Elmer Phillip Vanhoutan

Elmer Phillip “Van” VanHoutan, age 92, of Topeka, passed away Monday, July 4, 2016 in Topeka. E.P. was born December 15, 1923 in Rutland, South Dakota one of 10 children born to Philip A. and Alice Ann Reedy VanHoutan. He enlisted in the C.C.C. Camp in 1941. During his service in the U.S. Army during W.W. II, in the European Theatre, he received the Combat Infantry Badge and earned the Expert Infantry Badge. He also received two Bronze Stars. He married Barbara Barker February 14, 1946 in Springfield, MO, they later divorced. He married Doris Madsen in 1973, they later divorced. E.P. spent a long and successful career in the oil field. He began in western Kansas and followed a boom to the Williston Basin in 1959. He eventually ran the Rocky Mountain Northern Region for TENNECO U.V. Industries and ended his career working as a petroleum engineer for WellPro Inc., a consulting firm based in Williston. He retired in Hamilton, Montana. E.P. was an avid golfer, fisherman and hunter.
He was preceded in death by two infant twin daughters, Marilyn May and Karilyn Kay. He is survived by five sons, Phillip G. (Nancy) VanHoutan of Topeka, Joseph A. VanHoutan of Spokane, WA, Steven W. (Marilyn) VanHoutan of Farmington, NM, Raymond L. (Diana) VanHoutan of Williston, ND, and Roger D. (Carmela) VanHoutan of Hurst, TX; a daughter, Barbara A. (Walter) Beecroft of Ozawkie, KS; two brothers, James A. VanHoutan of Florence, CO and Luther E. VanHoutan of Alamogordo, NM; three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Graveside services will be Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at the Oketo Cemetery in Marshall County, Kansas. He will lie in state Friday from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Davidson Funeral Home. Memorial contribution may be made to the Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging and sent in care of the Davidson Funeral Home. davidsonfuneral.com