Robert "RJ" James Donley

Robert “RJ” Donley, 94, of Oxford passed away Wednesday, July 10, 2019 surrounded by family.

Graveside services will be held at 1:30 P.M. Saturday, July 13 at the Oxford Cemetery. No visitation is scheduled. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Cumbernauld Village in Winfield, donations may be left in care of the Oxford Funeral Service – PO Box 123, Oxford, KS 67119.

RJ was born March 22, 1925 in Oxford to Bert and Bessie (Reece) Donley. RJ graduated from Oxford High School in 1943 and went into the Army and served during World War II. After being discharged from the military, he began farming and continued farming all his life in the Oxford area. RJ loved farming and even after he “retired”, he’d still make daily trips on his Polaris to check on the fields up until a few months ago. He also loved flying and became a pilot, owning several planes over the years. He passed his passion of flying on to his son and daughter who also received their pilot’s licenses.

RJ married Irene Wells on September 17, 1947, together they celebrated 44 years of marriage before she passed in 1992. RJ was later remarried to Doris Atkins Barnes for 22 years before she passed in 2013.

He is preceded in death by his parents, wives, brothers Carroll Donley and Delno “Shorty” Donley, sister Berta Jean Povey, grandson Dustin Hetzler, and son-in-law Steve Hetzler.

Survivors include: son Jim Donley (Janet) of Oxford, and daughter Nancy Hetzler of Manhattan, step-daughter Nancy Woodrow (Dave) of Wichita, grandchildren: Jeff Donley (Melinda), Jamie Navrat (Tony), Christina Guhr (Michael), and Laura Lindsey (TJ); and great- grandchildren: Brock, Justin, Reese, Elisa, Lindy and Eva.

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