Kenneth W. Welden

Kenneth Warren Welden

Kenneth was the son of Thomas Henry Welden and Florence May Harris. Kenneth lived in the state of Missouri, with his five siblings, Florence, Gladys, Thomas, Mable & Alice. He was born on April 10, 1919 and was the youngest child. Kenneth spent most of his younger years in Coffey, Missouri on a farm where his father farmed and provided for his family. He attended school until the 10th grade at which time he was needed to help on the family farm. In his teen years, Kenneth joined the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp.) during the depression to help support his family. After the depression, he and his family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri where he met the love of his life, Maxine D. Shultz. Maxine (16) and Kenneth (19) embarked on life's journey and married on October 29th, 1938. Two years later, on remarkably the same day they were married, the couple had their first child, Sherran Kay Welden. Another two years later, they had their first son, Kenneth Benton (Ben) Welden. At 24 years old, Kenneth joined the Navy and served his country with honor during WWII where he was stationed in the South Pacific. After a 4 year service term and with the war's end, Kenneth came home to Denver, Colorado and took on various jobs to support his family until he started working at Van Schaak as an Stationary Engineer and Building Manager. He dedicated 35 years of his life with the company where he retired at the age of 60. On the home front, at the age of 40, Kenneth and Maxine had their third child, Timothy Warren Welden. During the course of their lives, the couple had seven grandchildren. They are Vickie, Wright, Keith, Honey Kay, Melissa, Tawny, and Grace. He also had many great grandchildren: Ashley, Kevin, Brandon, Kendra, Wesley, Paul, Amber, Austin, Kent, Jesse, and Morgan. After Kenneth's wife, Maxine, passed on, on January 22, 2002, he resided in Denver, Colorado until 2008. During the summer of 2008, he spent time with his son, Timothy, in New York and with his daughter, Sherran, in Missouri. His final resting place was in Sherran's home in Climax Springs, Missouri where he passed in the comfort of his family. It seemed that Kenneth's life had come full circle as he was born in Missouri and passed away in Missouri. Kenneth lived a long full life with its share of normal ups and downs and accomplished the type of life anyone could hope for. He was a loving and devoted family man that was loved by all his family and will always be in everyone's hearts.


The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend
he referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth.
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not how much we own;
the cars, the house, the cash,
what matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard.
are there things you'd like to change?
for you never know how much time is left,
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?