Bethany College Professor Emeritus of Art Ray Kahmeyer passed away on Friday, Nov. 30.

Kahmeyer, who taught at the college from 1967 to 1993, will be remembered in a memorial service on campus Wed., Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. in Burnett Center.

 

The family of Ray Kahmeyer invites you to contribute memories of times with Ray at raykahmeyertribute.phpbb.net. A scholarship at Bethany College will be established in Professor Kahmeyer’s memory, and memorial gifts may be so designated.

 

Ray Kahmeyer was born in 1930 in Nashville, Kansas to Raymond Herman Friedrich Kahmeyer and Clara Ernestine Schroeder. He grew up and attended school in Pratt, Kansas and served in the Seabees, the construction unit of the U.S. Navy. Ray earned a B.A. in 1963 and M.A. in 1967 in ceramics at Kansas State University and studied with potter Angelo Garzio.

 

In 1967, Ray was appointed to the art department faculty at Bethany College, where he served as department chair from 1969 to 1973. One of the highlights of Ray’s tenure at Bethany was his appointment as Mary J. Mingenback Distinguished Professor in Art in 1973. Ray undertook additional graduate study at Alfred University in New York, and valued his collaboration with other faculty at Bethany. He retired from the Bethany faculty in 1993.

 

In addition to his love of teaching pottery, art history and introduction to art courses, Ray was an active potter. Over a period of 40 years, Ray exhibited his pottery in numerous invitational group shows, art fairs and one-person exhibitions.

 

Ray also was a Lindsborg studio artist in the local art community and guild. He consistently participated in community activities and professional events, including national and local juried exhibitions; commissions for churches and schools; and demonstrations of pot craftsmanship. He served as a speaker, featured craftsman or guest artist and judge for service clubs, public schools, colleges and art fairs. He was active in numerous professional associations and conducted many ceramic workshops.

 

Other highlights of Ray’s work at Bethany were travels to London, England and Mora, Sweden with Bethany students to study art and architecture, including cathedrals. One of Ray’s most valued commissions was for the biennial convention of the L.C.A. in Dallas, Texas, for which he and Dan Mason designed and produced 30 sets of communion ware.

 

Ray loved his family and was a devoted husband, father, brother and son. He will be missed by his wife Vicki Kahmeyer; daughter Jessica and husband Keith Purrington of Ann Arbor, Michigan; daughter Ann and husband Bill Larson of Louisville, Kentucky; and son Larry, wife Lynn and grandson Liam Ray Kahmeyer of Pratt, Kansas. Ray’s siblings include Gertrude Hembree, Columbus, Ohio; Hollis Kahmeyer, Wichita, Kansas; and Lana Joy Kahmeyer, Pratt, Kansas.