Edwards, Kenneth (1922-2018)

EDWARDS, EVANS, RUSSELL, GAFFIN, ERICKSON, COON

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 6/5/2018 at 19:25:22

Kenneth Edwards
July 5, 1922 - May 20, 2018

Kenneth Edwards, age 95, of Storm Lake, Iowa, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Sunday, May 20, 2018, at the Methodist Manor Retirement Community in Storm Lake.

Kenneth Edwards, a son of John and Margaret Edwards, was born on July 5, 1922, on a farm southwest of Newell, Iowa. He was welcomed into this world by his two brothers, Norman John and Francis David. In 1934, the family moved to a farm northwest of Newell. Baptized at the Presbyterian Church in Sulphur Springs, Iowa, on August 4, 1940, he attended grades 1 through 12 at the Providence School in Sulphur Springs, graduating in 1940 in a class of ten students. Kenny was the oldest living member of his class.

Next, Kenny farmed with his parents. On May 29, 1949, he married Beatta Jean Evans at the Methodist Church in Storm Lake after they had spent several years dating. At that time, Kenny’s parents moved into town so he and Beatta could start their lives together on the farm with no bathroom, no running water, and a large cook stove for a bride who did not know how to cook.

In 1950, they had a bathroom and running water installed. Wayne J. Edwards was born on October 21, 1950. Ann Louise came along on June 18, 1952. Kenny and Beatta continued farming for many years. In the meantime, Beata would learn how to can meat and dress chickens. She would, also, sell eggs.

As the kids grew, they had many memorable experiences including sledding at Nielsen’s Hill, ice skating on the Raccoon River and the bayou, trick or treating in costumes, neighborhood coffees on snow days, cookouts on the charcoal grill, bonfires and wiener roasts, vacations with friends at Okoboji and Lake of the Woods, and shelling corn with neighbors.

Kenny’s favorite dog, Tiny, a Mexican Rat Terrier, became known as the “neighborhood mouser.” Guy Burdette, the sheller, would, often drop him off back home after a hard day’s work at a neighboring farm. Tiny, always, brought a smile to Kenny’s face as did soft, fluffy baby chicks in the spring, warm, pink, newborn piglets, Peters’ or Lyman’s semis hauling home new, young, bawling steers after Kenny and his good friend, Lloyd Davis, made their annual trip to the sale barn in Winner, South Dakota.

Working on the farm was hard and sometimes dirty and dangerous work in those days. So much depended on the weather, Mother Nature, and God. Nonetheless, Kenny would find simple pleasures in taking drives to see who had the cleanest fields and the straightest crop rows as well as in experiencing cool evening breezes blowing through open windows, the smells of new mown hay and fresh cut grass, a good T-bone steak on the grill, a cold beer, popcorn, and raisin cream pie.

Throughout his life, Kenny enjoyed many activities especially with neighbors and friends as well as at family gathering around the kitchen table while they consumed sandwiches, cakes, and cookies after a hard day’s work baling hay or shelling corn. They all liked egg coffee, and all the friends who seemed to know when the pot was on would stop in for some kitchen conversation, beverages, dancing, good jokes, cards, or just the egg coffee.

Kenny, always, encouraged his kids in all of their activities and attended all of their special events. Unfortunately, however, he was not able to attend Wayne’s graduation from Iowa State in 1972 because he was in critical condition with a ruptured appendix in the Buena Vista Hospital under the care of Dr. Prescott with his good friend, Lloyd Davis, by his side. Wayne and Francis Koch managed the farm for Kenny who remarked that the 1972 crop was one of his best.

Kenny enjoyed many of his own activities including playing the accordion, playing lawn darts and croquet, planting a garden, pitching horseshoes, dancing, golfing, bowling, playing cards, and going out to eat. He spent many special nights with his bowling buddies at Melody Lanes on teams for Culligan, Super America, Matt Furniture, Flohr’s DX, and Storz and Felco Feeds. Indeed, he won many trophies and earned many patches. Kenny and Beatta enjoyed attending the annual Bobby Burns Scottish heritage parties at the Bradford Hotel. Wayne and Kenny, always, looked forward to opening day of pheasant season with their 410 and 12-gauge shotguns. In addition, Kenny and Beatta enjoyed traveling around the area and golfing in many two-balls matches with their friends, traveling to Lantis fireworks in South Dakota every year, and going to the annual Clay County Fair in Spencer. The biggest events on the farm were the annual 4th of July celebrations that we still talk and laugh about today. Kenny and Beatta always attended Storm Lake’s annual Star Spangle Spectacular Parade.

Kenny and Beatta took their family on many vacations while the kids were growing up. They traveled to Chicago, Colorado Springs, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and the Black Hills. They spent some of the best vacations, however, with good friends at Lake Okoboji and Lake of the Woods. Moreover, Kenny made many trips to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for forty years with his daughter, Ann. Kenny and Beatta, always, enjoyed making those special trips to visit Wayne and his family wherever they lived across the United States and the many trips during the year to Illinois to visit Ann and Tony.

In 1987 Kenny and Beatta bought their dream retirement home at 1511 Shoreway Road in Storm Lake. After retiring and leaving the farm in 1988, Kenny enjoyed hauling golf carts to area golf courses for Ed Peterson’s Storm Lake Sports Center. In 1989, he underwent an artificial hip replacement at Genesis East in Davenport, Iowa. Dr. Richard Kreiter, the surgeon, told Kenny to take care of it. One of Kenny’s greatest accomplishments was adjusting his lifestyle and taking care of that new hip which was still good to this day. In 2015, Kenny and Beatta sold their home on Shoreway because Kenny’s declining health and moved to a condo at Oakwood Place at 1317 Seneca Street in Storm Lake. They lived there until February 22, 2018, when they both fell in the garage whereupon they both made their home at the Methodist Manor.

Kenny will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of nearly 69 years, Beatta Edwards of Storm Lake, Iowa; his children, Wayne (Julie) Edwards, of Reno, Nevada, and Ann (Tony) Russell, of Erie, Illinois; and his grandchildren, Wilfred (Sarah Lafley) Edwards, of Addison, Texas, and Carl (Marie Smith) Edwards, of San Francisco, California; as well as many nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors.

Kenny was preceded in death by his parents, John and Margaret Edwards; his brothers and sisters-in-law, Norman (Janina) Edwards and Francis (Myrna) Edwards; his step father- and mother-in-law, Charles and Opal Gaffin; his brothers- and sisters-in-law: Darwin (Alberta) Evans, Joe Erickson, and Leone (Leo) Coon; as well as by many aunts, uncles, and cousins, classmates, friends, and neighbors.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 26, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. Burial will follow in the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in Storm Lake. Visitation will take place Friday, May 25, 2018, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake or the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Newell. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements.

Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Homes, Storm Lake, Iowa, 2018.

Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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