Brian Lewis Bauer, 70, passed away Tuesday, August 25, 2026. He was born in Eureka, Kansas to Carl and Helen (Sayre) Bauer.

Brian graduated from Muskogee High School before attending Bethany College and graduating in 1978. While at Bethany, he met Nancy (Mirtz), and the two married in 1979.

After college, Brian attended Wartburg Seminary in Iowa and was ordained as a Lutheran Minister in 1985. Over the next four decades, Brian served congregations in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

Brian was a lifelong fan of the Oklahoma Sooners and enjoyed attending college football games with family. He was heavily involved in the arts, singing in a number of choirs including the Bethany College Oratorio Society, performing in local community theater productions in Kansas and Oklahoma, and attending concerts and musicals. Brian was a World War II buff and knew several classic movies by heart. He also enjoyed traveling, whether it was going on road trips with his wife and children or flying overseas.

He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister Carla.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy of Salina, Kansas; his sons, Matthew and wife Laura, Andrew and wife Christina, and Michael and wife Casey; his five grandchildren, Lukas, Ellery, Emerson, Edward, and Ezra; his sister, Karen Carson; his nephew, Sean Carson and wife Melody; and his niece, Kristi Neef and husband Jody.

A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Salina.

Memorials may be sent to St. John’s Lutheran Church or Bethany College.