Dr. Kay "Doc" Driver

Dr. Richard "Kay" Driver, 86, of Goodland Kansas, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 17, 2018 at the Good Samaritan Society in Goodland after a yearlong battle with lung cancer.

Kay was born on March 2, 1932 in Great Bend, KS to Gladys & Guy Driver. He was baptized in Rush Center, KS in 1944. He graduated from La Crosse High School in 1950.  He graduated from Southwestern College in Winfield, KS in 1954. He then enlisted in the Army in 1955, and served in the Field Artillery Division in Germany for 2 years. After returning he attended the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, Illinois and received his Doctor of Optometry Degree in 1960. In 1961, he & wife, Kathyrn "Jane" (Basinger) moved to Goodland where he acquired an optometry practice and continued to serve his family of patients until retiring in 2004.

Kay was accomplished at wood working, welding, and golf club repair.  He also enjoyed tending to his garden and corn patch west of town. He was an avid golfer and spent countless hours at his beloved Sugar Hills Country Club, not just golfing, but as a volunteer assisting his friends in maintaining the integrity and natural beauty of the golf course.  He was most proud of helping to establish thousands of pine trees through out the property.  Kay was a Life member of the American Optometric Association and the Kansas Optometric Association, serving as president in 1975.  He was also a member of the Elks Lodge 1528, VFW, Masonic Lodge and the Goodland United Methodist Church.

Kay is survived by his wife, Beatrice of the home; his son, Kenton Driver (Stacy) of Salina, Ks, their children Bailey & Benjamin; Teresa Driver, wife of his late son Kirby & their children; Kirby Driver Jr., (Brenda), their daughter Kaylee; and Kelly Driver and her daughter Kennedy, all of Dallas Texas; his step-daughter Mary Beth Zweygardt, (Keith) and her son Kaleb Zwick all of St. Francis Kansas, his step-grandson Oskar Okeson, son to his late step-son Mark Struckhoff; and his sister Jody Horne of Bradenton Florida.

He is also preceded in death by his parents, a brother Arthur "Jack" Driver, and sister Doris Ford.