Obituary of Waldemar Drevits

Waldemar E. "Wally" Drevits, 97, of Lindsborg, passed away at Bethany Home on Tuesday, October 4, 2011. He was born January 22, 1914 on a farm two miles north of Smolan. He was the youngest and only U.S. born child of Frank and Emma (Andersson) Drevits. He was preceded in death by his parents, two infant siblings, and four sisters; Margaret, Vera, Goldie, and Martha. Wally grew up in Smolan, KS and graduated from Smolan High School in 1931. On October 11, 1939, he married Esther Hultman. He entered the U.S. Army on July 7, 1942, and served in the 924th Engineer Aviation Regiment in Europe during World War II. Wally and Esther settled in Smolan after the war and raised two children, Miriam and David. Wally worked in Salina for the Oehlert Caterpillar dealer (later Foley Tractor) until he retired in 1979. After 48 years of marriage, Esther passed away in 1987. He was married to Dorothy Peterson of Osage City, KS in January of 1992, until her death in February 2006. Wally moved to Bethany Home in February 2008. Wally was known as Mr. Fix-It and enjoyed working on projects in his workshop. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, reading, car rides through the countryside, fishing, crossword puzzles, dominoes, and Scrabble. He was a lifelong member of the Covenant Church. He is survived by his children, Miriam Romalis (Brian) of Wichita, and son, David (Patricia) of Freeburg, IL, his four grandchildren, Rebecca Romalis of Toronto, Canada, Michael Romalis of Wichita, Elizabeth Drevits of Hartford, CT, Megan Drevits (Nick) of Indianapolis, IN, nieces, nephews, and their families, Dorothy's children, Doris Holloway and Carol Peterson (Robert) of New York City, and Dorothy's grandchildren, Devin Holloway, Kate and Nick Hurwitz. Visitation will be Sunday from 5-7pm with at Christians Funeral Home, Lindsborg. Burial will be held at 9:30am Monday at Mission Hill Cemetery, Smolan. A Memorial Service will be held at 10:30am Monday at Bethany Home. Memorials may be designated Mission Hill Cemetery or Bethany Home in care of Christians Funeral Home 103 N. Washington PO Box 386 Lindsborg, KS 67456. Online condolences at www.ChristiansFuneralHome.com