Kenneth W. Woolley

Kenneth/Ken/KW/Kenny/Woolley/Dad/Pop/Grandpa/ Great Grandpa, 94, passed out of this life quietly, Friday, July 22, 2022.

Kenneth was known for his big personality, devotion to his family, and strong work ethic.

He was born and raised in Springfield, MO.  He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 66 years, Ellen June Grundy Woolley; his parents, Earl A and Cornelia Hunt Woolley; Siblings:  Howard and Bernadine Woolley, Richard and Norma Woolley, Darrell and Martha Woolley, as well as numerous Sisters-in-law and Brothers-in-law.  He was the last of his generation!

Survivors are Kenneth and Ellen's three daughters and their spouses: Lynne and Robert Bailey, Georgia and Chris Douglas, and Katherine and Scott Corn; 15 Grandchildren,17 Great Grandchildren, and soon to be 1 Great, great Grandchild.

Kenneth was a Navy veteran of WWII.  He devoted 43+ years to Harry Cooper Supply Company, as an Outside Electrical Salesman, travelling through Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. After retirement from Harry Cooper Supply, and many, many thousands of miles.  He continued his passion for driving, working for the Remarketing Department with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, finally handing in his last set of keys, just a few days shy of his 90 ^th Birthday. BTW, all of those thousands and thousands – possibly a million+ – were accident-free!!!

Kenneth and Ellen continued their passion for travel, by taking trips all over the 48 states, with Lynne, Georgia, and Katherine, along with close family friends, as the girls were growing up. Those travels continued, as they visited, Georgia and Chris, with their family up and down both coasts, during Chris' Naval Career, Lynne and Bob, in TX, and Granddaughters and their spouses in Virginia, and Washington State, as well as other family members in CA.   They also travelled extensively to Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. One of their highlight trips was driving through Canada, to explore Alaska.

He and Ellen, also logged numerous water miles, and days and nights camping on Table Rock and Bull Shoals Lakes, with their daughters, sons-in-laws, grandchildren and friends. Kenneth pulled numerous water skiers for miles up and down Table Rock Lake.  He was known for his dedication and passion for pulling up to 5 and 6 water skiers, on slalom skis, at any one time, for multiple miles.

Another passion for Kenneth was purchasing wooded property, then thinning out the trees, to turn the properties into beautiful natural "parklands".  His real passion (along with a good friend) however, was to cut those downed trees into firewood, so he could build roaring fires so hot, the family would have to open the windows and doors in the house, in the dead of winter!  That passion earned him the nickname of "Chainsaw", which was emblazoned on his own US Navy coffee mug, as a souvenir of his Dependents Cruise, along with his oldest grandson, Travis, on the USS Kitty Hawk, from San Francisco to San Diego.

Graveside services for Kenneth, will be at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, 5234 W Division, Springfield, MO ,65802, at 11:00 am, Friday, July 29, 2022.  Services are through Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, Brentwood Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family have requested that donations be made to Shriner's Hospital, for Children.  Kenneth was a 32 Degree Free Mason, Springfield Shriners Abu Ben Adhem Temple, and drove with the Small Car Motor Unit for a number of years.