Karl Kenneth Kothe

Karl Kenneth Kothe was born in Independence, Iowa on August 25, 1934, and adopted by his loving parents, Clarence and Fern (Minnier) Kothe. He graduated from Hampton High School and attended University of Iowa. He enjoyed a life of travel and had many interests. He was a puppeteer and knew the famous puppeteers, the Bill Baird's. He worked off Broadway in New York as a lighting specialist, where he met many famous actors and actresses. He also managed cottages on Nantucket, again meeting many famous people. He kept up with their careers over the years and never forgot anyone. He was a very intelligent man who loved to play Jeopardy and wanted to get on the show. Those who knew him knew he would have done very well. He also loved genealogy and had shelves of books he had done on the Kothe/Minnier families. Those will be donated to the Genealogy Society of Iowa. In later years, he worked at FHP at Belmond before becoming the assistant librarian at Alexander, where he had worked for the last 15 years up until his death. He was a very witty man who loved a good joke. He loved cats and would go without a meal for himself just to feed a hungry cat. He had very little but still mana...[more]

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to send money to the Humane Society or any other organization that helped take care of animals. He found a tiny, just born kitten on his back step one very cold March day, brought it in and bottle fed it to keep it alive. He named it Leonard and only later found out it was a female. Leonard later made him well known because of a picture Ken took of Leonard sitting in the mailbox. It appeared in the Parade magazine and earned Ken $100.00. When Ragbrai came through Alexander five years ago, many stopped in to the library to see the famous cat. When Ken was in hospice, he was united with Leonard and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Ken enjoyed talking about his relatives and letting his friends know when he found out he was related to a famous person. Ken was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by many cousins and a host of loving friends. Many in Alexander 'adopted' Ken and saw to it he didn't go hungry or got a ride when he needed it. He will be missed. Burial take place in the Hampton Cemetery.