Duane 'Pete' McGill

Duane 'Pete' McGill OVERLAND PARK, Kan. #45;- Duane 'Pete' McGill, 81, Overland Park, died Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003, at Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park. Services are 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 29, at First Christian Church, Topeka, Kan. A private burial will be held at Mount Hope Cemetery, Topeka. Visitation is 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28, at McGilley and Hoge Funeral Home, Overland Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 1900 W. 47th Place, Suite 310, Westwood, KS 66205. Mr. McGill was born April 25, 1922, in Grandview, the son of Jesse D. and Faith Stineman McGill. He married Wanda E. Crowe in May 1954 and later divorced in 1981. She preceded him in death in 1996. He later married Linda Sheetz in July 1984. They divorced in December 2001. In August 1940, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and, after serving in the Pacific, was honorably discharged Oct. 1, 1945. In December 2001, he received the Bronze Star for bravery. He attended Coe College, Cedar Rapids, and later moved to Winfield, Kan., where he completed his degree at Southwestern College in 1952. He attended graduate school in 1952-53 at the University of Kansas. Duri...[more]

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the 1950s and 60s, he owned and operated several businesses in Winfield, including: The Har-Bour Cafe, McGill's Restaurant, The Western Drive-In, McGill's Furniture Store, a mobile home park and other businesses. He was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1960, where he served (except for one term) until 1977. From 1973-1977, he served as speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives. In 1978, he was appointed chairman of the Kansas Turnpike Authority. In 1980, he moved to Topeka, Kan., and started his own lobbying firm, Pete McGill and Associates, which by 1990 had become the largest independent lobbying firm in the Midwest. He sold his business in 1998. He served as Kansas state chairman for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984; was state chairman for George Bush Sr. in 1988 and 1992; and was state chairman for George W. Bush in 2000. He served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention five times, serving once as Sergeant at Arms. In June 1996, he was diagnosed with Goodpasture's Syndrome and was in need of a kidney transplant. His good friend, Lonnie McCollum, donated a kidney to him in July 1998. He moved to Overland Park in 2001 to be near his daughter and her family. Survivors include a brother, Jerry McGill of Wapello; a sister, Marian Ashby of Burlington; a son, Scott McGill of Scottsdale, Ariz.; a daughter, Pam Shernuk and husband Kurt of Overland Park; and three grandchildren, Andrew Shernuk, Kyle Shernuk and Briana. He was preceded in death by a sister, Marilyn; and a brother, Warren 'Hal' McGill.