Arthur (Art) M. Nease, Jr. passed away peacefully at his home in Abilene, Kansas on July 3, 2023. Art was born on January 4, 1932 in Lawrence, Kansas to Arthur M. Nease, Sr. and Fannie (Abel) Nease. He attended Lawrence Liberty Memorial High School and the University of Kansas while on a Navy ROTC Scholarship.
At KU, Art was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and particularly enjoyed music. He played the trumpet with the KU Marching Band and the string bass with the University orchestra. On weekends, Art played in a college band that played house parties and other events. Art also was in charge of the TKE Serenades, a group that that would sing to girls in sororities, dorms and scholarship halls. It was during one of these serenades that a coed from the Tri Delt house, Marilyn Sorem , first laid eyes on Art. The two started dating several years later and were married on June 14, 1959, recently celebrating their 64th Wedding Anniversary.
Art graduated from KU with a degree in Business Administration and later the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Banking. He commissioned into the Navy as a Supply Officer, where he served in the Pacific. Upon completion of his Naval duties, Art went to work for the FDIC as a bank examiner. After several years with the FDIC, Art purchased the State Exchange Bank in Barnes, Kansas, where he resided as President for 30 years.
After retiring from the bank, Art and Marilyn moved to Abilene, Kansas where he worked part-time at the Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library for almost 20 years. He loved working at the Museum because he enjoyed history and meeting people from all over the world. In Abilene, Art was active in the Kiwanis club, St. John’s Episcopal Church and sang for several years in the annual Messiah concerts at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.
Art’s main hobbies were golf and KU athletics. He played golf any time he could, and in his younger days traveled with friends for golf vacations and enjoyed playing in various tournaments throughout the state. As for KU, Art was a loyal Jayhawk from the cradle and held football and basketball season tickets for over 50 years.
Proceeding Art in death were his parents. He is survived by wife, Marilyn; daughter, Jordan Brennan (Marc); son, Arthur Miles; grandson, Cort Brennan; sister, Patricia Dix; brother, Donald Nease (Sandra) and nieces and nephews.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to all of Art’s caregivers from the Veteran’s Administration for their kindness and support. They were a Godsend.
A Celebratory Mass in honor of Art will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 519 N. Buckeye Abilene, Kansas on Saturday, July 8 at 11:00a.m.. In lieu of flowers, family suggests memorials to the University of Kansas Endowment Association, P.O. Box 928 Lawrence, Kansas 66044.