Nick Dolloff, 77, Minneapolis, met Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior, on Thursday, March 30, 2017 with his family at his side.
Named for both of his grandfathers, Nick was born September 6, 1939, and grew up on the family farm in Smith County, the middle child of George and Ethel Dolloff. He graduated from Portis High School and received his teaching degree from McPherson College. He later completed his Masters in mathematics education at the University of Arizona. It was while he was attending McPherson College he met his wife, Deanna Starkey Dolloff and they were married August 18, 1960.
Truly a life-long educator, Nick began his teaching career in Hamlin, Kansas. He taught in Jamestown for one year before accepting a teaching and coaching position at Minneapolis High School, where he taught math for 32 years and was recognized nationally as the National Science Foundation Kansas Math Teacher of the Year. He coached multiple sports and was the founding coach for the first girls’ basketball team.
After “retirement,” he went on to teach in Glasco for seven years, Brown Mackie, Kansas State Salina, various college night classes, an alternative school in Delphos, Bennington Jr-Sr High and served as a volunteer tutor at Minneapolis High School until his illness kept him from continuing. Nick was energized by his students and loved nothing better than to have one ask, “When will I ever use this?”
Part of what drove Nick to continue to teach was his genuine love for people. He always had time for people, living out a note he had written in his Bible that “every person I meet God loved enough for Jesus to die.” Whether it was a student, a neighbor, a grandchild or a stranger in a store, Nick treated them with equal respect and gave them his undivided attention.
Nobody could make the mundane fun like Nick! He believed that 10% of life is what happens to you and 90% is your attitude about it. As a former athlete and coach, he loved watching his sons and grandchildren compete in various sporting events. He believed that you should never be too proud to laugh at your own shortcomings, a work day had to include a coffee break, rocking chairs are meant for grandads and grandchildren, every roadtrip includes multiple stops for candy, one should never stop joining little kids in whatever game they are playing, Duct tape and bailing wire fix almost anything, and it’s ok to let your students think they got you off the subject for one day. Even with his diagnosis, he chose to embrace the opportunity rather than waste time asking, “Why me?”
Never leaving his farming roots behind, Nick continued to farm off and on over the years and built their home on the edge of town that gave them the best of both worlds—living within the city limits on acreage that allowed him to raise a few cattle each year, an occasional horse, some runaway ducks, chickens, dogs, a stubborn goat and their two youngest children.
While he loved his wife Deanna, his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren deeply, his greatest love was for his Savior. When Nick committed his life to Christ, he saw his salvation as “not turning over a new leaf, but embracing a new life.” (written in his Bible). His greatest desire was to live a life that caused others not to admire anything about him, but to pursue the God he knew so intimately. His lived out his life verse, Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Nick was preceded in death by his parents and a grandson, Isaac Dolloff.
Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Deanna (Starkey) Dolloff; children, Denise (Greg) Brown, Brad (Dee) Dolloff, Tim (Bekka) Dolloff, and Joel (Callie) Dolloff; sisters, Viola (Wayne) Rhoads and Kay Leiker; 13 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. None of them ever doubted Nick’s love for them and his commitment to them.
Visitation will be from 2:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Monday at Wilson Family Funeral Home, Minneapolis where the family will greet friends from 5-7. Funeral services will be at 11:00 A.M., Tuesday, April 4 at the Bennington Bible Church. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery, Minneapolis. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bennington Bible Church or the Pregnancy Service Center and may be left in care of the Wilson Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 166, Minneapolis, KS 67467.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)