Dr. Standlee H. "Bud" Dalton

Dr. Standlee H. “Bud” Dalton

Dr. Standlee H. “Bud” Dalton, 89, Hays, Kansas, passed away and met the Lord Jesus on January 9, 2023, following a long battle with cancer.

He was born May 28, 1933 to Standlee V. and Pauline Dalton.  Bud spent the first two years of life in Colby, Kansas, where his father was the high school principal.  The family then moved to Hays in 1935 as Standlee V. became part of the science faculty at Fort Hays State University.  Bud graduated from Hays High School in 1951 and the University of Kansas in 1955.  He met his wife Lela Jeannine DeGroot while attending the University of Kansas, and they married June 4, 1955 in Kansas City, Kansas.  He attended the UMKC Dental School and eventually set up his private dental practice in Hays in 1963 until his retirement in 2005.  From 1960-1963 Bud served in the U.S. Army, stationed in France.  There he and Jeannine made life-long friends with whom the family is still connected. The couple returned to France numerous times, taking their children and grandchildren for special trips as well. 

Bud was a life-long learner with deep appreciation and interest in art, photography, and architecture.  He was proud of designing his own home and dental office and created many models of homes throughout his life.  He continued his post graduate education in the dental field with his practice emphasis in cosmetic and reconstructive dentistry.  He truly loved his profession as an expression of art and enjoyed his patients to the fullest, making retirement a difficult decision.  After retirement, Bud became a self-appointed local historian as he researched and wrote more than 50 articles published in the Hays Daily News, chronicling the people, places and events of the area.  Bud loved growing up in Hays, raising his own family there, and was determined to preserve some of its history and much of life as he knew it.

Bud is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Danna and Randy Kaiser of Hays, his son, Thomas Dalton of Kansas City, MO, grandchildren Jordyn and Jake Sanders of Pelham, AL, Kallyn and Daniel Givan of Katy, TX, Dallas Kaiser of Tampa, FL, and Reagan Kaiser and fiancé Joe Haupt of Pelham, AL, as well as great-grandchildren Sophia Jeannine, Emmett, Bridget, Genevieve, Gianna and Jedediah Sanders, and Graham, Harrison and Foster Givan.

He was preceded in death by his parents Standlee V. and Polly Dalton, wife Jeannine Dalton, and daughter Lynnly Dalton.

Private family burial will take place in Mt. Allen Cemetery with military honors provided by the Hays VFW Post #9076.  The family is planning a celebration of life in the spring.  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Bud’s memory to the Hays Arts Council.  Services are in the care of Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home and condolences and memories of Bud may be shared with his family at www.haysmemorial.com

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