Rev. William Burton Kneisly, 90, of Burlington, Kansas, passed away late Sunday, May 11, 2025, at Midland Hospice House in Topeka.

He was born August 19, 1934, in rural Woodson County, KS, the son of Rudolph and Dolores (Edens) Kneisly. He graduated from Gridley High School in Gridley, KS. On November 14, 1954, he and Sylvia Aileen Schif were married in Gridley. They were blessed with 62 years of marriage until she preceded him in death on September 15,2016.

Bill worked for (COB) Beyer Skelly Service Station and Beyer Motor Company in Gridley from 1952 to 1953 and Haas Oil Company from 1953 to 1955. From 1955 to 1967, he worked for Sinclair Oil Company in Blackwell, OK. While at Blackwell, he served as a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and Royal Ambassador leader in the First Baptist Church there. In 1967, he transferred back to Gridley where he worked for Arco Oil Company (formerly Sinclair) until 1969. He was also pastor of the First Baptist Church in Burlington during this time.

The family moved to Kansas City, MO, in January of 1970, where Bill attended and later graduated from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While in seminary he became pastor of Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church south of Harrisonville, MO, and pastored there from 1971 to 1977.

From September of 1977 until May of 1991, Bill was pastor of the First Baptist Church in Burlington. While there, he was appointed as a missionary by the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board. He became Director of Missions for the Blue Stem Baptist Association, serving churches in nine counties, from 1989 until July of 2000. Bill also served as a small town/rural missionary for Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists.  In 1999 Bill and Sylvia were instrumental in establishing the Blue Stem Truckers' Ministry and Chapel where Bill was the Director from 1999 to 2009. Bill was Interim Coordinator of Blue Stem Association from September 2007 thru June 2009 and was involved in the Melvern Lake Ministry from 2007 to 2021. He is a member of the First Baptist Church in Burlington.

Bill was also preceded in death by his parents, brothers Walter and Von Dean and sisters Dorothy and Jean.

Bill is survived by his children, William D. Kneisly (Londa), Lebo, KS, and Lori S. Kneisly, Denton, TX; a grandson, Brandon Kneisly (Angela), Blue Springs, MO; two great-grandchildren, Leah and Owen Kneisly; several nieces and nephews; many other relatives; and a host of friends, many of whom remember Bill talking and writing about the olden days when he was a kid who lived six miles south and a quarter mile west of Gridley.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at the First Baptist Church in Burlington. Burial will follow in Graceland Cemetery at Burlington.

The family will meet with friends from 1:00 P.M. Wednesday until service time at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mission Dignity ( https://www.guidestone.org/mission-dignity ) or Samaritan's Purse, in lieu of flowers, and may be sent in care of Jones Funeral Home, PO Box 277, Burlington, KS 66839.