×
×
homepage logo

KU shirts encouraged for Vestal visitation in Tonganoxie

By Shawn Linenberger - | Mar 12, 2019

The family of a former mayor has a special request for anyone attending the former resident’s visitation next week.

Former Tonganoxie Mayor Mike Vestal died Feb. 28.

His visitation is 6-8 p.m. Monday at Cornerstone Family Worship, 205 E. U.S. Highway 24-40 in Tonganoxie.

Family members have asked that anyone with a favorite University of Kansas shirt wear it to the visitation.

Vestal was an avid KU fan, as a 2005 Mirror story can attest. He truly wore his Jayhawk love on his sleeve, as he got a Jayhawk tattoo on his right shoulder that year.

“I’ve been a Jayhawk fan as long as I can remember,” said Vestal in an interview that year.

According to the story, Vestal was scheduled for a procedure at an area hospital, but wanted to be certain the hospital carried ESPN. After all, KU was scheduled for two consecutive Big Monday games and he wasn’t about to miss either of them.

“I made sure they had ESPN,” Vestal said. “If they didn’t I wasn’t going down there.”

He very much showed his loyalty to the Crimson and Blue.

Vestal also was a longtime Tonganoxie police dispatcher. He and his wife, Evelyn, moved to Clearwater, Fla., in 2017.

Many in the community have been remembering the longtime Tonganoxie resident.

The Tonganoxie City Council had a moment of silence at its most recent meeting.

Mayor Jason Ward led the remembrance for Vestal and remembered him for his years of service on the Tonganoxie City Council, along with many years as dispatch for the Tonganoxie Police Department.

Vestal’s obituary appears on page 3A of today’s edition of The Mirror.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Cornerstone Family Worship.