Kenneth "Ken" Moore

Kenneth "Ken" Dale Moore, 69, of Redfield, SD and formerly of Ashton, SD, passed away Saturday, April 8, 2023, at Avantara Redfield. Due to another death in the family, the family has chosen to have a celebration of life for Ken around his favorite holiday, the 4 of July.
Hyke Funeral Home of Redfield has assisted Ken's family (www.hykefuneralhome.com).
Kenneth Dale Moore was born on December 2, 1953, to Neil and Bernice (Piotrowski) Moore of Bay City, MI. He was the second child born of six children to this union. Ken graduated from John Glenn High School in 1972.
He married Janet Johannes, who gave him two daughters, Kimberly and Kelly. They divorced and Ken traveled the United States.
One evening playing pool at a local bar in Redfield, a small group of women walked in. Estella Kukrall was among this group and would catch his eye, they would start their adventure of life together. They started traveling to Kansas, and Oklahoma, and finally settled in Colorado Springs, CO, where their two children Kenneth and Kristin were born.
Ken was a very skilled sheet metal fabricator and HAVC installer, the job he was most proud to work was at NORAD in the Cheyenne Mountains. Five years later, the family moved back to South Dakota, where they would lay down roots on Main Street, Ashton. Ken continued his career in sheet metal and added welding and backhoe operator to his list of talents. Some of the local businesses Ken worked for were Vince's, Beckler's Construction, and BRB.
Ken loved watching TV, making things out of metal, fishing, and telling jokes (and the taller the tale the better the story) all while sitting around a huge bonfire drinking beer with family and friends.
Ken's favorite holiday was the 4th of July which he enjoyed spending it with family shooting off fireworks, making huge sparkler bombs to blowing up pumpkins, tree stumps, and other random s!!!. His rocket wars with the neighbors down the street were legendary.
Ken and Estella divorced in 2016 but remained close.
Ken's health started to decline in 2020 and his family moved him into Heartland Apartments in Redfield which he called home until heart, vascular disease, and COVID hit.
Ken is survived by his children: Kelly Kortz, Bay City, MI, Kenneth "Kenny" Kukrall, Redfield, SD, and SSG Kristin (Dustin) Robertson-Kukrall, Corpus Christi, TX. He was gifted a bonus daughter: Melissa Orton, Sioux Falls, SD, with her two children Peyton and Byron.
He is also survived by his ex-wife Estella Moore, Redfield, SD; siblings: Leona (Thomas) Burnham, Cynthia (Gerard) Paveglio, Timothy (Ann) Moore, Randall (Alicia) Moore, and Beverly (Chris) Kruzel; grandsons: Christopher Krause, Anthony Szyperski, Jakob Kortz, and Jace Kortz; four great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews; all from the Bay City, MI area.
Ken was preceded in death by his parents, and his oldest daughter Kimberly. wishes were to be cremated where some of his ashes will be sprinkled over a lake near the family cabin in northern Michigan where he spent his summers growing up and on Pike's Peak in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.