Harvey Lee Kahle

Harvey Lee Kahle

Jun 6, 1948 — Sep 29, 2026

Harvey Lee Kahle, 78, of Winona, Kansas, passed away September 29, 2026, at Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kansas. To generations of students, he was Mr. Kahle. To his family, he was Harv or Uncle Harv. He was born June 30, 1948, in Oakley, Kansas, the first of five children born to Roscoe and Margaret Kahle. Harv’s childhood was spent helping his dad on the farm, getting into mischief with his brothers, and spending time with his grandparents, Florence and Charles Tauscher and Dewey and Grace Council.

One especially happy memory was the day his dad came home from the hospital and announced, “We got a girl!”

Harv graduated from high school in 1966, attended Colby Community College, and earned his Bachelor of Science in Education from Emporia State University in 1970. His teaching career took him to Newton, Greensburg, Hugoton, Weskan, and Grainfield before bringing him home to Triplains in 1979. He devoted 43 years to Triplains, teaching multiple generations of families. Long after leaving school, they still called him Mr. Kahle, and he still remembered their names. Science was the constant throughout his career, along with various other classes and plenty of school activities. He coached multiple sports before trading coaching for officiating. He also served as Triplains' Activities Director as well as Commissioner of the Western Kansas Liberty League, duties that kept him involved with other schools and sporting events. Organized and conscientious, Harv took pride in his responsibilities. He truly enjoyed teaching and coaching, getting to know the kids, and making friends along the way. He also enjoyed sponsoring the “Senior Sneak” trips. His science classroom came with animals. A python, sugar glider, and other class pets helped make Mr. Kahle’s room memorable. He especially enjoyed mornings when the elementary children came in to see them. Over Christmas break, the class pets came home with him, giving the family its own opportunities for hands-on science. One Christmas, while his nieces and nephews were holding a sugar glider near the fireplace, it jumped straight into the fire. Everyone panicked. A few seconds later, it jumped back out, apparently unharmed. The sugar glider was fine. Uncle Harv seemed unconcerned, but the rest of the family needed a moment. Harv retired from full-time teaching in 2022, but education remained woven into who he was. His connections to students, fellow educators, and school communities extended far beyond his classroom. In 2026, Harv was chosen as Grand Marshal of the Triplains Homecoming Parade. He was so happy to receive that honor from the school and community that had been such a large part of his life.

Alongside his work at school, Harv helped care for his parents and became their partner on the family farm. Winona kept him close to the people and places that mattered to him. His nieces and nephews regularly received science gifts for birthdays and Christmas, too. Uncle Harv shared what he loved. Any chance he had to spoil them, he took. He loved tradition and reminiscing about times gone by. Thanksgiving and Christmas were big occasions, complete with elaborate decorations, a big family dinner, and his wish that everyone would be there. After Granddad Tauscher could no longer dress as Santa, Harv took over and carried on the tradition into the 1990s. His family remembers holidays filled with stories, playing cards, and simply being together. In his younger years, Saturday evenings could find him playing the organ and watching The Lawrence Welk Show while babysitting his four younger siblings.

He was a member of the United Methodist Church in Winona, sang in the choir, and served on the administrative church council. Harv was happiest around people. He loved to visit and never met a stranger. Friendly and generous, he remembered thousands of names and maintained friendships over the years. He enjoyed spending time at the station, catching up on what was happening and visiting with everyone who came in.

He never married, but welcomed foreign exchange students into his home and maintained those friendships long after they returned to their countries. Edge, a student from Brazil who lived with him, came back to visit many years later. Harv always wanted to make his own trip to Brazil. His travels took him throughout the United States and to Mexico.

He appreciated a really nice meal and loved desserts, but some of his favorites came from his mother’s kitchen. He said no one could fry chicken like his mom. He dressed nicely, usually had a hat, and took understandable pride in having the hair that the other men in his family did not. There was also the matter of the house explosion. In 1985, an accidental explosion destroyed his home and sent his telephone all the way to the school football field. The story traveled well beyond Winona, and so did some of his belongings. For all the memorable stories, much of what his family will miss is familiar and ordinary: a conversation, a holiday dinner, a remembered name, and Harv wanting everyone together again.

Harv is survived by his brothers, Kerry Kahle and wife Michele of Kanorado, Kansas, and Jeffrey Kahle and wife Jana of South Hutchinson, Kansas; brother-in-law, Jim Denning of Wichita, Kansas; sister-in-law, Konnie Racette of Oakley, Kansas; nephews, Ralph Denning and wife Cassie, and Andrew Denning, all of Wichita, Kansas; nieces, Laura Lee Kahle of Oakley, Kansas, and Linda Tillitson and husband Wesley of Ransom, Kansas; 10 great-nieces and nephews; and seven great-great-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Roscoe and Margaret Kahle; brother, Ralph Kahle; sister, Rebecca “Becky” Denning; and nephew, Matthew Denning.

Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Winona, Kansas. Burial will be at Winona Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Harvey Kahle Memorial Scholarship Fund, continuing his lifelong investment in students and mailed in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. For information or condolences visit baalmannmortuary.com