David Ohse

Funeral services for David Ohse, 87, West Plains, Missouri, will be Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 2:00 p.m., at the Carter Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Mickey Wilkey and Brandon Somoza officiating, under the direction of Carter Funeral Home, Inc., West Plains.

He was born the son of the late Fred Ohse and Leona B. Ohse, on May 30, 1933 in St. Joseph, Missouri and died May 12, 2021 in West Plains, Missouri.

He was united in marriage August 21, 2012 in Eureka Springs, Arkansas to Kimberly Schnacker.

He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Schnacker Ohse, of the home, West Plains, Missouri; eight children, Brent Menninger and wife Victoria, Fred Ohse and wife Julie, Elizabeth Johnson and husband Dan, Felicia Aikens, and husband Trip, Leona Somoza and husband Brandon, Jessica Martz and husband Steve, Philip Cahoj and wife Heather, and Wayne Cahoj and wife, Katie; eighteen grandchildren, Henry, Wyatt, Savannah, Jacob, Rylan, Abel, Anna, Dalton, Dylan, Jaxon, Isaac, Atlas, Samuel, Adrian, Ronan, Xavier, Gracelynn and Landon.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother Virgil Ohse.

David graduated from Kansas State and joined the Navy where he traveled the world. Once his enlistment ended he joined his family’s company, Ohse Meats as the President of Operations. He was always working to solve problems. He would say, “When I see a problem I know there is a solution. I just have to find it”. He used this philosophy in business and was very successful. In the early 1970s David bought a small company, Southwest Publishing, in Topeka, KS. This company was in financial trouble and on the verge of failing. In a matter of a few years David turned the company around and made it into one of the top direct mailing agencies in the country. It was his ability to solve problems that allowed him to turn his company around. David was able to modify every machine in the building and make it more efficient and effective than the manufacturer. More importantly than his ability to make machines run better, he made the people around him better. David would never give up on a person because he believed the best in people. His loyalty would not waiver and he would push you to do your best. After 44 years David retired from Southwest Publishing and sold his company in 2016. Over this span of time David was responsible for the employment of approximately 10,000 people. He has touched the lives of many people and will be remembered for his loving spirit and kind heart. He loved to have dinner with the people he cared for and would be offended if you did not let him pay the bill. He loved to ski, go on Alaskan fishing trips, and watch sports with his family. Anyone who had the pleasure of knowing David will never forget him; his jokes, his laugh, his intelligence, his truth, and most importantly his love.

Burial will be at a later date in Mount Hope Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas.