04/06/2026
Kenneth Joseph Ehler
September 4, 1947 - December 29, 2025
Kenneth Joseph Ehler (78) from Wise Road Shepherd, passed December 29th, 2025.
Kenny was one of a kind. Where others struggle to see out of some box, for Kenny there was no box. It is not possible to capture the essence of his life, for his adventures were beyond imagination: He bought a tractor in Kansas and drove it back to Shepherd; bought a young bull elk in South Dekota, then raised it until it got dangerously stuck in rut.
He tore down his dad’s big pole barn to build four fishing ponds. One pond so large he got the oversized bulldozer stuck and had to rent a second one to get it out. He stocked the ponds with fish; all was well until the fish out grew keeping them fed.
When he returned from service in Korea, it was in the disco era, He was dynamite on the disco floor whether locally or out of state (Chicago).
After the service, Kenny worked at St. Louis Chemical and Dow Chemical until he left to continue his innovative farming. Farming on all levels has been his love, from his Salt River Produce on Wise Road, to operating the latest farm equipment for large farming corporations like the King Ranch in Texas and wheat farmers in Kansas. In Kansas you could tell it was Kenny driving the semi for the speeding semi would be engulfed in a cloud of dust.
Ken’s personal strength, work ethic, and pain tolerance, was a credit and a liability. Nothing seemed impossible for Kenny. He had more than nine lives and could personally fill the Guinness Book of Records with his adventures. His at-risk behavior caused broken bones, 3 back surgeries, neck, shoulder and ankle repair which left him in long term care the last eleven years of his life. In spite of being paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, he never gave up trying to farm. He had 23 bags of topsoil delivered to his nursing home. He planned on growing corn and vegetables in their small, raised beds. His room looked like a greenhouse which gave the staff fits.
Kenny was preceded in death by his parents Ralph and Nellie Ehler of Shepherd, and his sister Judy Grossman (St. Louis). Kenny survives siblings; Janet Oberlieson (Ohio), Elaine Denslow Strohmier. (Lake Isabella), and Kathy Bott (Mt. Pleasant), 6 children, and 8 grandchildren.
Folks that knew Ken, can attest to his playful loving, teasing nature. He enjoyed his six children, Mike Sting (Hope), Stacey Jo Staley (Coleman), Rebecca Hamilton (Lake Isabella), Brent Ehler (Clare), Matthew Ehler (Grand Rapids) and Zackery Ehler (Brant). Mike, Matthew, and Zackery were his buddies, they joined in Ken’s impossible adventures. “He loved to torment and tease us”, especially his nephews Jeff and Steve Fisher.
Matthew stated that, “Hard work was his religion, which he passed on to his children. He loved his kids, always looked out for us, and that is why I am honored to call him my Dad.”
All are welcome to the Celebration of Life Mass to be held April 11th at 11:00 A.M. at Shepherd’s St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church followed by a luncheon. For further information you may contact (281) 827-8911. Feel free to plant something for Kenny.
