He was born on July 26, 1930, in Butler, Missouri, to Samuel and Christine (Landes) Cummins.
From an early age, he worked alongside his father on the family farm cutting wood, working in the fields, feeding stock. He stated, “My father never ran out of work for himself or me.” He worked with his grandfather, Kenny Landes, mowing yards on Saturdays in Adrian and with his uncle Jim Enos on his farm as well. He took piano lessons from Bess Jackson in Butler during the school year.
He attended Mingo School and at age 12 accepted Jesus as his Savior at the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Crescent Hill. He joined the Boy Scouts in Adrian and earned the distinction of Eagle Scout, graduating from Adrian High School in 1949.
He married Bonnie Olson in 1952 and the couple had two children: Steve and Linda.
Ken graduated from the University of Missouri at Columbia with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1954, after which he moved his family to Arlington, Virginia, where he worked for two years in the Army Corps of Engineers attached to the Army Security Agency located in the Pentagon.
In 1957, he began working for Carrother’s Construction Company in Paola, Kansas, where he stayed the next 42 years eventually becoming a partner. He enjoyed the years with Carrother’s and traveling to the construction projects around the country. Some of his long-time friends were the construction superintendents overseeing the projects.
In 1983, Ken married Sylvia Paterson and the couple moved to Lane, Kansas, where he lived out his life affectionately guiding his children through life’s challenges and the formation of their own families, traveling when he had the opportunity, following MU sports on TV, and being an example of a Godly man.
Private family burial at Crescent Hill Cemetery, Adrian, Missouri.
Survivors include wife Sylvia and her 5 children: Glenn, Bryon, Sean (Corinne), Andrew, Sarah (Jim); his daughter from his first marriage, Linda Perkin; 9 grandchildren: Becky (Brad), Cindy (Jared), Geoff, Alice, Anna (Patrick), William, Derick (Laura), Kristy (Jeremy), Michael (Schyler), Jessica (Eric), Matthew (JoJo); and 11 great-grandchildren: Ashton, Alexis, Addison, Aubrey, Landon, Marlee, Kemper, Bentley, Briley, Leona, Leon, Jack. He was predeceased by his sister, Ruth Bullon, his brother, C.J. Cummins, and his son, Steve Cummins.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Crescent Hill Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 217, 43 E. Main St., Adrian, MO 64720 are suggested.
