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Kenneth Paul "K.P." Smith Jr.
Kenneth Paul “K.P.” Smith Jr., 59, died Tuesday, June 28, 2016.
Celebration of life services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Hillside Christian Church South Campus, 6901 S. Bell St., with Pastor Travis Bennett officiating. Arrangements are by Cox Funeral Home, 4180 Canyon Drive.
Kenny “K.P.” Smith was born Dec. 18, 1956, to Paul and Nancy Smith. He was a lifelong resident of Amarillo. He graduated from Tascosa High School in 1976, where he met his high school sweetheart, Donna Crow, whom he married on Nov. 11, 1978.
Kenny shared his love of the outdoors with his children and grandchildren. He had a passion for sharing his knowledge and skills with those he loved. He was the master of his lawn and “The Pacer” of baseball fields, work and life. He took fashion advice from no one, never met a pocket knife or flashlight he didn’t buy, and never went on vacation without bringing home a shirt...or ten. He was a lover of the ocean and the mountains where he spent his free time as a skilled scuba diver and enthusiastic RZR driver. He loved his family fiercely and sought out adventures without fear. Kenny lived a life without regrets and always seized the opportunity to get the most out of that life.
He was preceded in death by his father, Paul Smith, in 2011; and a niece, Deidra “DJ” Smith, in 2001.
Survivors include his wife, Donna Smith of Amarillo; a daughter, Sarah Wrotten and husband Tomas of Saginaw; a son, Kellen Smith and wife Tana of Justin; a brother, Ricky Smith and wife Jacquie of Amarillo; a niece, Lindsey of Lubbock; his mother, Nancy Smith of Amarillo; and he was proud Papa to Saylor Wrotten; Averey, Kysen and Ansen Smith.
The family suggests memorials be to a favorite charity.
Sign the online guest book at www.coxfuneralhomeamarillo.com.
Posted: July 1, 2016 - 12:00am
Amarillo Globe-News, July 1, 2016
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Bill Corpstein ((Melanie's Husband))
Train victims lived rich lives with love of family, outdoors
Amarillo Globe News
Posted: June 30, 2016 - 8:09pm
By JON MARK BEILUE
jon.beilue@amarillo.com
They had much in common, much more than working for BNSF Railway.
They were family men and long-time husbands. One was the doting father of three children, the other the active father of two and grandfather to four. They lost their own fathers five and three years ago.
For Cody Owens and Kenneth Paul “K.P.” Smith, free time meant being where there was not a roof. Owens was a cowboy, a horseman, who loved to hunt, fish, snow ski and water ski. Smith loved the oceans and mountains, and had a passion for scuba diving and driving off-road vehicles.
Big heart. Big laugh. Sought adventures without fear. Lived life without regrets.
Those descriptions fit Smith, 59, and Owens, 52, who were killed Tuesday in the head-on collision of two trains on the outskirts of Panhandle. A third crew member has not been officially declared dead. A fourth was injured when he jumped from one of the trains.
“There just wasn’t much ever wrong with Cody,” said Glen Spiller, Owens’ brother-in-law who had known him since he was a boy. “He was always trying to do right. Growing up, most kids have a rebellious age. If Cody did, it wasn’t very rebellious.”
“(Cody) was the most helpful guy to me,” Spiller said. “He proved his love by helping you and being there when you needed him.”
On occasion, wanting to help too much, he might bite off a bit more than he could chew.
“He tried so hard to help people, sometimes he’d overrun himself,” Spiller said. “He’d get in trouble trying to help too much.”
Smith couldn’t sit still, whether it was at work, at home, and most especially when son Kellen was playing baseball at Randall High School. Too nervous to sit, he would pace back and forth and watch that way.
“The family of Kenny (K.P.) Smith would like to express our appreciation for the prayers and support provided by our family, friends and the community. We thank you for respecting our privacy so that we may have the opportunity to mourn the loss of our husband, father, son, brother, Papa, uncle and friend,” the Smith family said in an emailed statement.
“While devastated by the sudden loss of Kenny, we intend to spend the upcoming days and weeks remembering the love he had for his family and a good adventure. K.P. took great pride in his 39 years of service with BNSF Railway. He will be missed deeply by those whose lives he touched.”
It was said within the Smith family that K.P. never met a pocket knife or flashlight he wouldn’t buy, and it was not really an official vacation unless he brought home a shirt or 10.
“K.P. was as good as gold, too,” Spiller said. “Will Rogers said if you want to know someone, don’t ask kinfolks, ask someone who works with him. I worked with K.P. for 34 years, and he was one of the sure-enough good conductors we had. He did about as well as anybody could do.
“I’ve seen him in every shape when you work with someone that long. I’ve seen him in good times and bad, and luckily, he was in real good times lately.”
Spiller, who’s worked for the railroad since 1974, played football at Oklahoma State. Spiller had season tickets, and with he and Owens free from railroad duties on weekends, they drove together to Stillwater, Okla., for home games.
“We had more than good fellowship during that time,” he said.
“We were a perfect fit. He was just like my right arm. I’m not blowing smoke, but he was not just a friend. He was more than that.”
Smith was a lifelong resident of Amarillo and graduated in 1976 from Tascosa High School, where he met his high school sweetheart and future wife, Donna Crow.
Owens spent his early years in Amarillo before his family moved to Harrah, Okla., when he was in high school.
He chose the rural atmosphere of Claude when he and his wife, Cindy, moved to the Amarillo area in 1994 after Owens got a job with the railroad.
His mother, Betty Owens, and a grandmother, Mildred Clendennen, lived in Goodnight.
Cheryl Hand, a sister, and brother-in-law Danny, who also worked for the railroad, lived in Claude.
“Family, the railroad life, the cowboy life, those were all important to him,” Spiller said. “Those things have always been Cody.”
These two men, who shared a love of family, the outdoors and of the railroad, will share the same date of their memorial services — this Saturday — four hours and 5½ miles apart.
“It’s an enormous loss for so many people who knew them,” Spiller said.
http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2016-06-30/victims-lived-rich-lives-love-family-outdoors