Dean Strohm

Dean Strohm, age 88, slipped away at home quietly and without fanfare during the noon hour on Thursday, October 20, 2022 after staring down Parkinson’s disease, two broken hips, and numerous other health challenges over the last 10+ years. Dean William Strohm was born to William H and Nina Elizabeth Faust Strohm on the family farm northwest of Burlingame on February 3, 1934.  He grew up on the Misty Glenn farm and attended country school, then Auburn Grade School through the 8th grade.  The family then moved to Burlingame in 1946 in the middle of his 8th grade year. He graduated from Burlingame High School.  

Dean worked various jobs before joining the Air Force in 1956.   He spent time in California, Illinois and was discharged in April 1959 while stationed at Eglin Air Force base in Florida.  He returned to Burlingame where he met Carolyn Smith on a blind date at the drive-in movie at Osage City. They married three months later on August 26, 1959.  To this union two daughters and a son were born.  Dean worked for the Santa Fe RR as a Carman at the Topeka Shops for 36 years, and was a proud member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Carmen of America union. He spent the majority of his railroad career in the "car shed" where he built and repaired many freight cars as a skilled welder. In the last few years before retirement, his job in the car shed assembly line was to straighten ladders on the box cars. He prided himself in doing it with only a torch, no hammers.  He enjoyed attending breakfasts with his fellow railroad retirees, and maintained special lifetime friendships with Bill Slade and Jim Niccum.

After retiring from ATSF he started working for the Burlingame Cemetery in April 1996 where he spent the next 12 years trimming weeds around the headstones.  Even in the last years of his life, he expressed how much he still missed being able to do that, as he took much joy and pride in maintaining the beauty of the historic grounds.

In the '70s and '80s he frequented the CB radio airwaves with the handle "Blue Bomb." He was a car junkie, taking special pride in the 1963 Impala that he bought new.  He relished the rush of speed provided by wheeled conveyances, whether it was his boyhood bicycle or his 1955 Chevy Bel Air.  He also had a great affinity for his 1982 Dodge Ram D100 with the finicky clutch.   He learned from his father how to take meticulous care of his property, equipment, house and vehicles, maintaining all in pristine condition, and he passed that trait on to his children and grandchildren.  He could get 250,000 miles out of a car only built to run for 100,000 miles.

His favorite color was green, John Deere Green, as he owned several John Deere lawn mowers and garden tractors.  Some of his other favorite pleasures at various stages of life were his pipe, Pepsi, popcorn, and ice cream. He also loved his pet cats, developing special bonds with many that were members of the family over the years. 

In his retirement years, he was an active volunteer for many projects at the Burlingame Schuyler Museum and he took it upon himself to keep the BHS Alumni Book up to date.  He enjoyed spending time with the guys at the coffee shop, reading emails and connecting with friends and family on Facebook.  

He was a solitary man, but time spent with family was precious to him, especially the annual Strohm family reunion, Christmases, birthdays, and his 60th wedding anniversary celebration with his children, grandkids and great-grandkids.

He was preceded in death by his parents Will and Nina; an infant son from a prior marriage, Ricky Dean Strohm; a brother Lester and wife Emily; a sister Mary and husband Marion Pinick; and son-in-law Kurt Simon.  He is survived by his wife Carolyn of 63 years, daughter Suzanne Simon (Dave Stuewe), Alma; son Jim Strohm (Dena), Burlingame;  daughter Heidi Koger (Steve), Lawrence; grandchildren Jacob Simon (Siobhan), Katie Ferris, Trey Strohm (Steffanie), Caleb Strohm (Lorrin), Christian Stromgren, Breanna Keith (Devon) and Amy Stromgren; great-grandchildren Haidan, Cole and Makson Simon;  Creighton and Braylee Ferris; Emberly and Colby Strohm; and William Keith; a host of nieces and nephews, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as many special friends.

He was baptized in Christ in June 1994.

A visitation will be at the Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home 503 S. Topeka Ave., Burlingame, KS 66413 on Friday, October 28 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.  A memorial service will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, October 29 at Schuyler Community Center, 218 W Fremont, Burlingame, KS 66413. Inurnment will follow at the Burlingame Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Burlingame Historical Society and sent in c/o the Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, P.O. Box 194, Burlingame, KS 66413. Condolences may be sent to the family through www.lamb-roberts.com.

If he could leave three bits of wisdom to the world, it would be: "Shut the front door! I'm not paying to heat the whole outdoors!",  "Turn the lights off when you leave a room!", and "BE QUIET when the weather report is on TV!"

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