Kenneth A. Asher

Kenneth Asher, age 96, Clark, died in a Watertown care center late Tuesday, May 11, 2010. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 1PM in the St. Paul Lutheran Church at Clark with the Reverend Robin Schaunaman officiating. Dorothy Fuller will be the organist with congregational singing. The casketbearers will be his grandsons. Burial will follow in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark. There will be no visitation hours on Friday. You may call at the Church after 11AM on Saturday morning to pay your respects and sign the registry. There will be no reviewal. He was born in St. Paul, MN on December 29, 1913, the son of F.C. and Leila Asher. He spent the first seven hears of his life in California. In 1921 the family moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota and eventually to Wolsey, where he graduated from high school in 1932. After graduation, he attended what is now Northern State University for one year. In 1934, Ken went to work for Dakota Central Telephone Company working in various eastern South Dakota towns. In the 1940s, the rural telephone companies in South Dakota were consolidated and purchased by Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, which eventually evolved into U.S. West and Qwest. Ken served a total of 42 years in the telephone industry. On April 8, 1940, he was united in marriage to Laura Schultz. They lived in Clark where they raised three sons; Ken was the manager of the Clark Telephone office for 34 years until his retirement in 1976. After retirement, Ken and Laura spent their winters in Phoenix, Arizona. They enjoyed traveling, golf, fishing and spent many enjoyable years with close friend in Clark and at Desert Shadows in Phoenix. Ken was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Clark and the church at Desert Shadows where he enjoyed singing in the choir. He also played his banjo in a local dance band in Desert Shadows. Ken was active in the Izaac Walton League, serving on the governing board and was the state president in 1962. He was also past president of the Zeitlow Council, an affiliate of the Telephone Pioneers; the past president of the Clark Rotary Club, which he was a member of for some 57 years; and a member of the Clark Fired Department for 25 years. Ken lived a long and active life and will be greatly missed by his surviving family members, his friends and his old fishing, hunting and golfing buddies. He was preceded in death by his loving wife Laura who died in 2004, his brother Ralph and his sister Ruby. He is survived by his son Al of Rapid City; his children, Cody (Emily) and son Hank all of Pierre and Matt (Stephanie) and their sons, Jacob and Ethan all of Denver, CO; his son Don (Connie) and their children, Kelly (Chris) and Nick all of Denver, CO; his son, Jerry (Bonnie ) and their children, Josh, Steve and Ben all of Fargo, North Dakota. Arrangements are announced by the Furness Funeral Home in Clark where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com