DODGE CITY – William Joseph Rebein, 90, died at his home in Dodge City on January 29, 2024. He lived his entire life in western Kansas, pursuing work he loved side by side with the people he loved—and who loved and revered him in return.

He was born October 8, 1933, at Dodge City's St. Anthony's Hospital, where he spent the first four months of his life in the loving care of the Sisters of St. Joseph, who knew him as "Little Joseph." In January of 1934, he was adopted by Tony and Josephine Rebein, German-Catholic wheat farmers who counted many close friends, including a niece, among the sisters at St. Anthony's. The Rebeins had lost twin boys while living near Ellinwood, Kansas, a decade before, and they welcomed "Billy Joe" into a close-knit family that included an older son, Harold, who was 10 years old at the time of the adoption.

Bill grew up on the family farm on 109 Road, just west of the current location of Dodge City High School. As a boy, he attended Sacred Heart Cathedral School, where he was a great favorite of the sisters, many of whom remembered him from his days as "Little Joseph." When not in school or playing sports, Bill worked on the farm alongside his father and brother, developing the strong work ethic and dedication to family and the Catholic faith that would define him for the rest of his life.

At Dodge City Senior High, Bill played football, ran track, and served on the Student Council, graduating in 1951. In 1952, after a year at Dodge City Community College, he joined the inaugural class of St. Mary of the Plains College, playing fullback on the first team in any sport to compete for the school. That same year, he met a slender, spirited nursing student from Wichita named Patricia Lee McDonald. The two fell hard for each other and were married on June 7, 1954. For the next 68 years, until Pat's death in May 2022, they rarely spent a night apart.

Bill left St. Mary's a semester short of graduation to begin farming and ranching full-time in partnership with his brother Harold. In the mid-1960s, they bought B&B Auto Parts in South Dodge City, and Bill managed the daily operations of the business for many years while continuing to farm and raise cattle. In the mid-1950s, the brothers became known in western Kansas dirt track racing circles for the prowess of their 1930 #11 Ford Coupe driven to victory on many occasions by Wichita's Johnny McGee. Decades later, Bill would return to racing, helping to design and build the 1969 #17 Chevelle his son Alan drove to Rookie of the Year honors at Dodge City Speedway in 1974. Both cars were fire-engine red.

In the early years of their marriage, Bill and Pat lived in a three-bedroom farmhouse in Hodgeman County, twenty miles northwest of Dodge City. There, between 1955 and 1964, Pat gave birth to six sons—David, Alan, Tom, Joe, Steve, and Robby. A seventh son, Paul, arrived in 1967, in the middle of an arduous move to town that included loading the Hodgeman County farmhouse onto a cart of telephone poles and hauling it to its present location at 12th and Cedar behind a 4020 John Deere.

In the years to come, the house at 1211 West Cedar saw many additions and other improvements, including a rose garden for Pat, a new exterior of red brick, and a four-car garage with a long driveway that doubled as a basketball court. Bill planned and supervised all of this work, often drafting neighbors and the friends of his children at critical moments in the construction process, such as when the footings for the brick exterior were dug by hand during a holiday break from school. It was often said of Bill that if you wanted to spend time with him, you had to go to where he was working and offer to help. Many did. All seven of his sons worked for Bill at one point or another, learning from him the same lessons about family and hard work that he had learned from his father.

In the late 1970s, Bill sold B&B and returned full-time to his first love, farming and ranching. In 1989, he and Pat bought a 1,500-acre cattle ranch at the convergence of Duck and Sawlog creeks in northern Ford County, naming the place, in a moment of unintended irony, the Lazy R. In addition to raising a large herd of crossbred Charolais-Simmental cattle, they renovated the property's handsome 1920s-era ranch house, transforming it into a romantic getaway for themselves and a gathering place for their grown children and grandchildren. On the Lazy R, Bill and Pat went on long Sunday rides in a horse-drawn buggy, and Bill indulged his life-long love of dogs, taking in as many as eight at a time.

Bill continued to farm and ranch until a truck accident near Howell forced him into an "early retirement" at the age of 82. Though often in pain, he was never heard to complain. In his final days, he received loyal and loving care from Jessica Taylor and Denise Blackwell.

Bill was preceded in death by Pat, his wife of 68 years; his parents Tony and Josephine Rebein; his brother, Harold Rebein; and twin brothers Gerald and Gerome Rebein.

He is survived by sons David (Bernice) Rebein, Alan Rebein, Tom (Angie) Rebein, Joe (Susan) Rebein, Steve (Roxanne Wu) Rebein, Robert (Alyssa) Rebein, and Paul (Lori) Rebein; grandchildren Benjamin Rebein, Adam Rebein, Megan Kitts, Kayla Keeshan, Will Rebein, John Rebein, Sami Mihali, Mimi Rebein, Ria Rebein, and Jake Rebein; and great grandchildren Caden Wiser-Rebein, Brooklyn Rebein, Rowan Keeshan, Huxley Keeshan, Charlotte Rebein, and Alexander Rebein.

Vigil service will be at 7:00 pm Monday, February 5, 2024 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 901 Central Ave., Dodge City.  Funeral Mass will be at 10:00 am Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dodge City, with Fr. Wesley Schawe presiding.  The Mass may be viewed on the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe's Facebook page.  Burial will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery, Dodge City.  Visitation will be Monday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Ziegler Funeral Chapel, Dodge City.  The casket will remain closed.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe (School Building Fund) and Hospice of the Prairie, all in care of Ziegler Funeral Chapel, 1901 N. 14th Ave., Dodge City, Kansas 67801.