Donate to the Museum

We’re so grateful that you’re interested in supporting the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum — your contributions help us preserve and celebrate the rich legacy of Johnson County.

The museum holds donated funds and funds raised through museum events in restricted accounts – so these funds are not rolled into the county’s general operating funds. Should you choose to donate, this is where your donation would be held and used. You can receive a charitable contribution tax break for your donation. Here’s a helpful article that talks about donating to governmental agencies. If you have any questions about how the museum handles funding and values transparency, please contact us – we are happy to share.

Donations to general operations may be made here:

Help Save the Historic Carnegie Building!

The historic Carnegie Library building which serves as the front entrance to the museum and houses administrative offices is in need of preservation and repair work.  Click here to learn more and to donate to the cause.  

Front of the 1909 Carnegie

Limestone blocks have shifted and cracked

Front columns are deteriorating

Memorials

If you would like a memorial in honor of a loved one designated to the Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum, please contact the museum staff.

Ken Ott Memorial

Memorials in honor of Ken Ott can be made by clicking here.  We offer our condolences to his family and friends.  

Funeral services for Ken Ott, 79-year-old Buffalo resident who passed away Friday night at his home in Buffalo, following a short illness, will be held Wednesday April 22 at 10:00 a.m. at the Harness Funeral Home Chapel in Buffalo with Pastor Zach Grimm officiating.  A visitation will be held on Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and on Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. at the Harness Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will be in Willow Grove Cemetery with graveside services to immediately follow the funeral. A reception will be held at Calvary Chapel in Buffalo at 40 N. Desmet following the funeral and graveside. Donations in Ken’s memory may be made to the Jim Gatchell Museum at 100 Fort Street in Buffalo, Wyoming or the Susie Bowling Lawrence Hospice at 497 W. Lott St. in Buffalo.  Online condolences may be made at www.harnessfuneralhome.com.
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Kenneth Melvin Ott was born on September 18, 1946, in Los Angeles, California to George and Margaret (Beeman) Ott. He grew up and went to school in Colorado and graduated from Thornton High School in Thornton, Colorado with the class of 1964. After high school he joined the U.S. Navy where he served for 6 years and received the Medal of Honor.  After the military Ken was married to Kris Baird and they made their home in Colorado and had two children, Karen and George. For 33 years Ken owned and operated the Brighton Stamp and Coin business in Brighton, Colorado.  On August 1st, 2010 he married Barbara (Hastings) Millett in Fort Lupton, Colorado and they made their home in Colorado.  Ken retired in 2012 and he and Barbara moved to Buffalo where he had vacationed for several years and lived in Buffalo until his death.
Since moving to Buffalo, Ken donated his time, experience, and resources to a number of organizations.  Prior to his illness, he and Barbara were frequently seen walking throughout town and on numerous walking paths in the area.
Ken is survived by his wife Barbara of Buffalo; one daughter Karen Benavidez and her husband Fernado of Brighton, Colorado; one son George Ott and his wife Vanessa of Moses Lake, Washington; three stepchildren, Terri Thornton and her husband Michael, Elizabeth Coffey and Brian Millett and his wife Callie; thirteen grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother.