Kenneth Ashley

Kenneth "Ash" Ashley died November 6 in Fort Collins, Colorado four weeks before his 93rd birthday. Ash was born to Ray and Alice Ashley on December 10, 1920 in Oak Park, Illinois. He was preceded in death by his sister, Jean and his parents. Survivors include his wife, Ethel; children, Jan Brunk Ron of Whitefish, Montana, Dave Ashley Sandi of Helena Montana; two grandchildren, Laurie Dear Chad and Eric Ashley Olivia; and two great grandchildren, Jacob Ashley and Zoe Dear. Ash graduated from Colorado A & M in 1943 with a Degree in Forestry. He became engaged to Miss Ethel Rayner, a native of Fort Collins, before enlisting in the Marines. He was a WWII Veteran serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Western Pacific seeing action at Peleliu, Angaur and Okinawa as an artillery aerial observer. He was discharged with many military honors. Ash and Ethel were married on December 8, 1945 in Fort Collins. They began their married life in Walden and Gould, Colorado where they were both employed by the Michigan River Timber Company. In 1947 Ash began a career in the National Park Service as a Ranger in Yosemite where he was stationed until 1958. His career then took them to Mount Rainier NP, Yellowstone NP and Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia. He retired as Chief of Operations in the Rocky Mountain Regional Office overseeing ranger activities in Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier and numerous other Park Service areas. After the children were grown Ethel went back to college to earn a teaching Degree at Radford University and taught until Ash's retirement in 1980 when they moved back to Fort Collins. From a nursery planted in 1985 at their home on South County Road #7 Ash grew and supplied trees to Fort Collins City Parks, boulevards and residences. His volunteer activities included serving as a charter driver for the SAINT program. He was a Member and Chair of the Larimer County Parks Board and headed a group that produced The County Parks Master Plan. In 1990 he was appointed by the Fort Collins City Council to a three member Task Force charged with defining a vision for the future of the Cache la Poudre River. He was a member and secretary of the Colorado Forestry Association for many years. He volunteered as a Travel Counselor at The Colorado Welcome Center from the day it opened in 2000 until 2011. Perhaps his proudest achievement was being recognized as "An Outstanding Forest Steward" by the State of Virginia for his management of a Tree Farm the family established in 1969. He and Ethel were members of Timnath Presbyterian Church where he served as Elder and as Finance Committee Chairman. Ash and Ethel's marriage of 68 years was rich with family, friends and fun. To those who knew them well, they were referred to as one, "Ash and Ethel" or "Ethel and Ash". Memorial contributions may be made to Timnath Presbyterian Church or the Nature Conservancy in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive St., Fort Collins, CO, 80524. A Memorial Service will be held at Timnath Presbyterian Church, 4020 Main St., Timnath, on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Interment with military honors by the U.S. Marine Corps will follow at Grandview Cemetery at 2:30 p.m. To send online condolences to the family visit bohlenderfuneralchapel.com.