Marian Aley Layher, 103, died on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at Via Christi Village where she had lived for 2 years.
She was born on February 9, 1917 in Denver, CO to Daisy Gorham Aley and Hamilton W. Aley, the second daughter of three girls. She was raised in Colorado Springs, CO where her father owned a pharmacy. She graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO where she met her future husband, Robert “Bob” Layher. They were secretly married on September 3, 1941 (Bob’s birthday) because he had left the U.S. Navy to join the American Volunteer Group, “the Flying Tigers” and sailed to China. Marian remained living at home volunteering at the hospital and participating in other war-time activities. When Life Magazine decided to do a story on the Flying Tigers with a picture of Bob that said he had married a college coed, they had to hurriedly publish a wedding announcement in the Colorado Springs paper before the article appeared. They were married 65 years before he preceded her in death on November 17, 2006.
Marian and Bob moved to Hays in 1947 and again permanently in 1955 with their children. Her mother had persuaded two of her son-in-laws to manage her farmland located south of Gorham, KS. Marian was quite active in her community while busy raising three children. She was very involved in her church and taught Sunday school at the First Presbyterian Church for over 20 years. She was a member of PEO Chapter EC for 59 years. At the age of 60 she took up tennis with a group of female friends and proved to be a formidable player. Marian loved to travel and she and her husband attended almost all the annual Flying Tiger reunions, taking many great trips overseas to the Far East and to Germany to visit relatives. She always offered a shoulder to lean and took time to listen to her many friends. She will be greatly missed by family and friends.
Survivors include her daughter Lynda LeVan of Overland Park, KS; her son Robert Layher and his wife Kim of Raymore, MO; two granddaughters, Heather & husband Patrick Lewallen of Overland Park, KS and Kristin Layher of Pilot Point, TX; her sister, Rosemary Landon, Colorado Springs, CO; one great granddaughter Maggie Lewallen of Overland Park, KS and 4 nieces and 3 nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Bob, her son Ronald Layher and her sister Dorothy Mowry.
Our heartfelt thanks to our wonderful neighbors, Donna Fleischacker and her husband Andreas Maheras, who were always watching over her. A Celebration of Life service will be held later in the fall at her church and will be announced by Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home. Condolences and memories of Marian may be left for the family at www.haysmemorial.com