Stevensville – Kenneth K. Krout, 81, of Stevensville passed away on Thursday, March 31 at home.
He was born September 19, 1934 in Marcus Daly Hospital in Hamilton, MT as the fifth child of seven to Rodney O. and Edith L. Krout. He lived in the Corvallis area for his first seven years, then the family moved to Stevensville where he continued his education. Ken graduated from Stevensville High School in 1953 after competing in football, basketball, track and baseball. Ken was also the senior class president.
In 1950, he started a four-year career with the US Forest Service as a lookout operator and firefighter on the Powell Ranger District in the Lochsa County in Idaho. In February 1955, after being notified he was next on the draft list, he enlisted in the U.S. Army to be trained as a Combat Engineer. Training started at Fort Ord, CA and continued to Fort Carson, CO, Fort Leonardwood, MO, Fort Polk, LA and Fort Dix, NJ. He was deployed to Germany where he joined his unit, The 2nd Armored (Hell on Wheels) Division, 17th Armored Engineer Battalion at Bad Kreuznach and Dexheim, Germany. His training continued at the European Engineer School at Murnau, Germany, this five-week course trained men on removing mines, booby traps and firing demolition charges on roads and bridges. Training continued at 7th Army NCO Academy (Little West Point) at Munich where upon graduation he was promoted to Sgt. (E-5). After that he set to work rebuilding the country of Germany from all the destruction and devastation that World War II caused in that country. In October 1958, the division was brought back to Fort Hood, Texas and was assigned as a Training Division for all armored personnel prior to their deployment overseas, so he became the Trainer instead of the Trainee. Ken trained the likes of Elvis Presley and others before they shipped off overseas. He was very proud of his military service and to have served his country.
Ken was honorably discharged in Sept. 1960 after 5-1/2 years. He returned to Missoula and worked for LS. Jensen Construction until Feb. 1962, when he applied for work at Waldorf Paper Product Mill, that night he was called to start unloading frozen chip cars and continued on at the mill for 37 years. He transferred to the paper department for the next 17 years, learning the art of papermaking, then he transferred to become the Scheduling & Shipping Supervisor for the next 20 years, a job he truly loved, scheduling the machines of different grades and overseeing the shipments of the product to different customers throughout the USA, Canada, Japan, etc. He saw a lot of ownership changes and enjoyed the work at hand. He retired Jan. 1, 2000 and lived in the Ninemile area for the next seven years, After a divorce he sold the property and moved back to the Bitterroot next to his oldest daughter’s place in the Three Mile area.
In 1956, he married Marlene Jensen, they had four children. He divorced Marlene in Jan. 1979 and married Cora Qualls in May 1979, they divorced in 2007.
He enjoyed his travel, seeing a lot of Europe during his military duty and later several trips to England and Scotland; four different cruises, one through the Panama Canal and several train trips around the US. He helped get Westside Little League started as a coach and building ball fields in Missoula for several years. He was an MOA official for eight years, officiating basketball in Western Montana and was the VP at the Alberton Senior Center and President of the Stevensville Senior Center, programs he truly loved for the people and storytelling.
He liked his woodworking shop, garden and lawn care, maintaining that the grass was always greener on his side of the fence.
Survivors include his four children: Kevin Krout, Seattle, WA, Rory Krout, Seattle, WA, Carol (Larry) Neel of Stevensville, MT and Teresa (Craig) Brown of Fredericksburg, VA; brothers, Jack (Verna) Krout, Petaluma, CA; Robert (Lloyda) Krout, Florence, MT; sisters Helen Jefferies, Missoula, MT and Linda (Gary) Conley, Helena, MT. He was blessed with six grandchildren and nine great grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his dad, Rodney O. Krout, step-mother, Geneva Krout, mother Edith Hackman, step-father, Harvey Hackman, and brothers Leonard Krout and William Krout.
There will be a memorial gathering to remember Ken’s life on Friday, April 8, 2016 at 3 p.m. at Whitesitt Funeral Home with a reception to follow at Stevensville Senior Center. A private family interment will take place at the Western Montana Veterans Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Stevensville Senior Center, 100 Mission Street, Stevensville MT 59870. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com.