Gregory Flaherty

Gregory Neal Flaherty of Shawnee, KS, lived a life defined by love, service, curiosity, and strength. He passed away on July 16, 2025, at the young age of 75.

Born on August 20, 1949, in Albion, Nebraska, Greg was the eldest of six children raised by Neal and Betty Flaherty. He grew up in the tight-knit farming community of St. Edward, where he learned the values of hard work, humility, and showing up for others.

After graduating from St. Edward High School in 1967, Greg enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 18. He left for boot camp in San Diego, California, for basic and advanced individual training. As Builder 1st Class Seabee ("CAN DO"), his specialty was in carpentry, concrete, and bricklaying. By the following year, he was in Vietnam serving in Da Nang and other regions during one of the war’s most difficult chapters from 1968 - 1969. He rarely spoke of it, but the quiet pride in his eyes when the flag was raised said more than words ever could.

He married his high school sweetheart, Connie Lynn Cumming, on June 6, 1970 (D-Day). Greg’s next naval assignment took him and Connie to Williamsburg, VA, where he was honorably discharged from active duty in the Navy in 1971. He attended college, earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Kearney State College, as the school was then known. During that period, he was a member of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), after which he was commissioned as a U.S. Army second lieutenant, Infantry. A graduate of the Basic Infantry Officer Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning, GA, and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. He was selected to attend the Jungle Operations Training Course in the Panama Canal Zone. He later completed Advanced Infantry Officer Courses at Fort Benning and the S-4 Quartermaster Staff Course at Fort Lee, VA. He was a graduate of the Army Combined Arms Staff Service School and the Army Command & General Staff Course. His final deployment to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm, 1991 - 1992. Greg retired from active Army service in 1992 as a decorated Major with 24 years total active and reserve service. Though his résumé listed medals and military schools, Greg wasn’t one to boast. He served because he believed in duty and because he wanted to make life better for others.

After retirement, Greg took on a new mission: building homes and building futures. As the owner of a residential construction company and later as a mentor/records coordinator for ABC Heart of America Apprenticeship Program, he shared his knowledge with younger generations, encouraging many to take pride in working with their hands.

But perhaps nothing brought him greater joy than being “Grandpa/Papa” to his five grandchildren: Xander (21), Ava (18), Eden (17), Hayvyn (12), and Knox (11). Whether casting lines at Bennett Springs or playing cards (and never letting Connie win), Greg was in his element when surrounded by family.

Fall meant returning to Nebraska to help Connie’s brothers, Jerry and Rex Cumming, with the harvest, a tradition that evolved into a beloved annual family reunion. While winters meant heading to Texas in the 5th-wheel, camping, playing cards, winning at bingo, and pursuing intricate woodworking projects in the shop.

A man of many interests, Greg was an avid reader of history, a lifelong student of genealogy, a traveler with a deep appreciation for the past. In retirement, he and Connie explored not just continents, but their own family’s roots. From Ireland and Denmark to Germany and Scotland, they traced the paths of ancestors and created stories of their own. Greg fulfilled a lifelong dream by laying a wreath at the Shore of Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. He stood quietly in the wind, surrounded by sacrifice, a soldier paying tribute to soldiers.

Greg was a proud member of the American Legion Crosier Post #226, a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a Lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and a supporter of the Kansas City Irish Center.

Greg is survived by his wife of 55 years, Connie, his daughters Jill (Scott) Christian and Sara (Airin) Lee; his five grandchildren; siblings Jim (Joyce), Annette (Terry), Steve (Cindy), Kathy (Denny), and Doug; 24 nieces and nephews, 38 great nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends who admired his wisdom he offered and the fierce loyalty he gave.

Greg Flaherty didn’t need a spotlight; he was the one holding it steady for others. And though he’s gone from this world, his impact lives on in the stories told around kitchen tables, the books left open on nightstands, the kids who learned how to cast a line, and the fields he helped harvest every fall.

A man with a larger-than-life personality, who could talk to anyone, and cared deeply and fiercely for family. His life was well-lived, well-loved, and never wasted, our unofficial patriarch.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, 5501 Monticello Road Shawnee, Kansas 66226, from 5 to 7:00pm, with a rosary prayed at 7:00pm. Funeral services will be conducted at St. Edward Catholic Church, 805 Washington St, St Edward, NE 68660, on Monday, August 4th with a visitation from 10 to 11:00am, and Funeral Mass at 11:00am. Burial and luncheon to follow.