ODIN - August "Gus" J. Demel, 82, died February 10, 2008 at Clara Barton Hospital in Hoisington. He was born August 28, 1925 in rural Odin, the son of Joseph A. and Mary (Lamatsch) Demel. A lifetime resident of Odin, he was a farmer and stockman. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus No. 2630 and was a past conservation award winner. He was a U.S. Army Veteran, serving during the Korean Conflict. On May 18, 1948, he married Katherine Hickel at St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church north of Ellinwood, she survives. Other survivors include seven sons, Vernon Demel and his wife, Janice, Moundridge, Gary Demel and his wife, Wanda, Great Bend, David Demel and his wife, Jodee, Claflin, Maurice Demel and his wife, Lois, Claflin, Dale Demel, Odin, Kurt Demel and his wife, Cindy, Larned, and Kirby Demel and his wife, Amy, Wichita; two daughters, Carol Nichol and her husband, Daryl, Lakewood, Colo., and Sharon Eichkorn and her husband, Bill, Hutchinson; two brothers Stephen Demel, Odin, and Jerome Demel, Rosehill; two sisters Viola Axman, Olmitz, and Irene Mattas, Wilson; 21 grandchildren, and 12 great- grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son Norman Eugene Demel, two brothers, Clarence and Edward Demel, and six sisters, Mary Gerritzen, Margaret Neuschafer, Ann Wondra, Mathilda Schneider, Eleanor Fiedler, and Theresa Demel. Funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Holy Family Catholic Church, Odin, with Father Dwight Birket presiding. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. today, with a vigil service at 7 p.m. followed by a Knights of Columbus rosary, at Nicholson-Ricke Funeral Home, Hoisington. Burial will be in Holy Family Cemetery, Odin, with military graveside rites conducted by VFW Post No. 7428 and American Legion Post No. 286. Memorial Donations may be sent to Holy Family Repair Fund or Claflin Ambulance Service, in care of the funeral home.