Irl L. Brassfield

Irl L. Brassfield, 85, Bogue, passed away April 6, 2023, in Graham County Hospital, Hill City.

Irl was born on the family farm near Palco, Kansas, on May 3, 1937, to Chris and Mary Brassfield. He was the eleventh of twelve children.

Irl’s siblings dearly loved their little blue-eyed, white-haired brother and remember him as inseparable from his sister, Jane, and brother, Paul. They were a trio: when you saw one, you saw all three together until Paul was old enough to do chores. Then it was Irl and Jane together. There was a lifelong close bond between the three of them until Jane’s death in 1974.

Irl received his grade school education at Brownville School and formed a close bond with his classmate, Johnny Smith. They both graduated from Palco High School in 1955 and would remain friends for many years. While in high school, Irl played football and basketball. With his 6’ 4” height, he was a valued asset to the basketball team. He was proud of the team’s achievements in winning games and making it to the state tournament. It was the best the Palco “Roosters” had done for 40 years, and they were not able to repeat the record in the following years. He was also a member of Future Farmers of America.

He learned woodworking skills, basic auto repair and maintenance, and painted his car, a 1941 Coupe. For a year or so following high school, Irl and a friend worked in construction and on a crew building a new highway from Hill City to WaKeeney, Kansas. He attended an auto diesel school in Kansas City from 1957 to 1958. To help pay for his expenses, he worked for Vendo Company as a storeroom clerk and also in a machine shop. He lived in an apartment with a friend and later rented a room in a boarding house. After he finished school, he moved back home and helped his parents on the farm until he was inducted into the U.S. Army in December 1959.

He took Basic and Advanced Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood near Springfield, Missouri, and was then shipped to Richardson Army Base close to Anchorage, Alaska. He was assigned to the 562nd Combat Engineer Group. They won the Itschner Award for being the most outstanding Engineering Group in the U.S. Army. He was qualified to operate almost all heavy equipment but was a bulldozer operator most of the time.

He loved to fish and went fishing much as possible. He hunted for moose, caribou, goats, sheep, and any big game.

He served for three years and held the rank of Specialist 5 when he was discharged in January 1963. He drove home down the Alcan Highway in a green 1955 Pontiac station wagon. He visited his sisters and an aunt in Washington and Oregon and continued on down the west coast to California before heading home.

Irl married Ruthmary Bane on May 21, 1963, in Springfield, Missouri. He met Ruthmary, a student at SW Missouri State College, while he was in Basic Training at Fort Leonard Wood. They continued their courtship by letters and an occasional phone call while he was stationed in Alaska. They lived on the family farm, or nearby, in rented homes and started a farming partnership with Irl’s parents. They acquired more cropland and pasture for their expanding cattle herd.

In the late 1960s, Irl and Ruthmary started college courses at Ft. Hays State College. In 1972, Irl obtained a degree in biology and Ruthmary a degree in elementary art education. Around this same time, they lovingly welcomed two teen-age nieces into their home and cared for them for a few years.

They continued to acquire more land and increase the cattle herd. After the death of Irl’s mother in 1974, they moved into the family home with his father, who was almost 80 years old. His brother, Chris, returned to Kansas in the mid-1970s and settled on the farm. He was a dependable worker, assisting with the cattle and farming business. During their years on the farm, their four sons were born: James Christopher, Troy Irl, Blake William, and Joshua Laverne. Irl enjoyed being a father and teaching his boys how to fish and hunt.

In 1988, Irl was gravely ill with a heart condition. He was too disabled to continue farming and sold the equipment and cattle. He leased farmland and pastures. Miraculously, his heart function slowly improved, allowing him to be more active. He built additional ponds, stocked them with fish and leased the fishing rights, as well as hunting rights on his land, to a sports club.

He and Ruth lived for a short time in Bogue, then a short time in Hays, and for several years in Larned, Kansas, while Ruth worked as an art therapist for the Kansas State Department of Corrections. They settled back in Bogue around 2003 until their deaths. Troy and Joshua, with Irl’s help, began the farming operation again. They acquired equipment and slowly increased the herd of cattle. The boys continued to farm cropland and build the herd of cattle.

Irl was a very hard-working farmer and cattleman. For pleasure and relaxation, he enjoyed hunting both birds and deer. He looked forward to fishing trips and the fall hunting season with family. He enjoyed the Brassfield Family reunions and visiting Ruthmary’s family.

Irl and Ruthmary (referred to as “Hon” by Irl) had 58 years of a loving, devoted, faithful marriage. They truly were each other’s “better half.” They were partners in the operation and expansion of the farm. They were caregivers for each other at times during many years of health challenges. They supported each other during the lifelong sorrow and mourning after the tragic, unexpected, deaths of two sons, James in 2005 and Joshua in 2017.

Both Irl and Ruth were in failing health when Ruth passed away in 2021. It was a heartbreaking loss for Irl and his health declined further. In the fall of 2022, he was hospitalized for pneumonia. Unable to care for himself adequately, he moved to Troy and Cayleigh’s home. With loving care and nourishing food prepared by Cayleigh, he recovered some of his strength but continued to have medical issues. He was admitted to Graham County Hospital the following spring and passed away April 6, 2023.

He will be remembered for his love for his family and siblings, his gentle wit, his compassionate heart, his kindness to others in their troubles and steadfastness in his own, his strong work ethic, and his help to others in need.

He was predeceased by his parents; ten siblings: Christina, Clay, Elmer, Dora, Nancy, Chris, Winn, Rose, Paul and Jane; his beloved wife Ruthmary (“Hon”); and two sons, James and Joshua.

He is survived by, and will be lovingly remembered by his sister Velma Smith, Bellevue Wash.; sons Troy, (Cayleigh) of Bogue, and Blake (Heather) of Texarkana Texas; fifteen grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Service was held at the Redline Church of God in Palco on Saturday, June 10, 2023. Burial was in Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Hill City.