Manuel Martinez Diaz

Manuel Diaz, son of the late Atanasio and Micaela (Martinez) Diaz was born on March 18th in Eskridge, Kansas and passed away on January 2, 2015 at the age of 83 years. A Rosary will be prayed Wednesday, January 7th at 5:30PM with the visitation to follow from 6:00-8:00PM at Chapel Hill-Butler Funeral Home, 701 N. 94th St., Kansas City, KS 66112. Mass of Christian Burial will be Thursday, January 8th at 10:30AM at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, KS 66112. Interment will follow Mass at Leavenworth National Cemetery at 12:30PM.

Manny, as he was known to all, was an avid outdoorsman who didn’t miss an opportunity to be out in the woods with his best friend and brother-in-law, George Saysoff. Before settling down to raise a family he enlisted in the US Army in May of 1949. He served with the 8th Ranger Company in Korea. Manny did two tours during the Korean conflict where he earned his CIB and his unit was awarded with both a presidential citation and combat infantry banner. He received an honorable discharge on October 29, 1952.

He was united in marriage to Maria Ramirez on February 9, 1953 in Kansas City. He was a proud member of Local 41 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The leadership skills he learned in the military aided him while serving as president of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks and as Union Steward on the docks where he worked. He was able to share his knowledge of the outdoors with numerous boys while serving as assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 409.

Manuel is survived by his wife, Maria, four sons and seven daughters. Of his siblings, one sister, Helen and four brothers, Anthony, Beverly, Benjamin and Fred remain. He leaves a legacy of twenty-five grandchildren and twenty-five great grandchildren along with a host of numerous other relatives and friends.