Kenneth Wade Stufflebeam Sr.

Kenneth Wade Stufflebeam Sr. a long time resident of Diana and Longview, Texas Passed away on Friday, January 25, 2019. Born December 14, 1929 to Margaret Risinger and John Wesley “Chick” Stufflebeam in Crane, Texas, Kenneth was a classic pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps no nonsense man who crisscrossed the U.S. and the world in his business pursuits.

He was raised for a time in West Texas and Idabel, Oklahoma by his maternal grandparents before striking out on his own at the young age of 14 in California, lying about his age to work in the oil field. He returned to Idabel and married Shirley Sullens on a dare, on their first date in 1946.

While Shirley raised their two children, Kenneth Sr. worked in the oil fields of California, Oklahoma and Colorado. When the industry went bust, he moved the family back to Idabel to learn the electrical trade with his father in law. In 1966 he moved to Dallas, Texas and managed concrete batch plants for Ready Mix Inc. until they went out of business. He followed work to Michigan and Minnesota before returning to Texas. He found his niche in the Midwest in Cleveland, Ohio at Master Builders and Badger Meter, who moved him to Tulsa, Oklahoma. He retired from Badger Meter and moved to Diana, Texas with Shirley, where they adopted wild mustangs, much to the delight of their grandchildren.

He is remembered for his hard work ethic, gruff demeanor, love of western movies, the American west, fishing and tasty breakfasts. He watched America grow up from dirt roads to the asphalt and concert highways in his lifetime of almost 90 years. He is preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Shirley Sullens Stufflebeam and daughter Mary Katherine Stufflebeam French. Survivors include son Kenneth Stufflebeam Jr., daughter in law Carol Stufflebeam, grandchildren; Kerrie Adam, Stephanie Marshall and Staci Goza, Son in law John French, grandson Wade Womack and granddaughter Cynthia Glensgard and nine great grandchildren.

Services for Mr. Stufflebeam are scheduled for 2:00 PM Saturday, February 2, 2019 at the Grubbs-Loyd Chapel in Diana. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services at the funeral home.