Kenneth Edward "Butch" Allred

Kenneth "Butch" Edward Allred, 80, U.S. Army retired, died Thursday, November 23, 2023, after a respiratory illness. A memorial service will be held at Downing and Lahey West Mortuary, 10515 West Maple Street, Wichita, Kansas, 67209 on Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 1:00 PM. A dinner will follow immediately after the service at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 3115, 4801 West Douglas Avenue.
Kenneth, or Butch as his family and childhood friends knew him, was born in Wichita on September 12, 1943. He grew up in Wichita, became an Eagle Scout, and graduated from Wichita High North.
After graduating from high school, he joined the Army and except for two brief stints as a "civilian", spent most of his career serving his country, here and abroad. His first stint after basic training was Kitzingen, Germany for nearly three years. After that first post, he wanted to be overseas whenever he could for the rest of his career. In 1967 he rejoined the Army after working in the aircraft industry and went to Vietnam where he served as an artilleryman with several units including in the Central Highlands and during the Tet Offensive. His other assignments included Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; South Korea; Fort Hood, Texas; Zweibruecken, Germany; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Honduras; Gelnhausen, Germany; El Salvador; and many other muddy field sites all over Germany. He retired as a master sergeant in 1990 after 26.5 years of service and returned to his hometown.
He then went to work for the facilities management division at Wichita State University. Upon his second retirement, he joined the VFW, becoming an active member of VFW Post 3115. He started as the Post Quartermaster and worked through the chairs until he became Post Commander in 2014. While he was commander, the post earned an All-American Community Service Award. He was also recognized as an All-American Post Commander, receiving the award at the VFW National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. He also served as District Commander and as the state inspector for Kansas for three years. He then served at the state level as Junior Vice and Senior Vice and became the State Commander in 2020. He also was the treasurer for Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Wichita.
He loved his dogs, reading, history, politics, University of Oklahoma football, Bob Dylan, and baseball. While he had played baseball as a kid, his true love of the sport came when watching his son play and then later, his three grandsons. He knew every statistic about his grandsons' games, and he followed their sporting careers closely.
He is survived by his wife of almost 55 years, Connie Allred of Wichita; daughter, Victoria of Washington, D.C.; son, Kenneth (Jennifer) of Papillion, Nebraska; and his grandsons, Kenny (Kierstyn) of Kansas City, Missouri; Jackson of Papillion; and Kaden of Papillion. He was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth Franklin and Monona "Boots" Allred of Wichita. Donations may be made to the VFW National Home for VFW Children's Home, 3573 S. Waverly Road, Eaton Rapids, MI 48827.