Kenneth G. Filgenhour, 77

Kenneth G. Felgenhour, age 77, of Vonore, Tenn., passed away to heaven on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2022, due to complications from COVID.
In late October, Mom and Dad vacationed in Nevada to visit their son Corey. The three of them went up to the Great Basin and did some hiking. While up there, somewhere, all three of them caught COVID; Mom and Corey recovered quickly, and Dad did not. Dad passed into glory with Mom, Corey, and son Corb at his side while daughter Megan was on the phone with him.
Dad was an honorable man. He was faithful to his wife for 55 years. He was a hard worker who always provided for his family. He loved his kids and grandkids. He loved to laugh, loved to make us laugh, and loved to make adventures for us, with us, and for himself.
He proudly served his country in the Navy, stationed on the USS Graham County, and he was a public school teacher of audio visual technology for 30 years in the Chicago suburbs. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and specialist of education degrees from Eastern Illinois University. He was passionate about the outdoors and God’s creation, and notably, over the course of several summers, he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Dad was loved by so many people throughout his life, having many friends and family from Homer, Ill., his college friends, and friends from Woodstock, Ill., where Mom and Dad raised their children. Dad’s students affectionately called him “The Cosmic Foog,” a nickname that then followed him everywhere, and he loved it!
If there was a word better than the word, “hero,” that word would describe Dad. Friends always joked that his children thought he was Superman, and it’s true; we always saw him with an “S” on his chest. But most importantly, despite Dad’s own imperfections, Dad trusted his life to Jesus. He was learning how to study God’s word and was being transformed into the man he was supposed to be. Dad believed and trusted in the perfect Savior who died to rescue him from his sins, and now, Dad is present and perfected with Jesus in glory … no more pain.
Dad is survived by his loving wife, Malinda, and their three children: his son Corb (wife Carol) and their three children, Ari, Kiran, and Asher; his daughter Megan (husband Shane) and their son Paden; and his son Corey. He also leaves two brothers, Jerry (Karen) and Richard.
Thank you all for your love, concern, and all of your prayers. On behalf of mom and all of our family, we thank you so much for your friendship and care.
The funeral will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at Vonore Baptist Church, with Pastor Dustin George and the Rev. Tony Collins officiating. Family will receive friends from 2:30 to 4 p.m. that day at the church.
Arrangements by Biereley-Hale Funeral Home, Madisonville, Tenn.