K.D. Kilpatrick
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Dale Kilpatrick, Sr., known as K.D. Kilpatrick (June 14, 1928–March 14, 2010), was a funeral home
owner in Ruston
, Louisiana
, who served as a Democratic
member of the Louisiana State Senate
for a single term from 1972 to 1976. He represented Union
, Lincoln
, and Jackson
parishes.
in Union Parish, Louisiana
, to Edgar Noel Kilpatrick and the former Effie Mae Hicks. Edgar Kilpatrick began a small funeral business in Farmerville in 1927; he also worked as a letter carrier. In 1935, the company opened another funeral home in Bernice
, also in Union Parish. On Thanksgiving Day 1944, E.N. Kilpatrick was felled by a stroke
and left paralyzed for the last decade of his life. K.D. and his younger brother, Tex R. Kilpatrick, thereafter worked with their mother in the family business. K.D. recalls that the stroke "left my father an invalid, although he was to live for ten more years. [Because of] his paralysis, I was forced to become a man overnight. It was during World War II
, and there were no adult men to help us. So, as a teenager, I joined my mother in rearing my sister and brother, and in keeping our business together."
in Ruston. He graduated from the Landig College of Mortuary Science
in Houston
, Texas
. He was the co-owner of Kilpatrick Funeral Homes, Inc., Central American Life Insurance Company, Inc., and Ashley Life Insurance Company, Inc., prior to his retirement in 2001. The four Kilpatrick funeral homes, in Farmerville, Monroe
, West Monroe
, and Ruston, are now operated by Tex Kilpatrick of Monroe, who holds a degree in chemistry
from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
and turned down a medical career to join his brother in the management of the funeral home. The Kilpatricks acquired the West Monroe outlet in the 1950s and the Monroe facility in 1977.
K.D. Kilpatrick exerted impact on the funeral industry regionally and nationally. He was a board member of the National Selected Morticians, a past president of the North Louisiana Funeral Directors Association and the Louisiana Funeral Directors Association, and a former member of the National Association of Funeral Directors.
He was named "Outstanding Young Man of the Year" by the Farmerville Jaycees. He was a former president of the Farmerville and the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
organizations. He was active in the Trinity United Methodist Church
of Ruston. He was a co-founder of Ducks Unlimited
in Lincoln Parish
. For more than thirty-five years, he was affiliated with the Ruston Kiwanis Club. He was also a member of the Masonic lodge
and the Shriners and served on the board of two banks and the Louisiana Tech Alumni Foundation.
Kilpatrick was elected to the state Senate in 1972, succeeding fellow Democrat Charles C. Barham
, an attorney
in Ruston and a son of former Lieutenant Governor
C.E. "Cap" Barham. Charles Barham reclaimed the seat in 1976, having won a heated runoff election against fellow Democrat Louise B. Johnson
, a businesswoman from Bernice. Charles Barham died in Shreveport
less than two months after the passing of Kilpatrick.
; four children, K.D. Kilpatrick, Jr., and wife Mitzie of Shreveport, Paula Kilpatrick Kirk and husband, Les, also of Shreveport, Richard Barham Kilpatrick of Farmerville, and Melanie Kilpatrick Jarrell Willets and husband David Willets of Tulsa
, Oklahoma
; a brother: Tex R. Kilpatrick and wife Carole of Monroe; a sister, Johnnie Nell "Sis" Gorton of West Monroe; thirteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Services for Kilpatrick were held on March 17, 2010, at Trinity United Methodist Church. Honorary pallbearers included current State Senator Neil Riser
, a mortician from Columbia
in Caldwell Parish
, former Senator Randy Ewing
of Quitman
in Jackson Parish, and Farmerville Mayor
Stein Baughman.
Mayor Baughman, a longtime Kilpatrick friend, said that the former senator was "a great friend to many people and he was so well respected in all areas with a cross-section of people. . . . He was the kind of guy that you didn't have to see him or talk to him , but you knew he was there. K.D. was a man's man and he's going to be missed by so many people who he had helped in so many ways that none of us even knew about."
Ryan Kilpatrick said that his grandfather "never missed an opportunity to teach his children and grandchildren a life lesson. He always wanted us to work hard and be our best. He had a passion for life and for people. Papaw treated everyone he met with respect and compassion, no matter who they were or where they were from. One of his favorite sayings was ‘leave it better than you found it.’ My grandfather did that in life. He left it better than he found it, and I’m better and we’re better because we found him.”
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
owner in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who served as a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
for a single term from 1972 to 1976. He represented Union
Union Parish, Louisiana
Union Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Farmerville....
, Lincoln
Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Lincoln Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Ruston. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382...
, and Jackson
Jackson Parish, Louisiana
Jackson Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Claiborne, Ouachita, and Union Parishes. In 2010, its population was 16,274. The parish seat is Jonesboro...
parishes.
Early years, education, family business
Kilpatrick was born in FarmervilleFarmerville, Louisiana
Farmerville is a town in and the parish seat of Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,808 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in Union Parish, Louisiana
Union Parish, Louisiana
Union Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Farmerville....
, to Edgar Noel Kilpatrick and the former Effie Mae Hicks. Edgar Kilpatrick began a small funeral business in Farmerville in 1927; he also worked as a letter carrier. In 1935, the company opened another funeral home in Bernice
Bernice, Louisiana
Bernice is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,809 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, also in Union Parish. On Thanksgiving Day 1944, E.N. Kilpatrick was felled by a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
and left paralyzed for the last decade of his life. K.D. and his younger brother, Tex R. Kilpatrick, thereafter worked with their mother in the family business. K.D. recalls that the stroke "left my father an invalid, although he was to live for ten more years. [Because of] his paralysis, I was forced to become a man overnight. It was during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and there were no adult men to help us. So, as a teenager, I joined my mother in rearing my sister and brother, and in keeping our business together."
Leader in the funeral industry
Kilpatrick graduated from Farmerville High School and attended Louisiana Tech UniversityLouisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston. He graduated from the Landig College of Mortuary Science
Mortuary science
Mortuary science is the study of dead bodies through mortuary work. The term is most often applied to a college curriculum in the United States that prepares a student for a career as a mortician or funeral director. Many also study embalming to supplement their mortuary science studies. Some...
in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He was the co-owner of Kilpatrick Funeral Homes, Inc., Central American Life Insurance Company, Inc., and Ashley Life Insurance Company, Inc., prior to his retirement in 2001. The four Kilpatrick funeral homes, in Farmerville, Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, and Ruston, are now operated by Tex Kilpatrick of Monroe, who holds a degree in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
and turned down a medical career to join his brother in the management of the funeral home. The Kilpatricks acquired the West Monroe outlet in the 1950s and the Monroe facility in 1977.
K.D. Kilpatrick exerted impact on the funeral industry regionally and nationally. He was a board member of the National Selected Morticians, a past president of the North Louisiana Funeral Directors Association and the Louisiana Funeral Directors Association, and a former member of the National Association of Funeral Directors.
He was named "Outstanding Young Man of the Year" by the Farmerville Jaycees. He was a former president of the Farmerville and the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
organizations. He was active in the Trinity United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
of Ruston. He was a co-founder of Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...
in Lincoln Parish
Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Lincoln Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Ruston. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382...
. For more than thirty-five years, he was affiliated with the Ruston Kiwanis Club. He was also a member of the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
and the Shriners and served on the board of two banks and the Louisiana Tech Alumni Foundation.
Kilpatrick was elected to the state Senate in 1972, succeeding fellow Democrat Charles C. Barham
Charles C. Barham
Charles Clem "Charlie" Barham was an attorney in private practice for thirty-nine years in Ruston, Louisiana, and a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 35, nonconsecutively, from 1964 to 1972 and 1976 to 1988.He was the older son of Lieutenant Governor C.E...
, an attorney
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
in Ruston and a son of former Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
C.E. "Cap" Barham. Charles Barham reclaimed the seat in 1976, having won a heated runoff election against fellow Democrat Louise B. Johnson
Louise B. Johnson
Louise Brazzel Johnson was a little-known insurance agent in Bernice in Union Parish who rocketed to state prominence when she upset the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives in the 1971 Democratic primary...
, a businesswoman from Bernice. Charles Barham died in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
less than two months after the passing of Kilpatrick.
Death and legacy
Kilpatrick's first wife was the former Mildred Sue Barmore (1930–2009), also known as Sue B. Cook of Shreveport. Her first husband was William Cook. Kilpatrick died March 14, 2010. He was survived by his second wife, the former Anne Burford of Ruston, formerly of MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
; four children, K.D. Kilpatrick, Jr., and wife Mitzie of Shreveport, Paula Kilpatrick Kirk and husband, Les, also of Shreveport, Richard Barham Kilpatrick of Farmerville, and Melanie Kilpatrick Jarrell Willets and husband David Willets of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
; a brother: Tex R. Kilpatrick and wife Carole of Monroe; a sister, Johnnie Nell "Sis" Gorton of West Monroe; thirteen grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Services for Kilpatrick were held on March 17, 2010, at Trinity United Methodist Church. Honorary pallbearers included current State Senator Neil Riser
Neil Riser
Hartwell Neil Riser, Jr., known as Neil Riser , is a funeral home owner in Columbia, the seat of Caldwell Parish in northeastern Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate. On January 14, 2008, Riser succeeded outgoing Democratic Senator Noble Ellington. Riser is the first...
, a mortician from Columbia
Columbia, Louisiana
Columbia is a town in and the parish seat of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbia is located at ....
in Caldwell Parish
Caldwell Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 10,560 people, 3,941 households, and 2,817 families residing in the parish. The population density was 20 people per square mile . There were 5,035 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
, former Senator Randy Ewing
Randy Ewing
Randy Lew Ewing is a Jackson Parish businessman who, as a Democrat, represented District 35 in the Louisiana State Senate from 1988 to 2000. He was the State Senate President in his last term from 1996 to 2000, which corresponded with the first term of Republican Governor Murphy J...
of Quitman
Quitman, Louisiana
Quitman is a village in Jackson Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 168. Quitman is south of Ruston on U.S. Highway 167, and north of Jonesboro, the parish seat of Jackson Parish...
in Jackson Parish, and Farmerville Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Stein Baughman.
Mayor Baughman, a longtime Kilpatrick friend, said that the former senator was "a great friend to many people and he was so well respected in all areas with a cross-section of people. . . . He was the kind of guy that you didn't have to see him or talk to him , but you knew he was there. K.D. was a man's man and he's going to be missed by so many people who he had helped in so many ways that none of us even knew about."
Ryan Kilpatrick said that his grandfather "never missed an opportunity to teach his children and grandchildren a life lesson. He always wanted us to work hard and be our best. He had a passion for life and for people. Papaw treated everyone he met with respect and compassion, no matter who they were or where they were from. One of his favorite sayings was ‘leave it better than you found it.’ My grandfather did that in life. He left it better than he found it, and I’m better and we’re better because we found him.”