Wichita, Kansas (CNN) -- Major King remembers a time before the abortion debate came to his hometown, a time when Wichita, Kansas, was known as the air capital of the world.





Manufacturers such as Learjet, Cessna and Beechcraft were the backbone of a tight-knit community where God-fearing folks like King would canoe after school in the Arkansas River and drag the streets "in slick cars with a nice-looking honey" on weekends.





Times have changed, says King, 70, a retired oil refinery worker who also spent time at Cessna.





"Now, Wichita's known as the abortion capital of the world."





It's a label shunned by many Wichitans, regardless of their views on abortion. They'd rather be known for the restaurants and entertainment venues, quality schools and affordable housing that make Wichita one of the nation's "best-kept secrets," King says.





But the May 31, 2009, slaying of Dr. George Tiller, a prominent abortion provider gunned down in church during Sunday services, focused national attention back on Wichita and its role in one of the most divisive legal and social controversies of our times.





It faded for a time, as Tiller's death led to the closure of Wichita's last abortion clinic, and activists on both sides shifted their focus elsewhere. But the trial of Tiller's admitted shooter, Scott Roeder, again stirred talk of abortion in the bars and coffee shops of a city where most have steeled themselves for years against noisy protests and graphic images of fetuses.





Roeder was convicted Friday of first-degree murder. After the jury's swift verdict -- they deliberated for just  37 minutes -- many in Wichita are hoping the abortion controversy will fade.





"After he receives his sentence on March 9 --  preferably the Hard 50, as District Attorney Nola Foulston is requesting -- he'll also get the consequence. And then may we never hear from him again," blogged an editorial writer for the local newspaper, The Wichita Eagle.





"Maybe this will get things back to normal now, seeing as there's not much reason for abortion to be such a big issue now that the trial's over," King says. "And, now there is no more abortion in Wichita, either, because the doctor is gone."





To Troy Macormac, Tiller's death already signified the end of Wichita's reputation as the world's abortion capital, albeit through deplorable means.





"I'm really not for abortion ... so it's kind of a fence-riding deal," says Macormac, a brick mason who grew up in Wichita. "But I feel he has a right to have a business and provide for his family and take care of his business the way he wants to take care of it. That's his right as being an American."





For years, demonstrators maintained a constant presence outside Tiller's Women's Health Services clinic, a nondescript, cream-colored building of cement and brick facing Kellogg Avenue -- the city's major east-west corridor.





"People got tired," says Lorrie Donham, a middle school science teacher. "The only way it really affected me was when I'd have to drive down Kellogg with my young daughters and have them be exposed to these grotesque, brutal images."





The turmoil also spread to Tiller's congregation at Reformation Lutheran Church, where he was ultimately shot to death.





"They knew what service Dr. Tiller generally attended and they would come out there full-blown with their babies in arms and huge imagery of damaged fetuses," said Teresa Mora, a member of the congregation who identifies herself as pro-choice.





"It got to the point we had to set up partitions so children could exit family vehicles and go into church without having to be exposed to so much of that imagery."





Frosted glass was installed on the church's windows, added Mora.





The controversy made Tiller a symbol of hope for the abortion rights movement and a formidable foe of abortion opponents. He received repeated death threats and
What does mark end of Wichita's reputation? Who was convicted of murdering Tiller? What city did Dr Tiller live in? When was the verdict given? Who was convicted of killing Dr. George Tiller?
Tiller's death Roeder Wichita, Kansas Friday Scott Roeder,
question: What does mark end of Wichita's reputation?, answer: Tiller's death | question: Who was convicted of murdering Tiller?, answer: Roeder | question: What city did Dr Tiller live in?, answer: Wichita, Kansas | question: When was the verdict given?, answer: Friday | question: Who was convicted of killing Dr. George Tiller?, answer: Scott Roeder,