Jerry Moran: “I rise today to honor the life and to mourn the passing of a Kansan whom I was privileged to know for many years and to…”

“I rise today to honor the life and to mourn the passing of a Kansan whom I was privileged to know for many years and to work with for many years--Bill R. Fuller. Mr. Fuller touched lives, the lives of everyone who knew him, and he left the world and our State a better place. He is, in many ways, a traditional, typical Kansan. He was raised on a family farm in rural Ottawa County. Bill knew--as farmers do, as kids growing up on farms know--he knew the value of hard work, he knew the value of service, and he practiced that and he preached that. He attended Miltonvale Rural High School and graduated in 1956. He was the chapter president of his FFA chapter. He participated in band and choir, was a member of the National Honor Society, and was a member of the mile relay team that set a new record at the K-State indoor meet. Wheat harvest, like to many Kansans, was an important part of Bill's life, an important part of his early life. And during his childhood years, his family was selected to be part of the Harvest Brigade during World War II, agreeing to follow harvest across the country with Massey-Harris Model 21 new-technology harvesting machines--something we now call the combine. After graduating from Kansas State University with a degree in agriculture, Bill moved his young family to Miltonvale to continue working on the family farm and to be a teacher.…”