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Face to Face: Tonganoxie City Council’s Curtis Oroke

By Shawn Linenberger - | Jun 21, 2016

Name: Curtis Dean Oroke

Born: Feb. 23, 1970, in Leavenworth

Family: Daughter, Morgan Nichol Oroke, 20; and son, Corbin Dean Oroke, 17; two dogs, Trigger and Molly; and a black cat with five free kittens (soon). Oroke was married for 21 years, but divorced in 2012.

Occupation: Home builder. He also is a Tonganoxie City Council Member, having been elected in April 2015.

Dream job as a child: Oroke wanted to be a truck driver to see the country and drive a large vehicle.

Interesting fact: Oroke has been involved in competitive barbecue for more than 18 years and still cooks for catering and as a hobby.

“Cooking is a stress reliever,” he said. “Good home-cooked food and a cold beverage.”

Digging deeper: Oroke, who has lived in Tonganoxie much of his life, graduated in 1988 from Tonganoxie High School, where he competed in football, basketball, track and cross country during his four-year career. He then attended Kansas State University for two years studying construction science.

He was raised around residential construction, as his father, Dean Oroke, has had 48 years of experience in the field.

The younger Oroke has been in remodeling and new home construction for 26 years, having built 120 houses in Leavenworth County, including in Tonganoxie and Basehor.

He was involved in competitive softball coaching for 10 years with his daughter, Morgan. She went on to play softball for two years at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Outside of work, Oroke is involved in various organizations. He’s a member of the Tonganoxie High School Booster Club and Tonganoxie’s Entrepreneurs Achieving Success Together group. He also was committee member for the Tonganoxie Sesquicentennial celebration.