Selfless Siblings – Francis “Bay” Lehr

Francis Leroy “Bay” Lehr

By Marcia and Roger Eaton, grandson*

*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr

The oldest of four, Andy Lehr had two brothers and a sister.  Francis, or Bay, was three years younger than Andy.  Then came Leo six years behind Andy.  Thelma was eight years younger than Andy.  They all grew up in Augusta and Derby, Kansas.  They experienced some insufferable hardships and yet all enjoyed rich fulfilled lives. 

All three men dedicated their professional lives to the oil business. Andy and Leo spent their careers at Skelly Refinery in El Dorado, Kansas while Bay’s career took him to Texas Company Refinery in Claflin, Kansas.  In her time, women were a rare sight in the workforce.  Thelma carved out a rewarding career at Steffan’s Dairy in Wichita, Kansas.

Andy had the longest lifespan of the four at 69 years.  Each of them had longer lifespans than their parents.

Andy           69

Thelma      66

Leo              62

Bay              47

Andy Lehr’s parents, Andrew and Katie Lehr were ages 46 and 43 when pneumonia gripped the entire family.  Andrew and his daughter Thelma were too sick to attend Katie’s funeral services.  Andrew was gone four days after Katie and Thelma wasn’t expected to survive.  She and her brothers recovered.   A year earlier, Andy suffered a punctured lung in a harrow (farm implement) accident.  He was fortunate to survive a bout of pneumonia.  Leo tackled another bout with pneumonia as a teenager.

As orphans, the family was separated among relatives.  The boys went to Elizabeth (Miers) Hoffman “Aunt Lizzie”.  They were a welcome addition to her household and provided immeasurable assistance on her farm.  Thelma joined her Aunt Ada (Hughes) Chase. 

Francis Leroy Lehr was born May 5, 1898 and was three years younger than his brother A.J. Lehr.  Francis was called by his nickname “Bay”. 

Francis lived with Aunt Lizzie for a while when he became an orphan.  At age 21,  he lived with his uncle, Charles Lehr, on a farm in Scott County, Kansas. Francis and Leo attended a boy’s boarding school in West Wichita – St. Johns Academy.  The 1915 census indicates that Francis was 16 and Leo was 13 while attending the St. John’s Academy.  It was established as a boarding school for girls in 1902.  In 1903, the boy’s boarding school was established.  This property would become part of Newman University in Wichita.  Francis’s education was complete in eighth grade.

Francis was 5’4 with brown hair and 155 pounds as indicated on his draft enrollment cards. He didn’t serve in the military.

Francis was a barber in Augusta when he got married.  He could have learned the trade from his neighbor who was also a barber.  Palace Barber and Pool Hall is where he worked.

Francis married Ethel Dovel on February 23, 1922.  Ethel moved to Augusta in 1920.  Her father was a watchman for the Santa Fe Railroad. She was in the YMCA Augusta Girl Reserve group that included Eva Rogers.  Eva was Flora (Rogers) Lehr’s sister.

Ethel was elected Secretary of the Girl Reserves.  The Girl Reserves was begun to foster patriotic war work.  She graduated from 8^th grade with Nellie Walker who became the wife of Leo Lehr.

Bay attended Ethel’s birthday party, in September 1921.  He was 24 and Ethel was 16 when they married.

Bay and Ethel’s family included three sons and two daughters.

Harrold Leroy Lehr                             1925-1989

Harriett Jane (Lehr) Shufeldt             1927-2020

Frances Catherine (Lehr) Marshall     1930-2018

Andrew Marion Lehr                          1933-2012

After working as a barber, he worked as a painter at the refinery in EL Dorado.  He then lived in Barton County as a pumper.  He died admirably at age 47, assisting a co-worker who had been overcome by fumes in an oil storage tank.