Kenneth Carl Rownd

Kenneth Carl Rownd, 92, of La Crosse, passed away July 12, 2018. He was born Sept 30, 1925, to Charley and Amanda Rownd on the family farm near Liberty, Neb. On May 10, 1947, he married Mary Dexter and together they raised three children

In 1950, Ken went to work for the C.B.& Q Railroad. In 1969, he was promoted and transferred to La Crosse. During his eight years in that position he hired and trained more than 150 men as locomotive engineers. In 1977, he was transferred to Willmar, Minn., and then to Grand Forks, N. Dak. He retired from the Burlington Northern in 1982 and returned to his adopted hometown of La Crosse.

During his life, Ken was very active in many organizations including the Knights of Pythias, the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, the Shriners, Kiwanis Club and his church. For many years, he was a Shriner clown and drove their firetruck in area parades.

Ken possessed a native mechanical ability and was passionately fond of music, golf, large machinery and most of all, people

He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Mary; his son, Kenneth Rownd II; his daughters, Sandy (Phil) Williamson and Joni Sherin; seven grandchildren, Brooks, Geoff, Ginny, Jason, Jessica, Sarah and Josh, and seven great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 17th, at First Presbyterian Church, 233 West Ave. So., La Crosse. Pastor Larry Olson will officiate. Visitation will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Monday at Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services, 200 West Ave. So., La Crosse, and from 12:30 p.m. until the time of service on Tuesday at the church. Memorials are preferred to the Twin Cities Shriners Hospital. Online guest book is available at www.schumacher-kish.com.