BOONE, Iowa—Funeral arrangements have been set for 90 year old Kenneth McCabe of Boone, Iowa. Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather Kenneth Paul McCabe, age 90, of Boone, Iowa passed away peacefully at home on Friday, April 30, 2021. He was born in the small town of Madelia, MN, on November 9, 1930, the 7th of 16 children born to Osmond and Mary (Kreutzer) McCabe.
Prior to joining the Army in 1951, Ken worked at Hodapp Clothing Store in Madelia. In the U.S. Army, he trained as a cryptologist in the Signal Corps at Camp Gordon, Georgia and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. During the Korean War, he earned a Bronze Star and Korean Service Medal, along with many other medals and commendations while serving with the Korean Military Advisory Group.
After being discharged in 1953, he worked as regional supervisor for the Imperial Refineries Corporation. Ken married Patricia Louise Ott of Fayetteville, Ohio on May 16, 1959. Retiring after over 25 years of service, he started his own small engine sales and service business. He later worked for the Census Bureau and for the Gates Rubber Company in Boone, where he made many friends.
In 1967 he helped build and open the Boone Speedway racetrack. In the following years he liked attending the races in Boone and traveling across the state taking in other dirt track races. He enjoyed old cars, fishing and hunting (mushrooms and pheasants), watching football, NASCAR and granddaughters’ softball games, but especially baseball. Living a block away from a baseball field provided lots of great games and popcorn over the years.
He spent many years volunteering in several capacities at Sacred Heart, from the parish council to the buildings & grounds committee to bingo games. He also spent many years as a member of the American Legion in Madelia, MN and 38 years in Boone at Post No. 56, where he was also a past Commander. As a Legion member, he participated in many social activities such as steak fry dinners and bingo. He spent decades in the local Veteran’s color guard.
His real joys were having coffee with friends in the morning and swapping stories, then coming home to tinker with lawn mowers. He knew every Sven and Ole and Ole and Lena joke and loved to tell them. Especially if he knew you were Scandinavian.
He is survived by: Pat, his loving wife of 62 years; daughter, Marcie (John) Wood of Sparks, Nevada and son, Wayne (Teri) of Boone; grandchildren Nicole (McCabe) Wright and Alyssa McCabe of Boone, and Harvey and Marty Wood of Sparks, Nevada; great-grandchildren, Addison and Ashlyn Wright and Raegan Cole of Boone; siblings, Greg (Pat, deceased), Richard (Jan), Lawrence (Aida), Roy (Chris), Donald (Jan), Ellen (Ron) Chapman and Jeanette (Rick) Kouba; brother-in law Dick (Rose) Ott; and many, many nieces and nephews.
Ken is preceded in death by: his parents; siblings Myron (Mac; Avis), Carroll (Lefty; Addie), Joan Hennis (Lyle), Kathleen Carstensen (Norm), Clarence (Clancy; Dorothy), Ramon (Father Ray), Nona Whiteman (Whitey), and Marian Paul (Dick); and brother-in-law Floyd Ott (Eunice).
Mass of the Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, May 7, 2021 at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Boone. Visitation will be held one hour prior to mass. Inurnment will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Boone.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Schroeder-Reimers Memorial Chapel at Sixth and Marshall Streets in Boone. Online condolences may be left for Kenneth’s family at www.schroedermemorialchapel.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the American Legion, 1928 Boone St. in Boone, IA 50036.
Kenneth Paul McCabe, Boone, Iowa
Kenneth Paul McCabe, 90, Boone, Iowa
