Robert Leorn Wilburn Son of Robert G. Wilburn and Sarah Elizabeth Trumbo Wilburn. Born November 29, 1924 in Monument, Kansas. Went to school in Burlington, Colorado and Bethune, Colorado graduating from grade school in 1938 before moving to Bethune. He remembered having to stay after school and erase the chalkboard with an older classmate named Denver Pile for throwing a piece of chalk back and forth and getting caught by the teacher! He joined the United States Armer and completed Basic Training before the higher Command found out that he was the only son of his parents and he was received an Honorable Discharge in December of 1945. In those days, an only son was not allowed to serve. He loved rodeo and roping. He married Evelyn Louise Jones and had Kathleen, Bob, Patricia, Ev and Pam. Robert was very active in the church and served as a deacon and song leader for many years in the Baptist Church at Penrose, Colorado. They bought a place in Florence, Colorado and lived there while Robert worked at the CF & I Steel Mill in Pueblo, Colorado. The years of shift work and being around loud machinery finally helped Robert decide to take a job as a cowboy for a gentleman south of La Junta in the Higbee area. The hours were long and the work could be difficult at times, but Robert enjoyed the land, seeing crops succeed and working with the animals involved with the ranch. After a few years, he was able to purchase his own farm/ranch on highway 194 East of La Junta, Colorado. The marriage ended in divorce but in early 1990, Robert found his musical soul mate when he met M. LaVerne Shaw of Karval, Colorado. They were married and moved to Oakley, Kansas to start their new life together. Much joy and happiness were shared by these two as they formed the Double "L" Music Duo. They both sang and Robert played the accordion, mouth harp, guitar, slide Dobro guitar and anything else that he could get his hands on! LaVerne sang, played piano, keyboard, accordion and ukulele as well. They played for many care centers, birthday parties and even a couple of weddings. They truly loved each other and being in each others company.

Dad gave from the heart and was loved by many. He told me once when we lived at LaJunta that he felt like a mama duck when he went out to irrigate with grandkids on the place. They all followed him according to age and wouldn't let Dad out of their sight!! But he was usually patient and always kind when it came to his Grandkids.
I once gave him a bottle of mens cologne called Rondo. Every evening when he came out to help me finish milking the cows, I noticed that his cologne kept getting stronger and stronger. His hair kept getting dryer and dryer. After about two weeks, I got brave and asked him how much he was using at a time....he said he had thought it was hair oil and wasn't working cause his hair kept sticking up, so he kept on putting on more! We laughed about this several times.
Being on dialysis made him have to stick to a very strict diet. If he didn't like what I cooked, he didn't complain....just said he thought I needed to have a day off from cooking!

Dad was a fighter and went through a lot the last years. He was loved by many and missed by those whose life he touched.

Robert Leorn Wilburn, 90, died January 30, 2015 at Via Christi Village, Hays.

He was born November 29, 1924 in Monument to Robert and Sarah (Trumbo) Wilburn. He married Evelyn Louise Jones. He married LaVerne Shaw. He was a CF & I Steel worker, farmer and rancher, and a US Army Veteran.

Preceded in death by his parents, wife M. LaVerne, sisters Violet Rhodes, Nellie Heyen, and Mollie Stefka, stepson Dale Sides, stepdaughter Dolores Holcomb,and grandson Kevin T. Wood.

Survivors include son: Bob of Monument, CO; daughters: Kathleen Begley of Boise City, OK, Pat McGoyne of Burlington, CO, Ev Yergert of Campo, CO and Pam Wilburn of Topeka; and stepson Bill Shaw of Bowdoinham, Maine; 17 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren, and 7 great great grandchildren.

Services 10:30 a.m. Saturday, February 7 at Kennedy-Koster Funeral Home, Oakley. Visitation 5 – 8 Friday at the funeral home. Burial in Oakley Cemetery.

Memorials to Logan County Healthcare Foundation and Robert Wilburn Memorial Fund may be sent to the funeral home, PO Box 221, Oakley. www.kennedykosterfh.com