Col. Kenneth Kone USA, Ret.

Colonel (retired) Kenneth (“Ken”) Kone, 97, passed peacefully away in his Houston, Texas, residence on the 28th of May, 2022. He is survived by his children Kenneth M. Kone, Jr., Carol A. Kone (Mike Host), Dennis G. Kone, and Bruce C. Kone, MD (Daisy); grandchildren Natalie A. Kone Leland (Josh), Justine D. Kone (Chip), Lindsey J. Kone, David A. Kone, and Stephen G. Kone (Lyndsey); and great-grandchildren Sawyer G. Kone, Leanna B. Kone, and Aurelia A. Kone Leland.

Ken was born in 1924 in Texas, Maryland, one of eight children of Charles Littleton Kone, a carpenter, and his wife, Lulu Zink Kone. When Ken was seven, his father suddenly died, leaving his mother to raise the family. They moved to Towson, Maryland, and lived at the old Bosley Hotel on Shealy Avenue, which his mother managed. He sang in church choirs, the Glee Club, and performances with his brothers, was active in high school governance and performances, and played baseball, often teaming up with his brothers to defeat nearby teams. After graduating from Towson High School in 1943, he worked briefly as an airplane inspector but quickly enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served in the Pacific Campaign in World War II as a member of the 96th Infantry Division. He rose quickly through the ranks to become First Lieutenant. He led combat missions as a Unit Commander in the Philippines Campaign and the Battle of Okinawa against the Imperial Japanese Army.

After World War II, Ken returned to Baltimore County and married his sweetheart Helen Marie (“Heidi”). They had a son, Kenneth Jr., and then moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where their daughter Carol was born, while Ken served in the 245th Field Artillery Battalion. He left for combat with the 25th Infantry Division in the Korean War. Tragically his beloved wife suddenly died during that time. Several years later, he married Dorothy (“Dottie”) Feeser, who he impressed with his Charleston dance. She had a son Dennis from a previous marriage in 1956. The family “blended” on the military ship to Butzbach, Germany, where Ken served during the Cold War Era. In 1958, he and Dottie had a son Bruce in Frankfurt, Germany. Ken then attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth before moving to the Pentagon in the Adjutant General Corp. He earned his bachelor’s degree at night school from the University of Maryland and later his MBA from the University of Miami School of Business. He then returned to South Korea during the “Second Korean War.” His final assignment was to help lead the U.S. Army Finance and Defense Information Schools at Fort Benjamin Harrison.

After 28 years of service, Ken retired as a full Colonel in 1970. He had earned multiple military honors, including the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal with third Oak-Leaf Cluster, the National Defense Service Medal with Oak-Leaf Cluster, the Korean Service Medal, and the Philippines Liberation Ribbon. But he was incredibly proud of his Combat Infantryman Badge with four overseas bars.

After he retired from the Army, Ken embarked on another 27-year career as a Business Manager and eventually Vice-President of Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He shepherded campus, personnel, and student growth, added premiere academic, cultural, and athletic facilities, and spearheaded the development of the Pine Crest School Boca Raton campus.

Ken and Dottie were very involved in community charities and the Lutheran Church but found their passion in orchids and travel. Shortly after their move to Fort Lauderdale, they happened to be driving past a nursery that was having an orchid sale. They stopped, looked, and bought. From those few orchid purchases, their collection grew to thousands of plants, filling their screened patio with a profusion of colorful blooms. “We originally intended to have a pool, but it got out of hand,” Ken recounted. They both earned accreditation from the American Orchid Society to judge orchid shows. Ken twice served as president of the Fort Lauderdale Orchid Society and frequently served as Chairman of the Society’s annual orchid shows. He was the Show Chairman of the 1984 World Orchid Conference and co-Chaired the 2007 World Orchid Conference. He became particularly adept at making new hybrid crosses, often naming them after a family member. One of his orchid crosses, suitably called “Ken Kone,” earned the Roy T. Fukumura Award as a “best in show” from the American Orchid Studies. Dottie and Ken traveled worldwide, often to see exotic orchids but also to vacation in Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Russia, Thailand, New Zealand, South America, Alaska, and many other destinations.

As Dottie became ill in 2003, Dottie and Ken moved to The Woodlands, Texas, to be closer to Daisy and Bruce, a physician, and the Texas Medical Center. After 49 years of marriage, Dottie died peacefully in Houston in 2005. After her death, Ken followed Bruce and Daisy to Gainesville, Florida, where Ken was active in the Gainesville Orchid Society and made many great friends. In 2014, Ken moved back to Houston because of declining health, where Bruce and Daisy had relocated. He lived there until his death.

Ken is remembered as a brave soldier, military and civilian leader who overcame tragedies to lead an extraordinary life full of love for his family, friends, and country. When Dennis would say, “Thank you for your service” on Veteran’s Day each year, Ken would say, “No, thank you for yours.” He was grateful for and keenly aware of his family’s sacrifices to support his distinguished military service. And they are incredibly proud of him and thankful for his love.

The Kone family thanks Ken’s caregivers at Belmont Village-West University Place and Accent Care, his cardiologist Oscar Rosales, MD, and his geriatrician Maureen Beck, ARNP, for their excellent care.

The funeral service is to be conducted at nine o’clock in the morning on Friday, the 14th of October, in the Old Post Chapel of Fort Myer Army Base in Arlington, Virginia.

The interment with full military honor will follow at Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be interred with Dottie.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude, that memorial contributions in Ken’s name be directed to the Wounded Warriors Project, Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8516, the Gainesville (Florida) Orchid Society, PO Box 5927 Gainesville, FL 32627-5927, or a charity of your choice.

Please view Col. Kone’s online memorial tribute page at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with his family.