Kenneth Duane Carley

March 1, 1933-August 28, 2016
The Carley family mourns the passing of Kenneth Duane Carley of Hays, Kansas. Kenneth passed away Sunday morning, August 28th, 2016 at 4:02 am. He died of natural causes in Plains, Montana with his family at his bedside.
Kenneth was born on March 1, 1933 in Hays, Kansas to Leroy and Opal Carley. Kenneth is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dusty, son Kim Wayne of Atlanta, GA and daughter and son-in-law Robin & Michael Trull of Thompson Falls, MT. In addition he has one surviving sister and brother-in-law, JoNelle and Forest Graber and sister-in-law Sara Carley, all of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Kenneth had four grandchildren: Brad Williamson of Wichita, Kansas; Wendy Bruce of Whitefish, MT; Kimmy Leasure of San Diego, CA; Kiel Carley of Fort Worth, TX. Six great-grandchildren are Nicholas, Annalise, Nathan, Bryce, Katherine and Briggs.
Kenneth enlisted in the US Air Force in 1951 and retired in 1974 as a Master Sergeant. He specialized in aviation mechanics as a flight engineer with extensive travel world-wide. Two of his favorite aircraft were the B-36 bomber, C-123’s and the C-47 Gooney Bird. He served with distinction in Vietnam flying out of Da Nang Air Force Base to provide critical supply drops to troops on the ground across Southeast Asia.
Ken, Dusty and their two children were stationed in the Azores Islands, Denver, CO, Colorado Springs, CO, Tacoma, WA, Sacramento, CA, The Panama Canal and Topeka, KS before his retirement. Kenneth then attended Washburn University in Topeka, KS to receive his Associates Degree in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. He pursued a second career with the Department of Interior as a National Park law enforcement officer. He and Dusty particularly enjoyed their assignment in Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO where Dusty was employed as the remittance officer.
Ken loved to fish and enjoyed auto mechanics. He flew remote control airplanes for many years. He was actively involved in home improvement projects wherever they lived. Ken & Dusty had a summer home in Kimberling City, MO and a winter home in Corpus Christie, TX. They eventually made TX their permanent home, before moving to MT in July 2016.
Kenneth was blessed to have lived the longest of any Carley male in over 5 generations, passing at the age of nearly 83 [1/2]. His life and legacy are greatly respected, valued and admired by his family, and his friends. He will be very, very missed.