Obituary

On Oct. 19, Thomas Edward “Ed” Kendley returned the life he had borrowed from his Lord.

Born Jan. 27, 1917 in Butte, Mont., Ed’s early life was full of struggle. On his fourteenth birthday, he was told by his father that due to the severe economic times (Great Depression) his father could only feed one child and since Ed was the boy, he was on his own. Ed caught a freight train near the Milwaukee Railroad Depot in Missoula, and nearly froze to death as he rode the roof of a boxcar west. He landed in the Seattle area and found work on a dairy farm. He never graduated from high school. 

At age seventeen he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. It was 1934. Ed attributed the Marine Corps to saving his life as he finally had three meals a day and clothes to wear. He was selected to serve in China and was always proud of being a China Marine. After completing his Marine enlistment in 1938, Ed returned to his hometown of Butte. He worked as an underground miner, but the Depression was still in full force. Ed received a tip that there was work in Alaska and he was successful in finding work on the Alaskan Railroad as a communications lineman. When World War II broke out, he joined the U.S. Army and spent the duration of the war in Alaska. 

Fate allowed Ed to meet the love of his life in Alaska. He married Doris Lyons, a ranch girl from Two Dot, Mont. in 1945.  Ed and Doris were married 65 years, until Doris preceded him in death in 2010.

After the war, Ed and Doris worked at many endeavors. Doris insisted that he take advantage of the “GI Bill” and after much wrangling, he convinced Rocky Mountain College to allow him to attend their new campus. That eventually led to Ed attending the University of Wyoming and University of Montana Law School.

 The result was a Masters Degree in Education and a love of history. 

Ed became a high school teacher and later high school principal. He left education to help work on the development of the Minute Man missile for the Boeing Aircraft Company. 

Later he became a counselor for the newly founded Job Corps program. He worked as a civilian for the Air Force at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and finally as a Job Classifier for the Veterans Administration.

 In 1978 Ed and Doris returned to Montana where they “retired” by purchasing a cherry orchard on the South Shore of Flathead Lake. They added a Christmas tree farm and operated both for about twenty years. 

Ed never quit working. His life was one activity after another. 

He enjoyed splitting wood, growing a garden, maintaining his home and keeping busy. 

Ed was a true Good Samaritan. He was full of compassion for his fellow man and all of God’s creation. He would help anyone, anytime. He gave to many charities. He loved to read history and especially loved to study his Bible. 

Ed’s most important achievement was his contribution to his loving family. He transformed an early life of being without family, into decades of building relationships that held tight through the years. 

His family and many friends will cherish their fond memories of the time they had together.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents, wife Doris, his sister Ethel, half-sisters Dorothy and Helen and half-brother Bud. 

Ed is survived by his son Jack, (of Helena), his son Steven, and daughter-in-law Mary (of Polson), his grandchildren Haley Kendley (of Polson), Sam and granddaughter-in-law Chelsea (of Vancouver, Wash.) and his great grandson James (of Klamath Falls, Ore.)    

Memorial services for Ed were held on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the First Baptist Church in Polson. 

Memories and condolences may be sent to the family at The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory website. Arrangements are under the direction of The Lake Funeral Home and Crematory.