RON KIRKENDALL

Ron Kirkendall, 74, of Falls City, passed away Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014 at Falls City. He was born Oct. 13, 1939 at Barada, to the late Roy and Merna (Vice) Kirkendall.

Ron attended local schools and graduated from Falls City High School in 1957. After graduation, he worked at Frontier Homes, starting in the plant and advancing into the office. He also worked in the offices of Missouri Beef Packers, of Rock Port, MO, the Richardson County Sheriff’s Department and Falls City Police Department. He finished his working career at Sac and Fox Casino, Powhattan, KS, starting as a guard, then in surveillance, and finally as a gaming inspector.

He married Barbara Campbell in 1961. They had two children, Todd and Michelle. Ron and Barbara were later divorced. He married Janyce Schuler Jennings on Dec. 23, 1972 at Falls City.

Ronald received the Zumwalt Community Award in 1998 at a ceremony in Omaha for his efforts in recruiting bone marrow donors for the Nation Marrow Donor Program. Through his efforts, more than 100 possible donors were added to the registry.

Ron was a member of the Falls City Ambulance Squad. During that time he served one term each as president and Chairman of the Board.

Ron was a prolific writer of poetry and song lyrics. A book of some of his best poetry will be published later this year and will be available locally. He also wrote feature articles for the St. Joseph Gazette and collaborated on a soundtrack for “Christmas in April,” a community service project sponsored by Motorola.

He is survived by his wife, Janyce, of the home; son, Todd (Suzan) Kirkendall, of Warrensburg MO; son-in-law, Larry Peterson, of Chandler, AZ; grandchildren, Christopher (Nayvi) Kirkendall, of Columbia MO, Andrea Kirkendall, of Warrensburg, Amanda and Matthew Peterson, both of Chandler; sisters; Connie (Leonard) Brown and Cheryl McCann, both of Falls City; and one brother, Daniel Kirkendall, of Branson, MO.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and daughter, Michelle Peterson.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 at Dorr & Clark Funeral Home, with Rev. Jim Brown officiating. Interment will be in Harris Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7-8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.