CHANUTE — Paul T. Brennecke, 98, of Chanute died at 5 a.m. Friday, July 19, 2013, at Parsons Presbyterian Manor, where he had been cared for the past month.

He was born on Jan. 12, 1915, in the farm home of his maternal grandparents near McCune. His parents were Fred E. and Vivian Jane (Darby) Brennecke. He was raised on a farm five miles southeast of Parsons and attended the Woods rural school.

His father died in 1929, and the family went to live with his maternal grandparents, Francis M. "Frank" and Zona Darby, and he attended the Concord rural school. He later moved with his mother and two sisters two miles north of Parsons and attended Vincent rural school with George Dove as his teacher. He graduated from Parsons West Junior High School at 26th and Main and Parsons High School in 1934. He attended Parsons Junior College, Oklahoma A&M, York College in Nebraska and Pittsburg State University.

On June 2, 1940, he and Frances Irene Letcher of Galesburg were married by the Rev. LaVerne Williams at the Evangelical United Brethren Church parsonage in Parsons. In 1943, the family moved to Pittsburg when he was called into service to serve with the Adjutant General Office in Hawaii during World War II. After the war, he worked with the Veterans Administration in Chanute until he was recalled to serve with Company C, 835th Engineer Aviation Battalion during the Korean War. The family moved to Lebanon, Mo., and then to Mineral Wells, Texas, where he served at Wolters Air Force Base.

In 1954, the Brenneckes returned to Chanute, and he opened the Paul T. Brennecke Insurance and Real Estate Agency, where he and Frances worked until their retirement. He owned a farm south of Chanute, where he did some farming and raised cattle.

Paul was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Chanute, where he served as a deacon and elder. He was a life member of the V.F.W., the American Legion and Disabled Veterans Chapter No. 25. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Fort Scott Consistory, the Mirza Shrine and the Order of Eastern Star. He served on the Chanute school board, the Chanute Public Library board, the Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center board and the Chanute Chamber of Commerce board.

His wife, Frances, preceded him in death on May 24, 2008, after 68 years of marriage.

Survivors include two sons, Gary D. Brennecke and his wife, Martha, of Parsons and Craig E. Brennecke and his wife, Diana, of Temple, Texas; a grandson, Michael D. Brennecke and his wife, Trisha, of Parsons; three granddaughters, Janese Barnhardt and her husband, John, of Nixa, Mo., Rebekah Porter and her husband, Russ, of Temple, Texas, and Tina Brennecke of Seguin, Texas; six great-grandchildren, Bradford, Lance and Brecken Barnhardt of Nixa, Mo., Austin Brennecke of Parsons, Leah Miller and Caleb Brennecke of Temple, Texas; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by two sisters, Wanda (Brennecke) Cares and Irene (Brennecke) Schmitt.

The service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church in Chanute. The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service at the church. Burial, with military honors, will be Tuesday afternoon at Mount Hope Cemetery in Galesburg. Friends may call Monday afternoon and evening at Carson-Wall Funeral Home in Parsons.

Memorials are suggested to First Presbyterian Church of Chanute and may be sent to the church, 15 N. Steuben, Chanute, 66720, or to the funeral home, Box 942, Parsons, 67357.