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At left: Billie H. Garten

Photo courtesy of Bonnie (Garten) Shaffer.

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Funeral services were held Wednesday August 9, at the Hatfield Funeral Home, Coldwater, for Billie H. Garten, 47, of Coldwater. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Comanche County Hospital in Coldwater early Sunday morning, following a one-car accident about one mile west of Protection on US 183.

Mr. Garten was born June 17, 1925, at Lake City. He was married to Darlene King on Feb. 27, 1949, at Greensburg. He was an employee of the Brass and Wagon Cattle Co., and had lived in Coldwater for 29 years.

He was a member of the American Legion and was a veteran of World War II.

Survivors include his wife; one daughter, Mrs. Rita Brinkmeyer of Garden City; one son, Jerrold of Coldwater; two sisters, Mrs. Edna Smith of Sun City and Mrs. Elma Bragg of Wilmore; one brother, Harvey of Sun City; and one grandchild.

Graveside services were held at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Sun City Cemetery at Sun City.

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Note by Jerry Ferrin: The above obituary is incorrect in that it states Billie Garten had lived in Coldwater for 29 years; as I know he and his family lived south of the dirt road which ran between Sun City and Wilmore all the time I went to grade school at Wilmore. For example, see the 1958-59 Wilmore Yearbook, which shows that his children, Jerrold and Rita, attended the Wilmore School in the 1st and 2nd grades at the time, not the Coldwater School.

This page contains many hyperlinks to pages on the Barber County, Kansas: History & Genealogy web site. Each of those links will open a new browser window.

A copy of this page in honor of Billie H. Garten also appears on the Barber County site.

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Billie H. Garten
June 17, 1925 - August 6, 1972

BILLIE H. GARTEN
KANSAS
PVT     83 QM TRAINING CO
WORLD WAR II
JUNE 17, 1925 - AUG. 6, 1972

Sun City Basketball Team, Sun City, Barber County, Kansas.

L-R: George Selig (coach), Junior Fittro, Mead Adams, Ernest Keller, Nate Massey, Mark McLain, Jack Adams, Marlin Kramer, Billy Garten, C.R. McDougal. Supt. ("This was the year we went to the state: I was a soph. this year, Mark was a senior. We only lost 2 games this year, one to Sharon by 1 pt. and to Alamena in the state." - Nate Massey)
Photo courtesy of Brenda McLain.

Family of Hal and Belle (Connor) Garten, Barber County, Kansas.
L-R: Harvey Garten, Hal Garten, Edna (Garten) Smith, Belle (Connor) Garten, Billie H. Garten and Elma (Garten) Bragg.
Photo courtesy of Bonnie (Garten) Shaffer.
View Larger Image

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Except from an email from Nate Massey
to Jerry Ferrin, 19 August 2005:

"Billy Garten was one of my best friends and was one of the natural musicians of the Garten family and played the violin and guitar both left handed, his father was Hal Garten. Bills sister Elma married Harold Bragg and they worked for the Robbins ranch for years."

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Except from an email from Nate Massey
to Jerry Ferrin, 20 August 2005:

"Also, on Bill Garten: he was one of the fastest persons I've known for the first three steps, he was our catcher when we were playing high school and town team baseball and, since the school couldn't afford a left hand catcher's mitt, he had to make do by using a right hand mitt on the wrong hand. It didn't bother Bill though.

I think he was returning to Coldwater from Protection when he ran into the bridge abutment, he loved playing for the country, and barn dances. I used to watch his dad patiently teaching him how to play the fiddle (violin) left handed.

One of our neighbors to the west was the Bud Garten family, they were the nicest and most gentle people you could know. The amazing thing: Bud & Pearl his wife, along with 2 sons, Guy and Roy, and a daughter Opal were all very accomplished (not country corn) musicians - also a grandson Dale Garten. Pearl played the organ or a piano, Bud a banjo or guitar, Roy and Opal violins and Dale drums and I think a guitar. I think Guy played the stringed instruments also.

They would entertain several of the neighbors on occasion and it was a real treat, remembering this was in the 1930's using kerosene or Aladdin and Coleman lanterns as about 1 out of 10 homesteads had electricity or running water."

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Billie Garten is pictured on pages 6, 43 and 56 of Comanche County In Pictures; a photo of his son Jerrold appears on page 37 of the same book.

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Elma Verna (Garten) Bragg, sister of Billie H. Garten.

Hal & Belle (Connor) Garten, parents of Billie H. Garten.

Harvey Lee Garten, brother of Billie H. Garten.

Edna (Garten) Smith, sister of Billie H. Garten.

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Thanks to Bonnie (Garten) Shaffer for contributing the above gravestone photo to this web site!

Search terms: Billie Garten; Bill Garten; Billie H. Garten; Bill H. Garten; B.H. Garten; Billy Garten; Garten, Billy; Garten, Billie; Garten, Billie H.; Garten, Bill; Garten, B.H.

This website is being created by Jerry Ferrin with the able assistance of many Contributors. Your comments, suggestions and contributions of historical information and photographs to this site are welcome. Please sign the Guest Book. This page was last updated 5 October 2006.