Kenneth Wayne Ranney, 93, passed comfortably at home February 6, 2024. Throughout his last three days, he and all of his family enjoyed friends and family stopping in. He always loved company. He was able to sit at the table sometimes and listen, eat, drink, and communicate. He knew how much he was loved and we knew how much he loved us.
Family will have a private service. However, family would love friends and family to attend a Celebration for Kenneth at his and Joanne’s home on Saturday, February 17, 2024, 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
He was born January 25, 1931. When Kenneth was a little boy, his grandfather would let him ride his team of Belgian’s coming in from the field. Ever since he could walk, he had a pony and enjoyed teaching them several tricks. His grandmother, Josie, knew how much he loved horses and bought him his first horse when he was 13. He also loved hunting and fishing with his grandmother.
Kenneth married Joanne Hewitt on March 28, 1952 in Nashua’s Little Brown Church.
Throughout his married life, his biggest hero by far was his beloved wife, Joanne. She has done everything from chores, sawing lumber, building fence, cooking meals, and being a hard-working trooper at horse shows, not to mention taking care of 5 children, the house, yard, and so much more. Kenneth and Joanne were married for almost 72 years.
Kenneth worked several jobs until he decided having his bulldozers and a sawmill would be the businesses he wanted for him and Joanne. He enjoyed the schedule flexibility, satisfaction of a good job, enjoyed customers, and doing different types of jobs.
The Shell Rock River Conservation Park – we call it ours because we spent 1000’s of hours riding horses there and are so grateful to have it in our backyard. Kenneth used his dozer and equipment to build all the roads through the parks. He also sawed all the lumber for the covered bridge. Kenneth built the pond to the west of the bridge and also cleaned out the pond several times over the years. Joanne would take the children there to swim when it was first built. Unfortunately, the bridge was burned down and he graciously sawed the lumber again. The love of the park was so great that two of his daughters were married there.
Kenneth also did the earthmoving for the golf course in Nora Springs and he would smile when talking about it. He said he did the work and truly enjoyed it, even though it was the only golf course he ever was on. He did the earthmoving to terminate designated roads along the Avenue of the Saints. He rebuilt the Nora Springs-Rock Falls School sports fields and repaired the Nora Springs dam when it got washed out. The last dozer job Kenneth insisted on doing was for his daughter in Nora Springs. A dear friend let Kenneth borrow his dozer to do the work. Kenneth removed some trees, leveled the building site, and pushed dirt raising the foundation for the barn. Kenneth was 88 years young then. These are just a few things Kenneth did that everyone can see.
Kenneth sawed and built his home and barns. He taught his children how to do things themselves, building their confidence so their choices in life would also be possible. Also, he taught a good work ethic – work hard always and finish what you start.
Throughout his life, Kenneth loved horses. He taught all his children to ride. Luckily, he had a couple of daughters who enjoyed horses as he did. Kenneth decided to breed and continue to improve his Arabians for decades. He and his girls, Charlotte and Cheryl, enjoyed training and showing their horses. All horses were first trained to drive. He loved to drive his horse in the show ring more than anything. His grand-daughter, Erin, had the love for horses too. His great grand-daughters, Addyson and Brooke, also realized how much joy horses give. All of them showed horses with Kenneth. He loved nothing more than traveling the country showing his horses with his family.
The Iowa State Fair chose to interview Kenneth for a Spotlight on Iowa Public Television for still showing horses at 85 years old. This was the last horse show Kenneth was in the show ring. Kenneth won numerous awards: IAHA Arabian High Point Awards many years over, Legion of Supreme Honor, multiple regional and national awards, and High Point Morgan Awards. Kenneth was inducted into the Iowa Horsemen’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
Kenneth loved living, was up for anything including the waterpark high slide with the grandchildren and great-grandchildren in his later years. He will truly be missed.
Those left to cherish memories of Kenneth are his wife Joanne; daughters, Susan Pyle, Cheryl Trappe, Sarah (Russ) Bruce, Charlotte Ranney (Mick Wells), and daughter-in-law, Adrienne Ranney; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; many nieces, nephews and friends.
Kenneth is preceded in death by his son, David; parents, Leonard Arthur Ranney and Gretchen Elizabeth Boice Ranney; sister, Dorothy (Richard) Putney; parents-in-law; Edward and Audrey Hewitt; and brother-in-law, Dennis Hewitt.
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