Jay Dee Siebert

Jay Dee Siebert, age 74, of Manhattan, Kansas, died June 3, 2021, at the Good Shepherd Homecare and Hospice House in Manhattan.

He was born January 20, 1947, in Hutchinson, Kansas, the son of Waldo Peter and Minnie Martha (Regier) Siebert.

Dr. Siebert blended a passion for science and education, a love of travel and an interest in agriculture and the environment into a research and teaching career. He made environmental science and agricultural sustainability accessible to an audience of students and farmers stretching from Fort Riley, Kansas to southern, central and west Africa.

Jay graduated from high school in Hutchinson, earned a bachelor’s degree from Tabor College, a Master of Science in plant breeding and agronomy from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in plant genetics from the University of Georgia. In between his graduate studies, he lived and worked in Brussels, Belgium, and in the country now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He and his wife Jabou moved with their family to Botswana and Senegal before returning to Kansas where he continued teaching for many years. Jay spent the last portion of this career in Nigeria teaching and researching Environmental Science. He retired to Manhattan in 2017.

Jay loved to travel, spend time with his family and was an avid bird watcher.

Survivors include his four children: Amiekole Siebert and her husband Douglas McQuery of New York, NY, Aisha Siebert and her husband Raul Salinas of Chicago, IL, Michael Siebert of Seattle, WA, and Christopher Siebert of Brooklyn, NY; one granddaughter Aida Salinas; and two siblings: Mary Siebert of Houston, TX, and Richard Siebert of Hutchinson, KS.

Jay was preceded in death by his parents.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, July 17th in Hutchinson, Kansas. Please contact the funeral home for more information.

In lieu of flowers the family has designated Friends of Konza Prairie and Nuru Nigeria for memorial contributions. Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502.