Marlo Dirks Remembered

In the musical "Annie," Daddy Warbucks is a busy, successful businessman. But he's not so wrapped up in his corporate world that he doesn't have time to make room in his heart for a lonely little girl and her friends.

Marlo Dirks played Daddy Warbucks in the Newton Community Theatre's production of "Annie" several years ago.

Like the character he portrayed with his vibrant bass voice, Dirks was a successful businessman who never forgot the community where he grew up and the people who made that place special.

Dirks, 80, passed away last year. But he and his wife, Ruth, will leave a lasting legacy for Newton through their lives and a gift of securities they made to the Newton Community & Healthcare Foundation.

The six-foot, four-inch Dirks was a big man with a big heart. While a student at Kansas State University, he was starting center for the Wildcats in the early 1940s.

World War II interrupted his basketball career, but he returned to Manhattan and earned his master's degree in flour milling chemistry. He then earned his doctorate in agricultural biochemistry from the University of Minnesota.

The Dirkses returned to Newton in 1988 after Marlo's retirement. He had worked for the Pillsbury Company on the Duncan Hines brand cake mixes in the early 1950s. When Pillsbury sold the Duncan Hines brand to Proctor & Gamble Co., he moved his family to Cincinnati to complete nearly 30 years with the company.

He was involved in the development of Pringles potato chips, Jiffy peanut butter, and he wrote the FDA application for the approval of Olestra, a fat substitute.

Dirks used his business acumen to serve as vice chairman of the NCHF and knew the benefits his contribution would leave for his family and the foundation, said Loren Friesen, executive director of NCHF.

"His wisdom and strong support for the activities of the Newton Community & Healthcare Foundation were appreciated by all," Friesen said. "He and his wife, Ruth, have made a substantial estate commitment to the NCHF Endowment Fund via a charitable remainder trust.

"Income from the unrestricted endowment will allow community leaders to continue to address the changing needs of the greater Newton community.

"The charitable remainder trust will provide lifetime income to Ruth. After her death, the remainder value of the trust will transfer to the unrestricted NCHF Endowment.

"We miss Marlo greatly and express our gratitude to Ruth and the family for their support of his involvement with NCHF," Friesen added.

It doesn't surprise Marlo's sons, Rick and John, that their dad was looking out for his community.

"They moved back to Kansas, in general, and Newton, in particular, to be close to their families, but also because of a sense of community that they couldn't find as readily in a larger city," said Rick Dirks, St. Louis.

"It gave him more opportunities to serve and to make a difference than he would have had in Cincinnati with the larger bureaucracies that organizations have there. He wanted his life during retirement to have meaning."

In addition to his work with NCHF, he was on the board of the Harvey County Council on Aging, served on a number of committees, and sang in the choir at Bethel College Mennonite Church. If he wasn't on stage during Newton Community Theatre productions, he was selling tickets.

"My father's life serves as a terrific example for me and for others," Rick added. "He contributed to his community not only with his financial resources, but also, more importantly, with his time to make a difference.

"And he did that," he added, "without sacrificing time with his family."

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