Hays -- Rose Mary Pfannenstiel, 63, died Aug. 28, 1989, at St. Anthony's Hospital, Hays.

Born Rose Mary Kisner March 20, 1926, at Hays, she married Ted Pfannenstiel Aug. 5, 1947, at Hays. He died June 19, 1981, at Hays.

She was the co-owner of Ted's Steak House, Hays. She was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, and the Eagles Auxiliary, both of Hays. Survivors: sons, Ron and Wesley, Hays, Mike, Culpeper, Va.; daughters, Debbie Kingsley, Hays, Christine Pfannenstiel, Chaing Mai, Thailand; brothers, Isidore Kisner, Hays, Joe Kisner, Wellington, Colo.; sister, Pauline Herl, Hays; and eight grandchildren.

Funeral service will be 10 a.m. Thursday at the church, the Rev. Carl Kramer. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery, Hays. Friends may call from 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. today at Hays Memorial chapel.

Hutchinson News, 8/30/1989

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Rosie Pfannenstiel Saw World From Family Hays Restaurant

Hays -- From her post as head waitress and chief greeter-of-guests at Ted's Steakhouse, Rosie Pfannenstiel enjoyed an interesting view of the world. She could look around the popular family-owned restaurant and watch her five children grow up under the close tutelage of she and her husband, Ted. And she met celebrities such as the tallest man in the world and comedian Bob Hope.

Rose Mary Pfannenstiel died Monday at St. Anthony Hospital in Hays after an extended illness. She was 63.

Hope told Johnny Carson one of Pfannenstiel's husband's favorite jokes on the Tonight Show not long after his visit, saying, "It's so windy in Kansas that when you lift the lid on a toilet, you see whitecaps on the water." Hope visited the restaurant in the mid-1970s. "For a long time, Mom would take people back in the restaurant and tell them, "This is where Bob Hope sat," said her son, Ron Pfannenstiel.

One of Mrs. Pfannenstiel's best friends, Ann Hoffman, remembered her as "more like a sister than a friend." They had known each other all their lives, starting school together as the only first-graders in the one-room Rich Hill School near Hays. "She was beautiful, just beautiful. Such a pleasant woman. She loved her family, her children and her grandchildren," said Hoffman.

Ron Pfannenstiel said all five children worked at the steakhouse from an early age. He can recall regularly being sat down in front of a 100-pound sack of potatoes with his brother on a Saturday morning and peeling spuds until the sack was empty. His father did most of the cooking while his mother "made sure everybody was taken care of ... water, coffee, extra bread ... She was a Johnny-on-the-spot," Ron Pfannenstiel said.

Mrs. Pfannenstiel was born March 20, 1926, to Volga-German immigrants Alex and Pauline Kisner.

All five of her children have college degrees and two work for the U.S. State Department, said Ron Pfannenstiel. A devoutly religious woman, Mrs. Pfannenstiel attended Mass five times a week. After her husband died and the steakhouse was leased to someone else, she bowled on four teams every week.

In addition to her son Ron, Mrs. Pfannenstiel is survived by sons Wesley of Hays and Mike of Culpepper, Va.; daughters, Debbie Kingsley of Hays, Christine of Chaing Mai, Taiwan; brothers, Isadore Kisner and Joe Kisner of Wellington, Colo.; a sister, Pauline Herl of Hays; and eight grandchildren.

Funeral services were scheduled for 10 a.m. today at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Hays, with burial in St. Joseph Cemetery. Hays Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Wichita Eagle, 8/31/1989