Leland Ohlde

Leland Oscar Ohlde, 84, of Clay Center, Kansas, died February 18, 2026. He was born April 8, 1941, to Oscar and Olga (Moddelmog) Ohlde on the family farm near Palmer, Kansas. Leland was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith at St. John Lutheran Church near Palmer. St. John Lutheran School and Linn High School are where Leland received his education.

Leland served in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1963 and was a member of the crew on the USS Ranger aircraft carrier.

Following his discharge from the Navy, Leland met Alice James; they married in August 1963. To this marriage, two daughters were born: Rebecca Lea in 1964 and Susan Marie in 1966.

Leland attended Capitol City Barber College in 1964, and worked in Topeka and Kansas City, before moving his family back to Clay Center in 1966.

Leland opened his first barber shop next to the movie theater in Clay Center, then relocated to a space next to the Clay Center library.

In the early 1970s, Leland obtained his private-pilot’s license at the Clay Center airport, and coached American Legion baseball.

You can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy. This was also true with Leland, as in the late 1970s, he went back to farming, as well as raising cattle, pigs and American Quarter Horses.

He and Alice also enjoyed building homes and rehabbing older homes, which saw the family living in a dozen or more houses in and around Clay Center. They also enjoyed cheering on the Kansas State University Wildcats in football and basketball.

Leland was proud to see both of his daughters graduate from Kansas State and go on to have successful careers in the agriculture, education and medical fields.

Upon retirement in 2013, Leland and Alice moved to Manhattan. They moved back to Clay Center in 2024.

Leland was preceded in death by his parents, brother Wayne Ohlde, sister Mariel Kolle; brothers-in-law Norman Kolle and Veryl James; a nephew, Andrew James, and a niece, Debra Ann Kolle.

He is survived by his wife, Alice of Clay Center; daughter Becky Newell of Amarillo, Texas; and daughter Susan (Greg) Carver of Winfield, Kansas; grandson Jacob Newell of Norman, Oklahoma; granddaughters Abbie Carver of Mill Spring, North Carolina, and Dr. Shea Carver of St. Louis, Missouri; sisters-in-law Carole James of Clay Center and Brenda Kruse of Omaha, Nebraska; and several nieces and nephews.

Memorial services will be held at 2:00 PM Friday, March 20, 2026, at the United Methodist Church in Clay Center, KS.

Visitation will be held from 5-7 PM Thursday, March 19 at Neill-Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home.

 A memorial for Leland has been established at the Kansas State University Foundation. Contributions may be sent to: KSU Foundation, 1800 Kimball Ave., Ste 200, Manhattan, KS 66502. Please indicate Fund M47513. To make a gift online, go to www.ksufoundation.org/give/memorials.