Ken went to be with his Lord, peacefully at his Lakeview home on Monday, October 19, 2020. He was born at home on a small farm in South Eastern Oklahoma to Otis and Melvina (Turner) Capps. After seven years of drought – in 1940, their family made the hard choice to move to Bly, Oregon to work for Weyerhauser Company. They traveled in a pickup truck with their bare essentials, three children, mom and dad, and a driver. To their surprise, there were no houses to rent. His father bought a big tent to live in and built a homemade refrigerator system. They moved to “Camp 6” in 1944 and lived in a 12X20 foot cabin until moving to Lakeview. Ken talked about the snow and cold winters while growing up in Bly and Lakeview.
His first job was shining shoes in front of the Lakeview Hotel. Later, he mowed lawns to buy a used bike and then had a paper route, saving to buy a new “Schwinn” bike. While attending school, he worked at two of the 15 local gas stations. In 1951, he went to work for the US Forest Service on a fire crew, stationed at McDonald’s Camp. There was only one fire that summer so they spent the summer piling brush and doing project work.
He married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Mills, and graduated from Lakeview High School in 1954. Ken and Shirley were married just short of 50 years before Shirley passed away.
Ken worked for Lakeview Manufacturing until it closed in 1963 - then did odd jobs until going to work for Fremont Sawmill in 1966 – working many areas of the lumber industry until retiring in 1998, after 32 years.
He married Lou (Samples) Hamilton on June 18th, 2005; they were married until the time of his death. Lou’s family quickly became his family too.
Ken enjoyed time with family, hunting, fishing, golfing, and gardening. His last deer hunt was with his son-in-law Dave. Ken was so excited to camp and fill his deer tag in 2017. He was a member of the Open Bible Church for 60+ years and was involved in every aspect of the church. Ken was a kind and gentle man and will be missed by everyone that knew him.
He was preceded in death by: parents; sister – Exie Taylor; brother – Bryants Capps; wife – Shirley Capps and an infant son.
Survivors include: wife - Lou Capps; Daughters and sons-in-law: Sheree and Dusty Willis of Estacada, OR and Kathy and Dave Knowles of Lakeview, OR. Step-daughter and son-in-law: Kathy and Dave Crumrine of Lakeview, OR; Step-sons and daughters-in-law: Greg and Joeie Hamilton of Klamath Falls, OR, and Tony and Liza Hamilton of Lakeview, OR; 11 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
A Funeral Service was held on Saturday, October 24, at 10:00 A.M. at the First Baptist Church in Lakeview Oregon, with a committal at Sunset Park Cemetery. Memorial contributions can be made in Ken’s memory to the Lakeview High School Clay Target League, checks payable to the Lakeview High School Attn: LSHCTL, 906 So. 3rd Street, Lakeview, OR 97630.
Desert Rose Funeral Chapel is overseeing the arrangements. Condolences may be expresses or the guest book signed online at www.desertrosefuneralchapel.com
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