Kenneth Baeth, 92

Our beloved father, Kenneth Baeth, 92, passed away on July 8, 2014, in Billings following a short illness.  

He was born to George and Myrtle Baeth in Malta on April 18, 1922, the seventh of 13 children. Before he was a year old the family moved to Warland, where his father ran a ferry across the Kootenai River.  Later the family moved to Libby where Ken spent most of his youth.

Following high school graduation, Ken, as did most of his school friends, went to work at J. Neils Lumber Company. At the same time he was helping his family build their new home on Mineral Avenue.   

After the outbreak of World War II, Ken entered the U.S. Army Air Force as a volunteer.   He served as a nose gunner on a B-24 bomber in the South Pacific. After flying 40 missions, he was honorably discharged and returned to Libby.

Ken married Katherine (Kitty) Read of Missoula in the fall of 1945. In time, three children were born to them:  Roger, Randy and Janet. Ken worked as a carpenter foreman/supervisor for St. Regis/Kootenai Construction for many years and later as maintenance supervisor at Libby schools for 20 more years. As a carpenter, he served as president of Local 2225. He was an active member of Christ Lutheran Church, singing in the choir, as well as serving as president of the congregation for three terms. He especially enjoyed serving on the building committee during construction of the new church. Ken was a charter member of both the Libby Volunteer Ambulance and Lincoln County Parks and Recreation Board. He also enjoyed making many useful items for his family and friends in his carpenter shop.

He is survived by Katherine, his wife of 68 years; sons Roger (May) of Missoula, and Randy (Dixie) of Federal Way, Wash.; daughter Janet (Clint) Westrope of Billings; numerous grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Ken is also survived by five sibling Mildred Whitehouse of Libby. Edith Toal of Mill Valley, Calif., Betty (Ardean) Aakhus of Effie, Minn., Richard Baeth of Libby, and Brad (Shirley) Baeth of Libby.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Libby Volunteer Ambulance or the Heritage Museum’s Shay locomotive project.  

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 19, at Christ Lutheran Church in Libby. Cremation has taken place. Arrangements are under the care of Schnackenberg & Nelson Funeral Home & Crematory. Online condolences and memories may be sent to the family by visiting www.schnackenbergfh.com.