The Excelsior Standard, July 26, 2024

Kenneth Curtis Powers, 40, of Excelsior Springs passed away peacefully in his sleep July 16, 2024.

Born April 20, 1984, in Excelsior Springs to Wayne and Frances (née Love) Powers, he was the second of four children.

Kenneth was differently abled and was among the first Excelsior Springs School District students to attend the Rainbow Center for Communicative Disorders in Blue Springs. He loved going to his special school, making new friends and participating in a variety of activities, like throwing events in the Special Olympics.

Kenneth graduated in 2005 from the Rainbow Center. Communicating with Kenneth was not easy, but the family adapted to his special language. He loved his mother’s scratch-made cooking and had an excellent palate for good-tasting, quality foods. Butter was a perfect accompaniment to bread, but never margarine; it had a tendency to be disposed of, if provided. His favorite beverages were root beer and chocolate milk, which he called “milkshakes.”

Kenneth was an avid animal lover, both in real life and in movies and TV series. The Powers family had a veritable menagerie of birds, dogs and cats, so an animal was never far away. Some of his favorite creatures were alligators, crocodiles, dinosaurs (especially the character Little Foot from “The Land Before Time” film series), sharks and snakes. On several family trips to the zoo, Kenneth attempted to release his cherished alligator toy to the corresponding zoo exhibit, which created recovery challenges on a couple occasions.

Kenneth is survived by his parents, Wayne and Frances Powers, of Excelsior Springs; sister, Carmen Love-Powers, Cavalier, N.D.; sister and brother-in-law, Jacqueline and Stevie Daugherty, Mabelvale, Ark.; brother, Robert Powers, Excelsior Springs; and several aunts and cousins, and an uncle.

Friends were invited to call on the family at a visitation 9:30-10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 23, at Bross & Spidle Funeral Home in Excelsior Springs, followed by a Christian burial Mass at 11 at St. Ann Catholic Church and the interment at Hillcrest Cemetery in Excelsior Springs.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Rainbow Center in Blue Springs or an animal charity of the donor’s choice in memory of Kenneth Powers.

Arrangements: Bross & Spidle Funeral Home, Excelsior Springs.