Francis B. Wietharn, 91, of Seneca, Kansas, died late Saturday evening, March 17, 2007, at the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in Seneca.

Francis was born on April 13, 1915 at the Wietharn homestead family farm northeast of Baileyville, the son of Frank and Anna Catherine Engelken Wietharn. He attended the Wooden Shoe Country School located on their farm, as well as Sacred Heart School in Baileyville. He loved helping on the family farm, and later took over the operation.

On October 14, 1940, he married Laura Lierz at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Seneca. They spent 58 wonderful years of marriage, until her death on November 29, 1998. They lived and farmed on the Wietharn family homestead all of their married life, and raised four children.

Francis loved the farm and appreciated the beauty of nature. He often said there was no better place on earth than the farm. Even though he loved living in the countryside, he retired in 1998 and moved to Seneca.

Francis was a member of Sacred Heart Church in Baileyville, the Knights of Columbus #1769 in Seneca, Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Seneca, and was a recipient of a Soil Conservation Award, in recognition of all the conservation practices he implemented on his farm for many years. Francis established the Francis & Laura Wietharn Memorial Fund in 1999 through the STEP Foundation, for the benefit of Sts. Peter & Paul Church and Sacred Heart Church.

Survivors include three sons, Dwight of Kansas City, Clarence of Overland Park, and Frank of Topeka; a daughter, Betty Rottinghaus of Overland Park; a sister, Rita Floersch of Seneca; nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Besides his wife Laura he was preceded in death by five brothers, Edwin, Aloysious, Clarence, Father Sylvester and Father Albert; and two sisters, Helen Buser and Marie Heiman.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 AM Wednesday, March 21, at Sacred Heart Church in Baileyville. Burial will be in Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery in Seneca, where he will be laid to rest next to his wife, Laura. Rosaries will be prayed at 2 & 7 PM Tuesday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.

Memorial contributions may be given for the American Heart Association, and sent in care of the family.