Obituary for Kenneth Earl Spady KENNETH EARL SPADY, 95, of Ogallala, passed away Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at the Imperial Manor in Imperial, NE. Kenneth was born September 5, 1922, in Imperial, Nebraska, the youngest of five children of George Peter Spady and Jennie May Eller Spady. He learned the carpentry trade from his father and was one of many in the Spady family with those skills.
He built several homes for himself and his family after marrying Virginia Elaine Arterburn in Imperial on September 5, 1945; soon after his return from serving in the army in World War II. Each time the family home was sold, he constructed a new, larger home for the family. During World War II he spent 27 months at various bases in the Aleutian Island chain.
Although in the Army he served at both Naval and Army Air Corps bases. Duties included skippering a small ship-to-shore supply vessel for the Navy and driving a crash rescue vehicle for the Air Corps. In 1960, he and Virginia moved the family to Ogallala, where they spent the remainder of their married life.
He continued to build homes with help from his sons during the summer and his father at various times. He was a licensed electrician and plumber. His wife helped with each home doing painting and varnishing.
In 1977, at the age of 55, he left home construction for employment at the Adams Bank & Trust in Ogallala as a maintenance man, providing construction, remodeling and other services for the Bank, and quickly became a fixture at the Bank and its branches in other communities as well as the Western Insurers of Nebraska office. He was well known at both locations for arriving early and fixing coffee for the employees. He retired from the Bank in 1998 at the age of 76.
After the death of Virginia in 2006, he continued living in the second home he had built for them in Ogallala, until his recent move to the Imperial Manor. Ken’s life was fulfilled by being thoughtful, kind, loyal and generous to his family and friends. He was mild mannered, honest, trustworthy and honorable – yet a strong man of few words who led by example.
He loved his country and passionately loved his wife. He was treasured by all who knew him. He was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia; his parents; brothers, Frank (“Hank”) Spady, Clarence (“Bruz”) Spady, Harold Spady; and sister, Theone Hust.
Ken is survived by his children, Clair Kenneth (Jerolyn) of Glen Allen, VA, Steven (Elaine) of York, NE, Phil (Toni) of Bellevue, WA and Jan (Roy) Conway of Ogallala; grandchildren, Tara, Chad, Karri, Stephanie, Andrew, Alex, Jamie, Alissa, Nicky, and David; numerous great-grandchildren; brothers-in-law, Keith Arterburn and Kermit Arterburn (Charlene) all of McCook, NE; along with numerous nieces, and nephews. A memorial has been established in Ken’s memory for later designation. Condolences may be shared at prairiehillsfuneralhome.com, where the service will be streamed live for those unable to attend.
Memorial services will be on Monday, March 12, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. at the First Congregational Church in Ogallala with Pastor Lisa Hadler officiating. Inurnment with military honors will be in the Ft. McPherson National Cemetery at Maxwell on Tuesday, March 13th at 11:00 a.m. CST.
Prairie Hills Funeral Home of Ogallala is in charge of arrangements. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Kenneth Earl Spady please visit our Sympathy Store. Previous Events Memorial Book Signing 2018 MAR 11.
02:00 PM – 05:00 PM Prairie Hills Funeral Home 602 North Spruce Street Ogallala, NE, US, 69153 prairiehillsfh@gmail.com www. prairiehillsfuneralhome.com Memorial 2018 MAR 12.
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