lawman and Rodger Frich with him. They did the same when they drove down.

In the summer of 1965, Garry farmed for his dad, then cut feed with Eroy Rodger in the fall. When that was done, he went to work for Jarvis Construction Company, building the Kipp elevator. After that, in the spring of 1966, he went to work for Martin and Ade, doing dirt work west of Scott City. Ralph Ade was the foreman, and the whole crew was wonderful to work with.

Garry joined the U.S. Army Reserves in August of 1966 and was called for active duty in January of 1967 at Fort Bliss, Texas. Basic training was hard but tempered by the friends who were in his unit. He went to AIT at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and arrived back home in late May of 1967.

Garry went to work for Emanuel Ade until December, when he went to work for Hesston Corporation as a welder. The 10-hour days could get long, but it was a wonderful place to work, and he made many friends there.

In the summer of 1973, Garry met Kay Bencke of Salina. They went to the movie The Day of the Jackal at the Fox Theater, and in November 1974, they were married. They bought a little house on Penn Street in Salina with a wonderful shop in the backyard. They were both into old oak furniture and started collecting and refinishing it. It took on a life of its own, and Garry and Kay had an auction in September of 1985 and sold the surplus they didn’t need.

Garry and Kay had purchased an old farm stead southwest of Abilene in the summer of 1979, and it had a possibly super-old house on it. They both worked day and night on that house, and it was turned into a great home for them.

Chris was born in July 1982 and Nathaniel in June 1984. Garry doted on these two boys beyond all reason. They all loved to read, and Garry and Kay read to them every day. Many weekends, they went fishing, and the boys loved catching frogs and crawdads.

Garry and Kay moved to his childhood home and had a small cow herd, and the boys both worked feeding and working cattle, especially in the winter. Everything was going well until it wasn’t.

Garry was working at Turbine Specialties, and Kay was a draftsman at Premier Pneumatics. Garry was at work welding on a set of turbine blades on the first day back after the new year, January of 1991. He started having pain in his feet and hips. He kept welding, and the pain was now in his wrists and hands. Two hours later, he couldn’t get up out of his chair to call Kay at work to come get him. This was the beginning of his journey with RA (rheumatoid arthritis), which would be with him for the rest of his life.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an insidious disease. One day, a person feels it in one joint; the next day, it is everywhere in the body.

Garry left his welding career and found it extremely hard to make a living. Kay’s job was a lifesaver for them. The two young boys fed cattle and helped with everything they could.

Garry finally got his Kansas appraiser’s license and was able to start on a new road to help keep things going. He did this for about 15 years, then had to quit. He then returned to school and graduated from Kansas Wesleyan University in 1994.

In 2014, Garry became very ill and spent five weeks in the hospital. In 2016, he was found to have colon cancer. He made it through chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.

The last few years, Garry spent reading, just being with Kay, Chris, and Nate, and discussing old times with friends. Garry had many, many friends, and he thought the world of them all. He was so proud of his family.

Garry was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Ellen (Thomsen) Reiff; brother, Kenny; and many friends and relatives.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen “Kay”; sons, Christopher and Nathaniel; brother, Donald Reiff (Susan); sisters, Jean Keeler (Mike) and Jane Becker (Rodney); and other relatives and friends.

A memorial service for Garry will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at Ryan Mortuary, 137 N. 8th St., Salina, KS 67401. Inurnment at Gypsum City Cemetery, Gypsum, KS, will be at a later date.

Memorials can be made in Garry’s name to the Salina Public Library or Salina Rescue Mission, care of Ryan Mortuary.