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Ross Beach

Oil and communications. Born: February 22, 1918, Abilene, Dickinson County, Kansas. Died: November 12, 2010, Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas.

Ross Beach was born to Ross and Mattie B. Beach in Abilene, Kansas, on February 22, 1918. Beach lived in Solomon and Hays where his father managed power plants. Ross graduated from Hays High School and from Kansas State University in 1940. He married Marianna Kistler in 1941. They had three daughters and eight grandchildren.

Beach served in naval aviation in World War II and continued to fly for nearly 50 years, logging nearly a million miles in the air. In 1958 he partnered with Bob Schmidt to expand KAYS broadcasting properties in Hays, adding KAYS-TV.

Beach is a past president of the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce and past chairman of the Kansas Fish and Game Commission. His main business interests have been in oil and communications.

Beach and his wife were very active philanthropists and active in community affairs. He and his wife received numerous citations for their activities. Ross Beach was elected to the Kansas Business Hall of Fame in 1999. He was named the Native Sons and Daughters' Kansan of the Year in 2001.

He died November 12, 2010, in Lawrence.

Entry: Beach, Ross

Author: G. Joseph Pierron

Author information: Judge Pierron serves on the Kansas Court of Appeals and has an interest in Kansas history.

Date Created: November 2012

Date Modified: February 2019

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.