Matheny, Kenneth Barton 1906

 Family Group Sheet

Name:   Kenneth Barton Matheny

Birth:  15 Oct 1960

Place:  Meeker County, Minnesota

Death:  14 Aug 1986

Place:  Hennepin County, Minnesota

Burial:  

Father:  Clifford Alton Matheny

Mother:  Rachel Alzora (Allie) Olmstead

Spouse:  Hazel G Matheny

Marriage:  15 Oct 1960

Place:  Hennepin County, Minnesota

Children:

Kenneth had no children.  Hazel had a daughter from a previous marriage, named Delores Pett.

Notes:

Kenneth served in the Army during World War II.  After the war he remained on the home place, taking care of his mother until her death in 1955.  The farm was then sold and Kenneth moved to Minneapolis, where he married Hazel, his cousin.  

As a small child, I was afraid of my Uncle Kenneth.  He was always unshaven and rough looking.  But the man had a kind heart.  He would take me by the hand when he went to the barn in the evening to milk the cows, and let me play with the barn cats, of which there were always a few.  Much to my mother's displeasure he gave me a kitten to take home.

He told the story of giving me the kitten.  He said there were two kittens - one long haired (soft kitty) and one short haired (hard kitty).  I took the 'hard kitty.'  When he asked me why I chose that one, he says I told him that everybody loved soft kitties, but nobody would love the hard kitty, so I wanted to be sure it was loved.

Ken and Hazel were favorites of mine both in my childhood and in adulthood.

-Vicki Matheny -