It is with great sadness that the family of Jeffrey Alan “Jeff” French, 64, of Wichita, Kansas, formerly of Ness City, Kansas announce his passing on July 14, 2020, at Comfort Care in Wichita after a long struggle with frontotemporal dementia complicated by COVID-19. Jeff was born August 3 in El Dorado, Kansas to loving parents Marvin Lee and Josephine Marie French who both preceded him in death. He attended school in Great Bend, Ness City, and at Wichita State University. Jeff spent his earlier years as an auto mechanic for several dealerships and also many years working in the oilfields in Western Kansas before moving to Wichita. With his passion for flying, he obtained his pilot license and loved to take anyone he could convince to ride along for a “vomit comet”. He later served as a Life Watch pilot and enjoyed sharing his love for flying with many students as a flight instructor. His enthusiasm for airplanes carried into his career at Spirit AeroSystems where he worked as a maintenance mechanic until he retired.
Jeff will be forever remembered by his brother Joseph French, nieces Briana and Sara French; his sister Leslie Lane; his brother Patrick French (Connie), nephews Jason Watkins (Kelly), James French (Jackie), nieces Jennifer Freund (Todd), Jackie Monroe (Caleb), Julie French; and his brother Jonathan French (Lynett); along with his great nieces and nephews: Keara, Jordan, Kassidy, Justin, Jarek, Jordice, Harper, Holden, Callan and Eli along with numerous extended family members, many students, and friends. Jeff also leaves behind his best fur friend, Poop-Pee, who was named this by Jeff because “all this dog does is poop and pee”.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Janesville Cemetery in Hamilton, Kansas on Saturday, July 25th at 11:00 AM. Masks should be worn, and social distancing observed. Visit Jeff’s celebration page at koupfunerals.com.
Memorial contributions can be made to KU Endowment, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Mail Stop 3012, Kansas City, KS 66160, to benefit the Jeffrey A. French Frontotemporal Dementia Research Fund. Online contributions may be made at
www.kuendowment.org/give
. Please indicate donations are for the Jeff French memorial.