On Tuesday, March 30, 2022, Cloyce Wiley passed away at age 90. Technically, he was one day short of 90, but Cloyce was always an optimist, so we are rounding it up.
He was born the last of nine children on a farm in Osage County, KS. While his siblings toiled in the fields, young Cloyce’s primary job was to assist his blind mother running the house and feeding the large crew.
Some of us spend a good chunk of our lives searching for a partner: Cloyce met the love of his life, Orinne, at the tender age of 11 when seated behind her at his new school when the family moved to Lyndon after leaving the farm.
Cloyce loved conversation and was known to be an exceptional storyteller. His passion for recounting stories led him to pursue a degree in journalism at Kansas University. But his education was interrupted by a fouryear stint in the Navy where he was a PettyOfficer Second Class and served on the USS Hancock. By the time he left the Navy, he and Orinne had married and were expecting their first child. The husband and soon-to-be father compared the starting salaries of journalism majors and business majors, and quickly pivoted to business, completing his BS at KU in 1958.
Early in his career, Cloyce managed Key Work Clothes, a factory that primarily made overalls in Southern Kentucky, right along the Tennessee border. In the 1960s, he returned to Kansas and transitioned to working with mainframe computers at IBM. He went on to manage data processing at UMKC, HD Lee, and a network of hospitals in Kansas City. However, his small-town sensibilities and love of storytelling/journalism prompted another pivot. In 1978, Cloyce and Orinne purchased the Countywide News, a weekly paper in Tecumseh, OK, where Cloyce kept the community informed of the local news, and Orinnekept the paper in the black. Cloyce went on to start a small publishing company that put out the Quiviran newspaper and handled the monthly communications of numerous companies.
Cloyce and Orinne shared a deep love for Maine. For several years, they would visit the southern coast every spring and fall— often inviting friends and family. Orinne passed away in 2011. Cloyce was a kind soul who was always thankful for what he had and treated everyone he met with kindness and respect. He was grateful for his long life, but, after over ten years without his love, Orinne, he was ready to be rejoined with her.
Cloyce is survived by his three children, Elizabeth (Kristine), Mark (Gerri), and Sue (Trent), and his five grandchildren, Olivia, Jack, Ellie, Emily, and Will.
A Celebration of Life event is being planned for this summer. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the following organizations: Cross-Lines Community Outreach (cross-lines.org) and Kansas State School for the Blind (kssb.net).
