Kenneth Anton Barnhardt

Kenneth Anton Barnhardt passed on October 25. He was born in Yucca, North Dakota, to John J. Barnhardt and Flora Lipp on August 8, 1936. He attended schools in Oliver County, North Dakota. He married Marilyn Staigle at St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Center, North Dakota in September, 1957.They spent two years on a farm that Ken’s father was leasing. They had much hope and had lots of relatives and friends nearby. After realizing that they could not survive on the income from farming, Ken took a job at a truck stop in Mandan, North Dakota.

Six months later, he no longer had a job due to the truck stop closure. A truck driver, who frequented the truck stop, told him that he knew the owner of a truck stop in Townsend, Montana, that needed help. Ken called the owner and he offered to pay for the trip to Montana if Ken was at all interested. So, in the middle of winter, with an older car and two small babies, Ken and Marilyn drove to Montana. The job entailed the night shift in which Ken would “pump gas and sling hash,” and Marilyn would bake pies for the restaurant. The owner paid their way back to North Dakota and for the return trip to Townsend. Those two wonderful people, John and Helen Bucy, became surrogate grandparents to their children. Due to the slow-down of truck transportation of merchandise and their age, the Bucys decided to retire and that truck stop also closed. Thus, Ken and Marilyn moved to Belgrade in 1963 and to Bozeman in 1964.

Many people have witnessed the presence of Ken in Bozeman and at Holy Rosary Catholic Church since that time. In 1972 Ken purchased Quality Roofing and Sheet Metal. He was looked upon by his employees more as a peer rather than a boss. In his kind and generous manner, he would loan his tools to his employees, help them move, get a load of wood, etc. Ken retired in 2006 and the business is now owned by his son, Kenneth Charles, (K.C.). K.C.’s son, Austin, will soon be taking over, which will make Quality Roofing and Sheet Metal a three generation Bozeman business. In 2022 the family celebrated the company’s 50th Anniversary.

As a veteran of the Korean Conflict, Ken was an active member of the American Legion Post 14,where he held several positions including Legion Commander. Two projects, of which Ken was especially proud, were his involvement in raising money to keep the American Legion baseball program alive at that time and the construction of the Legion Villa. This summer he received the American Legion Post 14's 50 Year Award for service and membership.

As a member of Holy Rosary Parish, Ken served as a eucharistic minister and as an acolyte. He was a 3rd and 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus and held several offices including the office of Grand Knight. In 1990 he received the Knight of the Year Award, and he maintained his membership for over 50 years. In the past he could be seen in the parish kitchen cooking breakfast on the 4th or 5th Sundays of the month or selling Tootsie Rolls for Special Olympics with his brother Knights.

Ken is survived by his wife Marilyn, his daughter, Karen A. Barnhardt, his son K.C.(Karen L.),three grandchildren, Jessica Anderson (Jeff), Erica Droge (Jeff) and Austin (Emily); and he has seven great-grandchildren: Kaylee, Tanner and Colin Anderson, Brooklynn and Kason Droge, and Brayden and Tori Barnhardt. He is survived by a sister, Helen Pfleger and a brother, Dennis (Vickie) as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his son Michael and daughter Pamela, his parents John and Flora, his brothers William and Robert, and his sisters Alice and Annette. He dearly loved his family and they will miss him very much.

Vigil: Nov. 5th - 5:00 p.m. at Dahl Funeral Chapel, followed by dinner for family and friends at Dry Hills Distillery, 106 Village Center Lane, Four Corners at 6:30 p.m.

Funeral Mass: Nov. 6th - 10:00 a.m., Holy Rosary Church 

Recitation of the Rosary prior to the service at 9:30 a.m.