Obituaries » Howard A. Kivett
Howard A. Kivett
September 14, 1937 - August 13, 2016
Service Date: August 15, 2016
Funeral Home Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, August 18, 2016 at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. Steve Cole officiating. Family and friends will meet at the Church at 10:00 a.m. Thursday for a Visitation prior to the service. Burial will be in the Hope Cemetery near Arkansas City, Kansas at a later date.
Howard Kivett, 78, of Fort Scott, died Saturday, August 13, 2016 at the Medicalodge Nursing Home in Fort Scott, Kansas. He was born in Arkansas City, Kansas to Alvin A. and Erma Kivett. He was a graduate of Arkansas City High School and Arkansas City Junior College. He transferred to Oklahoma State University in the fall of 1957, completing a B.S. in Natural Science in January, 1959. The spring semester was spent in graduate school at Kansas University.
Howard began his teaching career at Wewoka, OK where he taught for two years. During the summers of 1960 and 1961 he attended National Science Foundation Summer Institutes at Wichita State and Albuquerque, N.M.
In October, 1961, Howard drove 3,000 miles to San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America, to teach at the American High School. His fiancée, Dorothy Louise McFarland, flew to San Salvador where they were married by the mayor of San Salvador on February 1, 1962. They were married again in the Union Church by Rev. Bruce McCullough on February 2, 1962, the recognized date.
Returning to the United States in the fall of 1962, they moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico where Howard completed a Master’s degree in Natural Science. He would later earn an Ed.S from Pittsburg State University.
In 1963, Howard accepted the position of chemistry instructor at Fort Scott Community College. He taught there 35 years.
In 1986 Howard was granted a Fulbright Teacher Exchange to Copeland High School, Wembly, England, for three months. He and Dorothy lived in Hayes, a suburb of London. While there, they traveled extensively in the UK on weekends.
Howard had been a member of the American Chemical Society since 1968. He served as Councilor for the MO-KAN-OK Section of the ACS from 1992-1999, attending national conventions. Howard was a national committee associate on the International Relations Committee of the ACS from 1994-1996. He also served on the Membership Activities Committee of the ACS in 1997.
After his retirement in 1998, Howard gardened, fished and traveled. The Morgan horses he and Dorothy had owned were his pride and joy. One Morgan filly received a first rating in her class at a show in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Howard was an active member of the First United Methodist Church where he sang in the Chancel Choir and served in various positions in the church. He was chairman of the Trustees when the narthex was built and the elevator installed.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, his daughter Christine (B. Dean Kerr) and his son Eric (Deborah). Also surviving is Jean Martin, sister, Gainesville, FL; four grandchildren: Michael Kerr, Olathe, KS; Rebekah, Andrew, and John Kivett, Wichita, KS. Several nieces and nephews survive. He will also be missed by his constant companion during his illness, Buster.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m., Thursday, August 18, 2016 at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. Steve Cole officiating. Family and friends will meet at the Church at 10:00 a.m. Thursday for a Visitation prior to the service. Burial will be in the Hope Cemetery near Arkansas City, Kansas at a later date. The Family suggests memorial contributions to either the First United Methodist Church or the Fort Scott Community College Endowed Scholarship Fund, and may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall St., P.O. Box 309, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.