5/25/2010
By ERIN MATHEWS Salina Journal

One had been married for 53 years. One was sitting next to the girl some say he hoped to marry.

All three lives ended Friday after two vehicles collided at Lapsley and Simpson roads in rural Saline County.

Friends of Vernon Tinkler, 75, of Assaria, the man driving the pickup truck north on Simpson Road, described him as a man who "had thousands of friends," enjoyed life and improved his community through involvement in many organizations.

"He was the old-fashioned good ol' boy," said long-time friend Terrell Olson, of Salina. "You just don't find people like him anymore."

John Ray Blasenhauer, 22, of Marquette, whose car was headed east on Lapsley Road, "worked hard at everything he did," his father said.

John Blasenhauer Jr. said he found one picture of his son and his girlfriend, Leah Trask, 22, a Bethany College student from San Diego, Calif., who was also killed, in his son's cell phone. He printed 100 copies he plans to give to friends and family members at his funeral Thursday.

He'd lost a daughter

In 1986, Tinkler and his wife, Kathy, had mourned the death of their daughter, Jane, who was in her 20s when she and her fiance were killed in a crash on Simpson Road, just two miles from where her father died in the crash with the young couple Friday, friends said.

Tinkler had been slowing down some but still very much enjoyed life, his friends say. He was the kind of man who would take his little white poodle for a ride in his truck when the dog wasn't feeling up to a walk and who enjoyed having his great-grandson, Ryan, tag along.

"He was a wonderful man, very easy going," said long-time family friend Doris Short. "He just tried to make the world a better place."

Short said that at monthly pitch games Tinkler was always "the life of the party."

Ken Leander, a fellow member of the Assaria Lions Club, said Tinkler had raised a lot of money for the community by running the club's annual pancake feed for many years. This year's feed occurred in March.

'Prince of a man'

"He was a prince of a man," Leander said. "His ancestors were some of the founders of Gypsum, Kansas. His roots in this area are deep."

Tinkler, who had farmed and worked for 25 years as the telephone manager for Assaria Telephone Co., also drove a school bus for Assaria schools and continued driving for Southeast of Saline until last year. After his retirement, he was bored at home so he asked if there was something he could do to help at a friend's machine shop.

Lisa Short works as office manager for Swenson & Short, a combine repair service, and T&S Manufacturing, a machine shop, where Tinkler put in time doing odd jobs, delivering parts and "sorting bolts." Tinkler's son and grandson both work there also, and he often brought his 4-year-old great-grandson in to assist him, Short said.

"We're going to miss him so much," she said. "It was the sweetest thing to watch him with his great-grandson, Ryan. He would take him on errands with him, and Ryan would follow him around. They were really sweet together."

Search for good steak

Olson said he first met Tinkler when they were both involved in the U.S. Army Reserves with the 425th Transportation Co. They attended summer camp together five years in a row at Camp McCoy near Sparta, Wis., where they discovered "the biggest, cheapest steaks anywhere" at a restaurant called the 18th Hole.

Years later, Olson and Tinkler continued their quest for good food, eating out with their wives every Wednesday and Saturday at restaurants all over the area, Olson said.

"We would eat out and cover the world's problems," Olson said. "Of course, we didn't cover them all good enough because we've still got problems ¬­-- and nobody wanted to listen to Vernon and I."

Tinkler and Olson also were Shriners together and ate every year at the Blue Lodge annual meeting in Lindsborg. Olson said Tinkler ate three bowls of the oyster soup Olson prepared.

Experiencing tailgating

Olson said Tinkler got the thrill of his life when Olson invited him to a Kansas State University football game and he had his first experience with a tailgate party.

"He was totally amazed," he said. "He was walking around the parking lot saying, 'They're cooking ribs, and they're cooking steaks, and they're cooking catfish, and they've got a whole turkey. I think I could walk from car to car, and I wouldn't have to eat for a week.'"

Olson said the Tinklers became hooked on K-State football, and soon he had them attending basketball games, as well. When they needed culture, they would attend area concerts and plays, Olson said.

Tinkler became just as devoted to K-State as Olson, who was a graduate.

"I'll tell you what Vernon told me: 'Purple's a pretty damn good color,' " Olson said.

Olson said he asked the Tinklers' son, John, one time to let him know if he was wearing his parents out.

"John said, 'You just keep them in the car, and you keep rolling. My dad has had fun with you,' " Olson said.

Planning to wed

Blasenhauer Jr., father of the 22-year-old man who was killed Friday, said his son and Trask were planning a trip to California in July so that Blasenhauer could meet her parents and ask for her hand in marriage.

"He was a great kid," Blasenhauer Jr. said. "He worked hard at everything he did."

Blasenhauer, who worked as a heavy equipment operator for Malm Construction in Lindsborg, loved music and was taking private lessons to learn blues drumming techniques, he said.

Pray Ann Meier, Blasenhauer's older sister, said her brother wanted her to meet Trask, but she never got the chance. She described him as "a very loving guy" and "very, very talented."

"Every time I talked to him he was always wanting me to meet her, but I hadn't yet," she said.

n Reporter Erin Mathews can be reached at 822-1415 or by e-mail at emathews@salina.com.

---

Discuss This Story:

---