Chester Theodore Abitz, 94, of Wheaton, Kansas, died Sunday, May 4, 2014, at the Westy Community Care Home, Westmoreland, Kansas. He was a life-long resident of the area.

Chester was born on December 2, 1919, in rural Wheaton, Kansas, the son of Wilhelm and Helena Hinzman Abitz. He attended Pleasant Hill School and St. Paul's Lutheran School in Duluth, Kansas. He was confirmed in Duluth.

Chester was a farmer and stockman on the family farm northeast of Wheaton. He was a member of St. Luke Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Laymen's League. Chester held numerous offices and positions for both the Church and the League. He enjoyed playing cards, especially pitch.

He married Florence Stohs on November 23, 1950, at Immanuel Lutheran Church (Hermansberg) in Bremen, Kansas.

Chester is survived by his wife, Florence; his five sons, Kenneth Abitz (Melinda), Topeka, Kansas; Loren Abitz (Mary), Wheaton, Kansas; Daniel Abitz (Diana), Prairie Village, Kansas; Bruce Abitz (Melanie), Onaga, Kansas; and Paul Abitz (Amy), Manhattan, Kansas; his sister, Olga Fairbanks, Onaga, Kansas; sister-in-law, Wilma Abitz, Westmoreland, Kansas; twelve grandchildren, Emily, Katie (Rick), Amy (Shaun), Lance (Sara), Liz, Brook, Jenny, Austin, Trevor, Katrina, Josh, Colin and two great-grandchildren, Elyse and Payten. He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Lydia, Meta, Hilda, Martha, Selma, Herbert, Almon, Frieda and Lavina.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, May 8, 2014, at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Wheaton. Reverend Terry DeGiovanni will be officiating. Burial will follow at St. Luke Lutheran North Cemetery. Mr. Abitz will lie-in-state, at the church, on Wednesday, starting at 4:00 p.m. where the family will greet friends from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. A prayer service will be held at 7:00 p.m. They suggest memorial contributions to the St. Luke Lutheran Church Seminary Fund, and those may be sent in care of Kufahl Funeral Home in Wheaton. Online condolences may be made at www.campanellafuneral.com.