Kenneth G. Scrogham's Obituary
Kenneth Scrogham of North Fort Myers, Florida, passed away peacefully Monday, October 24, 2016 in his home. He was 81. Kenneth was born March 10, 1935 in Harrodsburg, Kentucky as the beloved first born son of Levi and Ovie Scrogham. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Betty Jean Jackson (“Jackie”, as he called her then), he graduated from Eastern Kentucky University under scholarship with a double major in Chemistry and Music. Though a gifted musician who played many instruments (clarinet, saxophone, piano, organ, voice), he chose to pursue the science path, earning a Masters degree in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. While there, he achieved the rank of “Who’s Who in America”. After graduating, Betty Jean and he immediately moved to “Rocket City, USA” (Huntsville, Alabama) where he applied his talent as a Research Chemist working on NASA projects. His projects included development of the Saturn booster rocket (launched for ALL Apollo missions) and development of insulation for Skylab (which once saved a mission from disaster, where he was later recognized and compensated for it). Migrating back to Kentucky for a few years to be close to aging parents, he later became President of a computing firm which processed bank documents. For the 1980s-1990s, he chose to return to the space industry as an IT Sr. Systems Analyst, where his science and acquired computer expertise were used in the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI-“Star Wars” project; critical to current-day nuclear defense). Over his lifetime, even his hobbies included critical thinking and puzzle solving. In the earlier years, he not only was an avid recorder and collector of music, but he built his own reel-to-reel component sound system with zebra wood cabinet from scratch and… could fix anything. He was a Bridge Master, a golfer and was on the company bowling team with Betty Jean. In the later years he was an avid collector of movies and loved to surf the internet. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother, Ronnie Lee Scrogham. Kenneth is survived by his former wife of 40+ years (and continued best friend and love of his life), Betty Jean Scrogham, and their children, Debye G. Devers of Warsaw, Kentucky and Donna J. Webb of Lexington, Kentucky. Immediate funeral services will be provided at the convenience of the family. Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home is serving the family. Online condolences and memories may be shared on his tribute page at www.fortmyersmemorial.com
What’s your fondest memory of Kenneth?
What’s a lesson you learned from Kenneth?
Share a story where Kenneth's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Kenneth you’ll never forget.
How did Kenneth make you smile?