Lawrence D. Wilken

Lawrence Darwin Wilken was born on August 4, 1938 in Flint, Michigan.  He was the son of Lawrence & Lucille (Simon) Wilken.  He grew up in Michigan and lived there until 1956 when he enlisted in the United States Army.  He proudly served from 1956 to 1959, spending much of his time in Germany.  After leaving the service, Lawrence moved to Wichita, Kansas.  He met and married Maryrose (Ast) Wilken in Wichita and they were blessed with five daughters.

Lawrence and Maryrose spent their time between Wichita and Rockaway Beach where in the summers they operated a motel in Rockaway Beach.  Lawrence was a jack-of-all-trades.  He was handy in construction, selling real estate and worked with the railroad.  He was a car enthusiast and loved working on cars.  Lawrence was also very proud of his home in Rockaway Beach which he built himself.

Lawrence entered into rest on Monday, November 1, 2021 at Cox Medical Center in Branson at the age of 83.  He was a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather and will be deeply missed.

Lawrence was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Lucille; his wife, Maryrose; grandparents, Conrad and Minnie Wilken; brothers, Jerry, Doug and Danny Wilken and sisters, Janeen Wilken and Germaine Denton.

Lawrence is survived by his daughters, Julie Blackburn (Phil) of Rockaway Beach, Christina Sparks (Rick) of Wichita, KS, Jennifer Wilken of Forsyth, Angela Smothers (Keith) of Green Forest, AR and Melissa Goff (Chuck) of Eagle Rock, MO; and his sister, Glenora Noble of California.  He is also survived by eight grandchildren, Brittany Blackburn, Chase Blackburn, Joshua Sparks, Rylee Sparks, Cameron Wilken, Abigail Rogers, Alexandria Kowalski and Cooper Kowalski along with four great-grandchildren, Keagan Blackburn, Preston Fish, Paislee Fish and Knox Wilken.

Funeral services will be Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 2:00 P.M. in Snapp-Bearden Funeral Home and Crematory, Branson.  Burial will be in Mt. Forest Township Cemetery in Michigan at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.

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