Pub 10 2021 Issue 2

32 IN MEMORY Phil Perry Dec. 13, 1942-Feb. 22, 2021 Phillip Thomas Perry was born on Dec. 13, 1942, to Lee and Addie Perry in Caldwell, KS. After graduating from Caldwell High School in 1960, Perry attended the University of Kansas for two years and graduated from Emporia State University in 1965 with a B.S. in Business Management. He became a national bank examiner for 10 years and was then appointed as a regional director in the 10th National Bank Regional Headquarters in Kansas City. In 1968, following the “Pueblo” incident, Perry’s Air National Guard unit was activated, and he spent one year in Kun San, South Korea. After his tour of duty, Perry returned to Wichita, resuming his job as a bank examiner. He was later transferred to Columbia, MO. After meeting his wife and having their daughter, the Perry’s returned to Caldwell in 1980 as Executive Vice President of Caldwell State Bank and became the President and CEO three years later. Gerard “Jerry” W. Lehman Jan. 14, 1942-Dec. 10, 2020 Gerard “Jerry” Lehman, age 78, of Towanda, KS, passed away on Dec. 10, 2020. He graduated from Towanda High School in 1960 and married his high school sweetheart, Loretta (Starr), in 1963. They were married for 57 years. Gerard graduated from Pittsburg State College in 1964 with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration. At age 16, he was hired at Towanda State Bank as a janitor. He later became a teller, loan officer, Vice President, President for 30 years, and later Vice President again. Gerard was employed at Towanda State Bank for 58 years and received his 50-year pin in banking in 2010 from the Kansas Bankers Association in Topeka, KS. He also served as the director and chairman of the board for Towanda State Bank. Richard William “Bill” Poquette Feb. 16, 1936-March 12, 2021 Richard “Bill” Poquette, 85, Lenexa, Kansas, passed away on Friday, March 12, at his home. Bill was born Feb. 16, 1936, the son of Dick and Caroline Poquette, in Cheboygan, MI. Bill was the former Managing Editor with BankNews Media and served with BankNews Publications, which produced the Kansas Directory for Financial Institutions and other banking publications, for 50 years. When Poquette retired, he said he received greetings from people he coached throughout his career, letting him know how much he helped them and how much it had meant to him. This especially was special to Poquette since he had been helped as he had helped others that he could pass on through mentorship. “Always keep that attitude of learning and eagerness to listen,” Poquette had quoted. “I’ve covered a lot of banking conferences, talked to a lot of important banking people, and it felt like I was always learning something. I never lost that. When they responded, it was a thrill they saw what I wrote and responded, even to disagree with me.”