Kenneth Lloyd Vance, 83, passed away Noverber 25 at KRMC in Kalispell after a long battle with COPD. Kenny was born June 22, 1931 in Dagmar, MT; the youngest of eight children of Julius and Tillie Vance. Kenny served in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1954-1956. He was awarded the Medal of Good Conduct and the National Defense Service Medal for his service.
Kenny's only place of employment lasted 44 years. He started work at the Daily Interlake delivering newspapers in 1945. After serving in the Army, he returned to the paper as a pressman where he continued working until his retirement in 1989.
He married May Coverdell on August 1, 1953. They had three children and celebrated 51 years of marriage before his lovely bride passed: exactly 10 years before he did on November 25, 2004. He is survived by their three children: Richard Vance and his wife Sylvia, Jerry Vance and his wife Mary, and Cindy Otten and her husband Bob. He has six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren with two more cooking! He is also survived by his sister, Lois Nyby, his brother-in-law, Don Coverdell, and numerous neices and nephews.
Kenny enjoyed many things. His favorite TV shows were The Price is Right and Gunsmoke. He loved watching the MT Grizzlies and Nascar racing. Dale Earnhart, Jr. was a favorite and he enjoyed sparring with his daughter and son-in-law on who would win the race each week. Fishing and camping were activities he loved to share with his children and grandchildren. One of his most prized posessions was his 1949 Harley Davidson motorcycle that he purchased in 1952.
A visitation will take place from 11 AM to Noon at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home. Graveside services will be held at Glacier Memorial Gardens in Kalispell on Tuesday December 2, 2014 at 1:00 PM Kenny will be greatly missed by his family and friends.