Kansas Pine Tree health question

[kcphilaflyer]

Live in Wichita, Kansas, I have this pine tree in my back yard, the few summers, random branches seem to be dying off. One will die, needles dry up and turn brown, so I cut the branch off, then next summer, the branch above it does the same thing, so I cut it off, now a much bigger branch above the last one seems to be the one to die this summer, the rest of the tree looks very healthy.

We have had some extreme drought these past couple summers, but last summer I made a point to get it a weekly deep watering, plus we had a decent snow this winter plus a very wet spring so hopefully we'll get a break this summer.

Is it just the tree being stressed by the drought so it sacrifices a limb to save the tree and I should just keep cutting them off as I have been doing, or is it some kind of slow moving disease that I could/should treat?

Attached are a few pics, you can see below the limb that is dying the other limbs that I have cut off the past couple years.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Here's a pic to help identify what kind of pine?

Tough to see in the pic, but that lowest branch on the right, doesn't have any pinecones growing and all the needles have turned brownish and you can tell is slowly dying and right below it is the last branch I had to cut off.

 

[Raintree]

It could be that the lower limbs are just shaded out. It looks like a White Pine that is thinning, only holding onto 2yrs of needles is a sign of stress. Is the tree mulched? if not mulch it. Get a soil test done look at PH & fertility.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Looks like a Vanderwoolf to me, spot is a little shady so it isn't surprising to see it shad a few lower limbs. The new candle growth is a good sign. Vanderwolf's are naturally a little sparse especially in their youth. I wouldn'tget too stressed about it. Actually, I'm surprised to see a vanderwolf doing so well in Wichita considering the summers. Andover class of '87 so I know the climate.