Troy Harrison Dechant died October 9 at his home in Shawnee, Kansas. Troy, 53, was born in Hays and was the ninth of 10 children of Harry and Berniece (Munsch) Dechant, who preceded him in death. He graduated from Hays High School in 1988. He remained in Hays before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, then Shawnee, where he lived for many years.
Troy had careers in landscape management, car wash operations and union pipefitting, all of which depended on his well-honed mechanical aptitude. He completed with honors the intensive educational program required in union pipefitting and was particularly proud to have earned the top award in a rigorous Dale Carnegie Training course in which he was no doubt the least conventional student. He also started his own business, a deli in Kansas City, in which he put to use the cooking and kitchen management skills acquired as a teenager at the hip of his mother and aunt at the former Hays institution Coachman’s Inn.
In high school and beyond, Troy was the drummer in the local band Broken Promises, which got back together by popular demand to provide the music at several class reunions. His participation in the band began a lifelong love for the art of drumming which he continued until his death. He loved the Kansas Jayhawks, the Kansas City Chiefs, NASCAR, reality adventure TV shows, Volga German food and Harley motorcycles. He had a keen eye for art, often frequenting Kansas City-area shows that supported local artists. He was a spiritual man who strived continuously to maintain favor with the Lord.
He was adored as the “cool uncle” by his 16 nephews and nieces and had a broad circle of lifetime friends whom he held close from childhood onward.
Perhaps the defining moment in Troy’s life was a severe electric shock he suffered at age 21 trying to protect property from a wayward backhoe that had hit an unmarked line. As predicted by medical experts at the time, he suffered ever-intensifying chronic pain the past two decades, which he confronted with his characteristic tenaciousness.
Troy is survived by two brothers: Ron (Roxie) Dechant, Dodge City and Kerry (Karen) Dechant, Aurora, Ohio; and six sisters: Geri Hamilton, El Dorado; Sandy (Dane) Pennington, Superior, Colorado; Michelle (Gary) Pinkall, Great Bend; Brenda Dechant (Becky Benoit), Phoenix; Carla Dechant (Juan Carlos Tobar), Spain; and Kristal Dechant, Victoria. He was preceded in death by his parents; an infant brother, Cornelius; a nephew Dustin Karst; and a number of close friends.
The visitation will be at Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, and from 9 a m. to 9:45 on Monday. Eulogies and personal remembrances will begin at 6:15 p.m., followed by a rosary at 7:15 p.m. and a vigil service at 7:30 p.m., all at the funeral home on Sunday. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, with burial in St. Joseph Cemetery to follow.
Memorials are suggested and payable to the Troy H. Dechant Drumming Excellence Memorial Fund. Condolences and memories of Troy may be shared with the family at www.haysmemorial.com