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 </figure>Francis Edmund Bouts, better known as Frank, 91, of Selden, KS, died 
August 21, 2020 at Colby Hospital, Colby, KS. He was born May 18, 1929 
in Cedar, KS, to Anton and Leona Barnett Bouts. Frank was always a 
Kansas farm boy at heart and was certainly a child of the Great 
Depression. He grew up working harvests and herding cattle while 
attending school with his siblings. In 1942, when the war industry 
provided secure jobs with good pay, his family moved to Southern 
California, where Frank continued to do whatever he could do to help the
 family make ends meet. He cut grass, delivered papers, and sacked 
groceries, all while attending school at North Hollywood High School, 
graduating in 1947. He also worked for a time as an usher at CBS studios
 in Hollywood and was able to meet numerous stars of stage and screen. 
But though in a job that aspiring actors would be envious to have, his 
heart was still in Kansas, and he returned often to work in the wheat 
harvest, and eventually enrolled in KSU. 
It was while in Kansas that he met and married Betty Mae Sejkora of 
Jennings KS in 1951 and began a family together. Mindful of the lessons 
learned during the depression, he looked for greater security for his 
young family, and with the outbreak of war in Korea, he enlisted in the 
US Navy and moved to San Diego CA. Always proud of his service, possibly
 the greatest family legacy from that time is he learned to put peanut 
butter on pancakes, a practice that has been handed down and grateful 
children and grandchildren enjoy to this day. 
Completing his enlistment, Frank was drawn back to Kansas to resume 
farming. As ensuring security for his family was always foremost in his 
mind, in 1955 he took full time employment with United Airlines in what 
was then a nascent air transport industry. He earned qualification as an
 airframe and powerplant mechanic, and stayed with United for 39 years, 
an active participant in the birth of an industry and the introduction 
of the jet age. Throughout his time with United, he did what was needed 
to provide for a family that now included 7 children. And though his 
employer offered travel benefits allowing opportunity to see the world, 
his preferred vacation destination was often Kansas. 
As he reached retirement age, he met and married his second wife, Jean 
Zimmerman, of Kanona KS, and together they made a new home in Selden KS.
 It quickly became a place of refuge and reunion for the many children 
and grandchildren from both the Zimmerman and Bouts clans. And Grandad 
Bouts always had stories to tell, acquired during the years: most any 
child or grandchild can relay how Tack Foster got his nickname, having 
heard the story multiple times. And all would love to hear him tell it 
one more time. 
First of all things, Frank was a provider. He worked extra hours to 
ensure his family had a nice home, and holidays and Christmas were 
always a time to share in abundance. His favored past time was primarily
 working in his garden, and his children grew up believing that the rest
 of the world was also served corn on one’s plate that was just 30 
minutes removed from the stalk. He was always ready to help where he 
could, providing a timely assist when it was needed, because he could. 
Frank was preceded in death by his parents; by brother Donald; by his 
second wife Jean; and by his great granddaughter Binta Rose Jallow. 
He is survived by children, son Thomas and Cory Bouts, of Littleton CO, 
son Richard Bouts, of Selden KS, stepdaughter Rhonda and Kenneth 
Wildeman, of Jennings KS, son Gerald and Ellyn Bouts, of Denver CO, son
 Alan and Charlotte Bouts, of Westcliffe CO, stepson Ronald Zimmerman, 
of Boise ID, daughter Sarah and Marty Veitel, of Pensacola FL, son John 
Bouts, of Albuquerque NM, and daughter Dawn and Brian Albee, of Lakewood
 CO; with grandchildren Luke, Ellen, Josh, Jessica, Matt, Katy, Logan, 
Stefan, Annalee, Jessica, Joni, Jamie, Ryan, Aubben, Ben, Libby, 
Christina, Kim, Andy, Heather, and Liana; and 39 great grandchildren and
 many nieces, nephews and friends. 
Cremation was chosen. Family will receive friends and a Memorial 
Service held later after the coronavirus pandemic passes. Inurnment 
will follow in Jennings Cemetery, where Frank will be placed near his 
mother and father, Anton and Leona. 
Online condolences may be left at www.baalmannmortuary.com. In lieu of 
flowers, memorials are suggested to (City of Selden Parks) in care of 
Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. Also, the family is 
working on a virtual memorial page. If you have any pictures, videos, 
stories, thoughts, and memories please send them to 
frankboutsmemorial@gmail.com . Anyone contributing content or requesting
 access will be provided a link when the memorial is complete.