Bob Gaskill strove to live his life with joy and integrity. His core value was to take care of his family as well as his bank customers. This value was fundamental to his life, informing his business dealings as well as other aspects of his life.
Robert L. Gaskill was born to Ira and June (Harris) Gaskill in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 10, 1928. He died age 95 at the Good Samaritan Society Home on March 14, 2024.
In 1950, he completed a degree in Animal Science from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. During college in Fort Collins, he served as a ski patrol at the Hidden Valley ski area. With a few friends, he began the first known commercial river running opportunity for guests on the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers, near Glenwood Springs. This enterprise received positive press in the Denver Post and the Glenwood Post, praising them for having launched a business “on the proposition that tourists will pay for such an adventure”. As seasoned rafters in rubber boats, Bob and his brother David are now officially recognized at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Center as the first river runners to make a run down that previously unknown and dangerous river. He has run all the tributaries of the Colorado River System, and was Trustee of the Powell Society of Denver, which published a river guide for the Colorado River.
He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Korean War, serving mostly in the Pacific, earning the Korean Service Medal. After his discharge, he managed the family feedlot south of Goodland, and ran thousands of lambs on wheat fields in the Bird City area.
Due to drought years, Bob took employment as an assistant county agent in Chase County, working in the historic courthouse in Cottonwood Falls, where he did research projects for Kansas State University.
The following year, he earned an M.S. in Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, where he published papers on animal nutrition and endocrinology. He then returned to raising lambs and cattle, and was named to the National Lamb Council, a special honor.
Bob’s banking experience began as a borrower to finance his feedlot and pasture operations. He then served as a Livestock Loan Officer at City National Bank, Kansas City, Missouri, now called United Missouri Bank. In 1963, he purchased the charter of the Farmers State Bank, Winona, Kansas. Throughout Bob’s 56 years in banking, he expanded The Bank to include locations in ten counties in northwest Kansas, serving as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of The Bank.
The Bank was recognized by the Farm Journal as “the best place in Kansas to get farm financing”. His dedication to excellence in banking was rewarded when Bob was 68 years old, when The American Banker, a trade journal, named The Bank as, “the best all-around ag lender in the country”.
In addition, in 2007, The Bank was awarded a rating of “Outstanding in Community Development” by the FDIC, one of only four Kansas banks winning the designation. This award was given for excellence in investing in and serving the communities where it operated.
During this time, Bob’s fun and refreshment for over thirty years was raising cattle on his ranch in southeastern Colorado, the Maverick. The ranch was beautiful and full of picturesque canyons. He found fulfillment in optimizing the productive capacity of the large ranch by increasing grass production and clearing significant areas of cedar trees. Later, Bob developed prairie grass for cell grazing at The Turkey Creek Range Ranch, in Wallace County, Kansas.
Bob’s dedication to community service was shown as he served 24 years on the Logan County Hospital Board, as a Powell Society Trustee, and as a member of the USD #567 School Board. He served on the Kansas Banking Association Governing Council and the KBA Board of Directors. He was also a member of various community and international service organizations.
Bob Gaskill and Kay Crumly Gaskill were married in August, 1963, in St. Francis, Kansas. Kay is the daughter of Ken and Lois Crumly of St. Francis. They lived in Winona, Kansas for twenty-three years, before moving to Oberlin in 1986. They had three children, son Guy and daughters Lori and Jody.
Bob’s interests included collecting Native American artifacts and pottery. He was a pilot, and would occasionally fly to Canada or Mexico for fishing or sailing trips. He loved music, especially opera. He and Kay enjoyed travel, visiting Europe, Asia, India, Africa, Australia, and Central and South America.
Bob’s legacy lives on in the hearts of his family, who were the lights of his life. He also took great pride in assisting others achieve their personal goals through the astute management of The Bank. He had a life long love of learning, was visionary in his approach to life, and had an unparalleled sense of adventure.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, sister, two brothers, a two brothers-in-law, and four sisters-in-law.
He is survived by his wife Kay; son Guy Crumly Gaskill, Winona; daughters Lori June Gaskill, Lakewood CO, and Jody Gaskill Metcalf (Shad), Colby; grandchildren Maximillian, Orion, Ferdinand and Ulysses Kreighbaum Gaskill, Lakewood; Bryson and Seanna Metcalf, Manhattan; and Jude Metcalf, Colby, and many nieces and nephews.
The family suggests that you consider a memorial gift to a local organization dedicated to community development. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2024 from 4:00PM-6:00PM at the City Limits Convention Center, 2227 S. Range Ave., Colby, KS 67701.
To share a memory or send a condolence gift, please visit the Official Obituary of Robert Lee Gaskill hosted by Plumer-Gobber Funeral Home.
Bob Gaskill strove to live his life with joy and integrity. His core value was to take care of his family as well as his bank customers. This value was fundamental to his life, informing his business dealings as well as other aspects of his life.
Robert L. Gaskill was born to Ira and June (Harris) Gaskill in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 10, 1928. He died age 95 at the Good Samaritan Society Home on March 14, 2024.
In 1950, he completed a degree in Animal Science from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. During college in Fort Collins, he served as a ski patrol at the Hidden Valley ski area. With a few friends, he began the first known commercial river running opportunity for guests on the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers, near Glenwood Springs. This enterprise received positive press in the Denver Post and the Glenwood Post, praising them for having launched a business “on the proposition that tourists will pay for such an adventure”. As seasoned rafters in rubber boats, Bob and his brother David are now officially recognized at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Center as the first river runners to make a run down that previously unknown and dangerous river. He has run all the tributaries of the Colorado River System, and was Trustee of the Powell Society of Denver, which published a river guide for the Colorado River.
He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Korean War, serving mostly in the Pacific, earning the Korean Service Medal. After his discharge, he managed the family feedlot south of Goodland, and ran thousands of lambs on wheat fields in the Bird City area.
Due to drought years, Bob took employment as an assistant county agent in Chase County, working in the historic courthouse in Cottonwood Falls, where he did research projects for Kansas State University.
The following year, he earned an M.S. in Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, where he published papers on animal nutrition and endocrinology. He then returned to raising lambs and cattle, and was named to the National Lamb Council, a special honor.
Bob’s banking experience began as a borrower to finance his feedlot and pasture operations. He then served as a Livestock Loan Officer at City National Bank, Kansas City, Missouri, now called United Missouri Bank. In 1963, he purchased the charter of the Farmers State Bank, Winona, Kansas. Throughout Bob’s 56 years in banking, he expanded The Bank to include locations in ten counties in northwest Kansas, serving as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of The Bank.
The Bank was recognized by the Farm Journal as “the best place in Kansas to get farm financing”. His dedication to excellence in banking was rewarded when Bob was 68 years old, when The American Banker, a trade journal, named The Bank as, “the best all-around ag lender in the country”.
In addition, in 2007, The Bank was awarded a rating of “Outstanding in Community Development” by the FDIC, one of only four Kansas banks winning the designation. This award was given for excellence in investing in and serving the communities where it operated.
During this time, Bob’s fun and refreshment for over thirty years was raising cattle on his ranch in southeastern Colorado, the Maverick. The ranch was beautiful and full of picturesque canyons. He found fulfillment in optimizing the productive capacity of the large ranch by increasing grass production and clearing significant areas of cedar trees. Later, Bob developed prairie grass for cell grazing at The Turkey Creek Range Ranch, in Wallace County, Kansas.
Bob’s dedication to community service was shown as he served 24 years on the Logan County Hospital Board, as a Powell Society Trustee, and as a member of the USD #567 School Board. He served on the Kansas Banking Association Governing Council and the KBA Board of Directors. He was also a member of various community and international service organizations.
Bob Gaskill and Kay Crumly Gaskill were married in August, 1963, in St. Francis, Kansas. Kay is the daughter of Ken and Lois Crumly of St. Francis. They lived in Winona, Kansas for twenty-three years, before moving to Oberlin in 1986. They had three children, son Guy and daughters Lori and Jody.
Bob’s interests included collecting Native American artifacts and pottery. He was a pilot, and would occasionally fly to Canada or Mexico for fishing or sailing trips. He loved music, especially opera. He and Kay enjoyed travel, visiting Europe, Asia, India, Africa, Australia, and Central and South America.
Bob’s legacy lives on in the hearts of his family, who were the lights of his life. He also took great pride in assisting others achieve their personal goals through the astute management of The Bank. He had a life long love of learning, was visionary in his approach to life, and had an unparalleled sense of adventure.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents, sister, two brothers, a two brothers-in-law, and four sisters-in-law.
He is survived by his wife Kay; son Guy Crumly Gaskill, Winona; daughters Lori June Gaskill, Lakewood CO, and Jody Gaskill Metcalf (Shad), Colby; grandchildren Maximillian, Orion, Ferdinand and Ulysses Kreighbaum Gaskill, Lakewood; Bryson and Seanna Metcalf, Manhattan; and Jude Metcalf, Colby, and many nieces and nephews.
The family suggests that you consider a memorial gift to a local organization dedicated to community development. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2024 from 4:00PM-6:00PM at the City Limits Convention Center, 2227 S. Range Ave., Colby, KS 67701.
To share a memory or send a condolence gift, please visit the Official Obituary of Robert Lee Gaskill hosted by Plumer-Gobber Funeral Home.
