Verlin J. “Red” Pfeifer, 90, passed away at his home in Hill City on October 18, 2026.

He was born on March 19, 1936, to Aloysius and Katherine (Horning) Pfeifer on the family farm near Yocemento.

He attended a country school in Hyacinth and high school at St.  Joseph’s Military Academy in Hays, where he excelled as the center on the football team. He also worked on the family farm.

He met and fell in love with a country neighbor, Virginia (Ginger) Ross. On November 24, 1953, the couple was united in Holy Matrimony at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Hyacinth. They started their family in Plainville, where Steve and Debby were born. In 1958, they moved to Hill City, where they have made their home ever since. Shelly and Renee were born here, and completed the family.

Red was a pillar of the community; he owned and operated Pfeifer Well Service, Inc. for 20 years before starting Red’s Welding Company. He kept working in the oil fields well into his 80s and claimed he retired about seven times before finally calling it good.

Over the years, Red enjoyed camping, bowling, tennis, horses, amateur rodeo, coaching and playing softball, and darts. He served as a Hill City Councilman and was a member of the Knights of Columbus.

It can be said that “Dad” was well loved and respected by all those who knew him. He was the strongest, most unselfish person, instilling deep faith in his family. We are forever grateful for the example he set.

Red was preceded in death by his parents; four siblings: Teresa Pfeifer, Lillian Pfeifer, Shirley Schmidt, and Patrick Pfeifer; his wife, Ginger (Ross) Pfeifer; his son, Steve Pfeifer, and his daughter, Debby (Pfeifer) Keller.

Survivors include his sisters: Mary (Rick) Vogt,  Elmhurst, Illinois, Sheila (Tim) Thompson, Westwood, and Becky (Dave) Tolemy, Bloomingdale, Ill.; his children: Shelly Crippen (James Treu), Lenexa, and Renee (Mack) Aspinall, Towanda; daughter-in-law Jeanie Pfeifer, Pratt; son-in-law Don Keller, Hutchinson; 12 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren; and his very dear companion, Evea Rumpel, WaKeeney.

“Our dad, Red Pfeifer, was a multigenerational effective leader, friend, husband, father, grandfather, and man…a powerful and loving force in so many lives. We will honor and love you always, Red…Dad…Grandpa.”

A Rosary and visitation will be held Friday, November 6, 2026, beginning at 7:00 p.m., at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hill City.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hill City.

Memorials may be made to the Knights of Columbus or the Kansas State University Center for Basic Cancer Research, in care of Stinemetz Funeral Home, 522 N. Pomeroy Ave., Hill City, Kansas.