Kenneth John Kuper, 96, died peacefully on Saturday, August 20, 2022 of old age at Scenic Manor in Iowa Falls, Iowa with his wife of nearly 76 years, Annie Kuper (Abbas), his daughter and his son at his side. Funeral services will be 2 p.m. on Wednesday, August 24, 2022 at St. John’s U.C.C. in Ackley with burial in Oakwood Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday at St. John’s U.C.C. Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sietsema Funeral Home in Ackley.
Kenneth was born on a farm west of Ackley, Iowa on September 12, 1925. He was the only son and second of four children born to John and Marie (Kannegeiter) Kuper. In 1927 the family moved to a farm one-half mile south of where Kenny was born and he lived there 68 years. It was the epitome of a family farm. Five Kuper generations lived there and in the 1950s there were four
generations living in two houses on the farm. In 1995 Kenny and Annie moved to a new house in Iowa Falls where they lived until 2019 when they moved to nearby Cedar Ridge apartment. Kenneth and Annie both moved to Scenic Manor long term care facility in late July of 2022.
Kenny’s first love was farming, growing up raising crops and animals on a diversified farm. They raised corn, oats, hay, soybeans and pasture along with hogs, dairy cattle, chickens and sheep. They grew apples, pears, cherries, plums, strawberries, grapes and a large vegetable garden. Kenny’s dad, John instilled a love of farming in his son but John was “horse man” as farming transitioned from horses to tractors. John was happy to let his son lead on modernizing the farm and Ken was happy to do that. They bought a 1935 Allis- Chalmers WC in 1938 when Kenny was 13 but his dad rarely drove the new- fangled machine. That tractor still “lives” on the home farm with Kenny’s son, Keith.
Kenneth attended the Macy country school and his family often provided room and board for the teacher. It was hard for Kenny to skip homework with his teacher living under the same roof! He attended Ackley high school and graduated in 1943. He was a good student but by the time he graduated high school he was largely running the farm and raising purebred Berkshire hogs. With those obligations and his love of farming he chose to not attend college like his one older (Mildred) and two younger (Dorothy and Ruth) sisters.
In addition to farming Kenny often worked on neighboring farms as well which was common for young farmers then. August was a slower time on the farm and he would also work a few weeks at the Ackley canning plant during their “corn pack.” During one of those stints he met the love of his life, Annie Abbas of Ackley, who was also working at the plant. The couple were soon engaged and married on September 17th, 1946 at St. John’s parish in Ackley, where Kenny was a life-long member. They honeymooned on a road trip to the Black Hills and Yellowstone Park with another newlywed couple. Kenny and Annie built a second house on the Kuper farm and began their long farming and family life together.
Kenny and Annie were blessed with a daughter, Kathryn Ann (Vitasek) in 1952, and a son, Keith Allen in 1953. Ken was a devoted family man. He doted on his daughter and son, providing all advantages he could afford and strong moral guidance. He was always a faithful and loving husband and father.
Over the years Kenny took his family on many vacations, including an epic drive to California in 1958, visiting sights and relatives in Kansas, New Mexico and Arizona and culminating at Disneyland. Ken loved traveling, especially road trips. He and Annie continued to travel across the US, Hawaii, Mexico and Canada, well into their 80s.
In 1949 Kenny and Annie took over the farm entirely. Ken eagerly adopted technology like improved genetics, soil testing, tile drainage, liming, fertilizers, and the latest machinery. He supplemented his farming as a dealer for lubricating oil and seed for more than 50 years. To help justify Kenny’s penchant for bigger and better equipment he did custom farm work for more than 30
years. Over the years his farm operation grew and became more specialized in the familiar pattern of the times. By the 1970s his enterprises were corn, beans and hogs. And by the late 1970’s Kenny was a cash grain farmer.
Family and farming were mainstays of Kenneth’s life but he enjoyed many hobbies. He was by his own admission a “motorhead.” He was interested in aviation and for a couple of years had a landing strip on the home farm. He took flying lessons but couldn’t overcome motion sickness and was never a licensed pilot. In the early 1960’s he became involved in go-kart racing, competing on
Sunday afternoons at tracks in Ackley. About that time that he also began competing in tractor pulls. At the time pulling tractors were largely stock but Ken put after-market turbochargers on his diesels and enjoyed local success. One year a John Deere dealer offered to transport his 4020 to the state fair and he finished a disappointing (to him) eighth in the heavyweight contest. A bit later he bought a power boat and enjoyed taking family and friends on to Clear Lake and many runs on the Iowa River in Iowa Falls, helping his children and their friends learn to water ski. He became a motorcyclist in the 1970s. He and his son, Keith, rode together but Kenny stayed with this hobby long after his son quit riding. His machines were beautiful BMWs that he enjoyed well into his 70s.
The hobby he was most devoted to was collecting, restoring and dealing in farm toys, pedal tractors and pedal cars. He began this in his 50s and continued into his 90s. He and Annie loved attending toy shows across Iowa and beyond where he’d display, buy and sell, but mostly buy! His collection numbered in the hundreds and included very rare models, some of which he had since he was a boy.
For decades Kenneth served on boards for St. John’s church, Farmer’s Co-op and Hardin County Rural Electrification Co-op. As a life-long New Deal Democrat he fondly remembered his father taking him to see Franklin Roosevelt at a whistle stop in Iowa Falls. Kenny was a progressive who generously supported public and private efforts to provide opportunity for the disadvantaged, especially children. He and Annie enjoyed attending campaign events seeing many candidates locally and across Iowa leading up to the Iowa caucuses. But Kenneth had friends across the political spectrum and valued principled conservatism.
Kenneth is survived by his wife, Annie (Abbas), his daughter, Kathryn Vitasek of Iowa Falls; his son Keith (Marian) Kuper of Ackley; his sister Dorothy (Clifford) Leib of Guthrie Center, IA; grandchildren Byron Young of Iowa Falls, Breanna Hannen (Elijah) of Grand Portage, MN, Lindsey (Alex) Kuper of Santa Cruz, CA, Maya (Ben) Kuper of Chicago, IL; great grandchildren Damone, Kuper, Kent, Andre, Elanna, Sylvia and Helen.
Kenneth was preceded in death by his sisters Mildred DeWalt and Ruth Murphy.
surls.com
