Kenneth Edwards

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. Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 26, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake. Burial will be in the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in Storm Lake. Visitation will take place Friday, May 25, 2018 from 4-7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to 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. Kenneth Edwards was born July 5, 1922 on a farm southwest of Newell, Iowa the son of John and Margaret Edwards. Kenny was welcomed into this world by his two brothers Norman John and Francis David. The family moved to a farm northwest of Newell in 1934. Kenny attended grades 1 – 12 at Providence School in Sulphur Springs. He graduated in 1940 in a class of ten students. Kenny was the oldest living member of his class. Kenny was baptized at the Presbyterian Church in Sulphur Springs, Iowa on August 4, 1940. Following graduation, Kenny farmed with his parents. On May 29, 1949 he married Beatta Jean Evans at the Methodist Church in Storm Lake after several years of dating. 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 a bathroom and running water were installed. Wayne J. Edwards was born October 21, 1950. Ann Louise was born June 18, 1952. Kenny and Beatta continued farming for many years. Farm life also included canning meat, dressing chickens and selling eggs. As the kids grew up, many happy family memories were created including sledding at Nielsen’s Hill, ice skating on the Raccoon River and the bayou, trick or treating in costumes, neighborhood coffees on snowed in 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” and was often dropped off back home by Guy Burdette the sheller after a hard day’s work at someone’s farm. Tiny always brought a smile to Kenny’s face and so did soft, fluffy baby chicks in the spring, warm, pink newborn baby pigs, Peters or Lyman 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. Some of Kenny’s simple pleasures were taking drives to see who had the cleanest fields and the straightest crop rows, the cool evening breezes blowing through the 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 neighbors, friends and family gathering around the kitchen table eating sandwiches, cakes and cookies after a hard day’s work of baling hay or shelling corn. The egg coffee was always a hit and all the friends seemed to know when the pot was on stopping 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. Kenny was not able to attend Wayne’s graduation from Iowa State in 1972 because he was in critical condition with a ruptured appendix in 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. Kenny said 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. Many special nights were spent with his bowling buddies at Melody Lanes on teams for Culligan, Super America, Matt Furniture, Flohr’s DX, Storz and Felco Feeds. 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. Kenny and Beatta enjoyed traveling around the area and golfing in many two-balls 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. Some of the best vacations were with good friends at Lake Okoboji and Lake of the Woods. Kenny also took many trips to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for 40 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 making many trips to Illinois during the year 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, Kenny received an artificial hip at Genesis East in Davenport, Iowa. Dr. Richard Kreiter was the surgeon and told Kenny to take care of it. One of Kenny’s greatest accomplishments was adjusting his lifestyle and taking care of that hip which was still good to this day. In 2015, Kenny and Beatta sold their home on Shoreway due to Kenny’s 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 and then lived at 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; Ann (Tony) Russell of Erie, Illinois; his grandchildren: Wilfred (Sarah Lafley) Edwards of Addison, Texas; Carl (Marie Smith) Edwards of San Francisco, California; and 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-in-law and mother-in-law, Charles and Opal Gaffin; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Darwin (Alberta) Evans, Joe Erickson, and Leone (Leo) Coon; many aunts, uncles and cousins, classmates, friends and neighbors.

Kenneth Edwards

July 5, 1922 - May 20, 2018