Print edition: 
The last man in the Last Man's Club has died.
Howard Babcock, 90, was found dead Saturday in his Wichita home. The Last Man's Club was formed more than seven decades ago by a group of 14 friends so they would never lose touch with each other.
They were all born in 1920 and grew up in the College Hill neighborhood. They had been friends since the age of 5.
"This is the end of an era," said Wichitan Barbara Murfin Murphy, whose father, Bill, was a member of the club, and whose family remained close with Babcock.
Babcock had recently returned from two trips — one to Palm Springs, Calif., and the other to Key West, Fla. He attended the Wichita State University NIT basketball game last week.
"I had talked with Dad last weekend. He was the same as ever," said his son, Kent Babcock of LaGrange, Texas. "He had gotten back, was getting his taxes ready and doing good."
Three years ago, Babcock — a gentle, soft-spoken graphic designer — inherited the club's charter, a magnum of dusty champagne and a scrapbook that chronicled the seven decades of devotion between the men after the death of Vincent Hiebsch.
"I lasted the longest, but what have I got?" Babcock asked an Eagle reporter at the time.
Forming a bond
They were 14 friends who naturally gravitated toward each other.
They survived Depression years and Dust Bowl storms. Most of them also survived service in World War II.
Their families were prominent Wichitans and so they, too, became prominent.
There was an attorney, an accountant, a real estate agent, a graphic designer, a Cadillac sales agent, an industrial agent, oil and gas operators, a lumberman, a dealer in water softeners, a poultry producer and a hardware salesman.
The idea for the club came from the last man's clubs formed by soldiers in World War I. They were to meet for a dinner each year, around the holidays. All members should attend; if they couldn't, they had to pass a message on to the group.
"They were all wonderful men," said Betty Murfin, whose husband, Bill, died in 1998.
In the beginning, the annual meetings — which began after the war ended — would last all night and bleary-eyed members would stumble downstairs for breakfast in the Allis Hotel cafe.
Gradually, the annual meetings took place during the day to better accommodate families, careers and Kansas weather.
"I liked Ruth, Howard's wife," Betty Murfin said. "We have all just been pretty nice friends all this time."
The Babcocks were married 62 years.
And the children of the Last Man's Club became a part of it, too.
"You know how friendships are," Kent Babcock said. "When Bill Murfin died and my mom died, my dad and Betty formed a close friendship. And then, the Murfin kids basically adopted dad. They were always so good to him, inviting him to their Thanksgivings over there."
The last man
Chris Christian became concerned Saturday when he didn't see his next-door neighbor pick up his paper. He has lived next to Babcock for the past 11 years.
"He was such a wealth of information in terms of Wichita history," Christian said Monday. "He was so energetic and had traveled so much. He inspired me with his wonderful attitude and level of energy."
Indeed, Babcock played golf at Tallgrass, regularly attended sporting events, musical theater, downtown meetings and services at Eastminster Presbyterian Church.
He took great pride in being the last man in the Last Man's Club.
"Wherever he went, he was introduced as the last man," Kent Babcock said.
"From a genetic standpoint, our family lives a long time. Unless an accident took him, I knew it was a possibility he would be the last man."
Howard Babcock is survived by his son, Kent, and daughter-in-law, Kathi; two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services are pending.
