Kenneth Keith Stenfors, Salina
Obituary for Kenneth Keith Stenfors | Ryan Mortuary
October 23, 1943 ~ February 20, 2021 (age 77)
SALINA - Kenneth Keith Stenfors. On Saturday, Feb 20, 2021 the world lost an amazing man. Keith was born in Salina, KS on Oct. 23, 1943, the 3rd child out of 6 living children born to Kenneth A & Edith I (Peterson) Stenfors. He passed away in the company of his family at Salina Regional Health Center.
Keith is survived by his wife of 50 ½ years, Delores (Dee), his daughters and their families: Katrina & Brian Yoakum (Rylie & Morgan) of Lawrence; Angela & Kyle Eilts (Finley & Imogen) of New Haven, MO. Other surviving family members include his sister Janice Schmidt of Bennington; Lyle & Nelda Stenfors of Missouri; Jack & Susie Stenfors of Bennington; Bill & Kathi Stenfors of Manhattan and his sister-in-law Roberta Stenfors of Minneapolis. Other family members include many nieces, nephews, great nieces & nephews, great-great nephews & niece, and cousins.
Keith was preceded in death by his parents, an infant son Kevin Stenfors, an infant granddaughter Hannah Eilts, his brother Bob, and his brother-in-law LaVon Schmidt.
Keith was raised in Bennington, KS, and had many stories to tell of these years. He attended KSU, Hutchinson Junior College and KTI (forerunner of KSU Polytechnic). His work career involved handling the computer operations of the Lee Company & OCCK. His military service included the Air National Guard (Hutchinson) & Army Reserves (Salina).
Family & friendships were very important parts of Keith’s life. He enjoyed working & visiting with relatives & friends. Many miles were driven to attend birthday parties, graduations, weddings, dance recitals, sporting activities, family reunions, etc. One of Keith’s retirement goals was to take photos of every Kansas courthouse. He wanted to be able to say that he had been in all 105 counties in Kansas. He had 19 courthouses left to photo.
Keith was a people person. He usually had a smile and a friendly greeting for everyone he met. He made friends with a variety of people as he walked the neighborhood. One young neighbor commented that Keith always had a smile for him and made him feel good. If he were standing in line for an event, Keith would often make friends with the people in front and in back of him before the line moved. Playing pool at the Senior Center became one of his favorite retirement activities. He made many friends as the pool team traveled to other towns for tournaments. He enjoyed a variety of sports from high school to college, especially Bennington High School and KSU games.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb 25, 2021 at Ryan Mortuary. Funeral services will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb 26th at the Salina First United Methodist Church. Masks will be required. Live streaming on Facebook is planned.
Memorials can be made to Salina First United Methodist Church, Salina Senior Center Pool Team, or the Occupational Center of Central Kansas.
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