Kenneth Ray Wardlow (August 9, 1931 - January 25, 2006)
By Lydia Prislovsky 

Early Life and Family 
Kenneth “Ken” Ray Wardlow (1931-2006) served during the Korean War in the United States Navy where he achieved the rank of Surveyor Petty Officer 3rd Class (SV3). Wardlow was born in the tiny town of Shamrock, Texas, located right of Route 66, in Wheeler County. He was welcomed into the world by his parents John Alfrord Wardlaw and Edith Emma May Wardlaw. Ken was the second youngest in the family; he had one older sister, Edith Jayce, and three younger siblings, Anita Ruth, Dixie June, and John Alford, Jr. By 1940, when Kenneth was eight years old, the family had moved to Donley County near McClean, Texas. By the time he entered high school, the family had moved again about an hour away to Amarillo, where he attended school and eventually joined the Navy. Wardlaw was married to Opal Elaine Knaggs in September of 1952. Together they had three sons, Stephen Wardlaw (born in 1958), Gregory (born in 1960), and Jeffrey (born in 1964). 

Texas A&M University and Military Service
Wardlow attended Texas A&M University (then called the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas) in 1954. Records, though very limited from this time period, show that he lived in married student housing in the College View Apartments with wife. Kenneth studied Civil Engineering, was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in 1958 when he was 26. Kenneth’s son Stephen was also a Texas A&M 1980 graduate, and his grandson Brandon Wardlaw is class of 2011. Unfortunately at this time, not much is about Mr. Wardlaw’s service in the Navy or his life and career after the military as records from this era are more difficult to access. 

Death and Burial 
Kenneth “Ken” Wardlaw died on January 25, 2006, at the age of 74. He was interred with military honors by the VFW Ceremonial Detail on January 30, 2006, at Houston National Cemetery. At the time of his passing, he was survived by his three sons and their loving families,  Stephen “Steve” Wardlaw and his wife, Ann, Gregory “Greg” Wardlaw and his wife, Cindi and Jeffery “Jeff” Wardlaw. He had four grandchildren, Byron, Stephanie, Brandon, and Bradley.  Also attending the funeral along with many relatives and friends, was his younger sister Dixie Martin and her husband, Roy and their youngest brother, John Wardlaw and his wife, Virginia.


1958 Portrait of Wardlaw for the Texas A&M University yearbook

KENNETH RAY WARDLAW

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KOREA

US NAVY,

SV3

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