Kenneth Kirkland

Kenneth Elbert Kirkland, Ken or Kenny to those who knew him, passed away on August 24, 2016. He was 67. He had lived in Odessa for almost forty years but died in Austin, where he had traveled for the birth of his first grandson. A severe infection took Ken from us far too soon.

Although Texan to the core, Ken was born in Abilene, Kansas on January 28, 1949, to parents Jesse Paul and Juanita Kirkland. Ken grew up in Amarillo but moved to Odessa when he was 16. When the family moved away from Odessa during his junior year of high school, Ken decided to stay. On his own at 17, he lived in a boarding house and worked at a meat market until graduating from Odessa High School in 1967.

Staying behind turned out to be a good decision because while at OHS, Ken met a very special lady, Ms. Donna Crider. Friends first, Ken and Donna started dating after high school. During this time Ken lived with friends and worked well servicing. He also cowboyed and rode bulls and saddle bronc, working ranches from West Texas to the Panhandle.

Ken and Donna married in 1970 and lived on the Shelton & Sons ranch in Ashtola, Texas, and later on the A.B. Connell in Penwell. Things got tough in 1971 when Ken fell ill and underwent open-heart surgery at age 22. From this point on, heart problems were a part of Ken’s life, but you’d never know it from the way he lived.

In 1973, Ken and Donna bought the Phillips 66 truck stop in Penwell, Texas. They ran the truck stop and enjoyed racing cars and drag boats, but also got into something new: trucking. They bought a truck, a trailer, and the load it was carrying, then drove across the country hauling their first load.

This began some of the best times of Ken’s life. Cross-country trucking in the early 1970s was a wild ride, and Saddle Tramp and Lady Tramp—Ken and Donna’s call signs on the CB radio—loved every minute of it. They saw the country from the cabs of their nice, fast trucks, until moving to Salinas, California to work together in the dispatch office of Alvarez Truck Brokers. The friends they made during this time were never far from Ken’s mind and heart.

After spending a few great years in California, Ken and Donna moved back to Odessa in 1979. It was at this time that Ken formed his own truck brokerage business, Kentrux, Inc. Occasionally still driving himself, Ken steadily built a bustling fleet of his own trucks. Kentrux hauled produce and equipment coast-to-coast, and later, when Kentrux West was formed in Monterey, California, hauled many loads for the Department of Defense and NASA.

After moving back to Odessa, Ken became an active member of the First United Pentecostal Church. He loved the Lord and was a true Christian, and he loved his church family. Over the years he proudly served as a Sunday school teacher, usher, and church board member.

In 1985, Donna and Ken welcomed their only son, Koby. Ken was a devoted and caring father, who spent time with his son and his friends and taught by example how to be a good man. Raising Koby was Ken’s proudest achievement and he was immensely proud of his son.

Ken was a fun man, always with a smile and a kind word. He treated everyone he met with respect and honesty. He tipped his hat, looked you in the eyes, and was a man of his word. Ken loved horses, working with cattle, fishing, and hunting. He loved anything with a motor, especially if it was fast. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and planes, he drove, rode, and flew them all, and worked on them too. He was an avid golfer, team roper, fan of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Longhorns, and could recite from memory nearly every line from Lonesome Dove. Ken’s love for cowboying never waned, and he helped his father-in-law, Jack Crider, work ranches in Pyote and Crane for the last 30 years.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Donna Kirkland of Odessa; son Koby Kirkland and wife Catherine of Austin; grandson Ben Kirkland of Austin; mother Juanita Kirkland of Phoenix, AZ; brothers Keith Kirkland and wife Beverly of Odessa; Kevin Kirkland and fiancé Rachelle of Dallas; Kelly Kirkland and wife Robin of Midland; sister Paula Lovato and husband Michael of Gilbert, AZ; and mother-in-law Mary Crider of Odessa.

He was preceded in death by his father J.P. Kirkland, brother Kirk Kirkland, and nephew Trey Kirkland.

Family visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2016, at Hubbard-Kelly funeral home.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Monday, August 29, 2016, at First United Pentecostal Church in Odessa with Rev. Terry Pugh officiating. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Odessa.

Services entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home of Odessa. The family wishes to thank the doctors and staff at Saint David’s Medical Center in Austin for taking outstanding care of Ken.

When asked for advice, Ken sometimes said, “You can’t go wrong going right.” He lived by that maxim and we will miss him always.