Douglas "Doug" Terry

Douglas Joe Terry was born to John Calvin Terry and Mary Ruah Wetlaufer on November 2, 1938 in Beloit Kansas. He is survived by wife Kathie and brother Dick (Mary). He grew up in Glen Elder enjoing a youthful life playing games at the city park. In earlier days he enjoyed hunting and fishing with his brother. During that time, they would hunt everything from squirrels to deer in order to help feed their family. Doug graduated from Glen Elder High School in 1956, earned his Bachelor’s from Bethany College in 1960, and received a Masters degree from Western State College, Gunnison, Colorado, in 1976. In 1958, he met the love of his life, Kathie Knitter, and from that friendship and engagement, they were married on January 24,1960. He taught in five different high schools: Lebanon, Natoma, Colby, Roswell, NM and Hill City. Doug was an avid sports fan for all his life. During school, he lettered in basketball, football, and track and went on to play football at Bethany College. He passed his love of sports on to others through his years of coaching. He coached football, basketball, wrestling, and track. His greatest achievement was leading the Natoma Tigers to an undefeated season that culminated in a 24 game winning streak. In 1984, Doug stepped away from teaching to open his own insurance company in Hill City. After working in insurance for 12 years, he retired and did crop adjusting. Doug had several hobbies throughout his life. He was a great woodworker. It would even lead him to a side-business called The Creative Wood Barn. He built two houses in different cities for his family, and his home is still full of his woodworking. He built a shop behind his house and made cabinets for the kitchen. He even built a canoe for his family to enjoy on fishing trips. Doug loved fishing. He taught each of his kids and several of his grandkids to fish. He would go fly fishing, trout fishing, and ice fishing and traveled all over the country to fish from Lake Michigan to California. His kids remember several trips camping and fishing with their dad. Of course, he always considered Kathie to be the greatest catch of his life. Doug’s faith was extremely important to him. He was baptized into the faith on March 17, 1949, and he would go on to baptize each of his four children. His faith shone through his coaching as he, at times, lead the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He was an active member of Hill City Christian Church and served at various times as an Elder and a Sunday School teacher. Even toward the end, his faith continued to be evident to doctors, nurses, and staff in the hospital. He never met a stranger when it came to his faith. His faith contributed to his incredible strength. No matter what life threw at him, Doug never gave up. He would never stop fighting, and he continues to fight even now. Doug’s request was honored that upon his death, his body be donated to the University of Kansas Medical School in hopes that his body will be used for cancer research. To this union was born Greg (April), Debbie (Tony), Jan (Gene), and Pam (Tim). Grand children: Dana (Robert) Lane and Chase; David; Sheena (Kyle) Kamden, Hudson and Ariana; Jennifer (Tyler) Soren and Sivie; Daniel (Erin); Joe (Ashley) Zella; Beth (Dave) Caleb and Thomas; and Naomi. Several additional grand children and great-grand children thru blended families, all were loved and cherished by Doug. Additional surviving family members; sister in-law Liz Knitter and Phyllis (Marlow) DeBey.