Lawrence Kuykendall

Lawrence Mull Kuykendall, 95, of Twin Falls, Idaho, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009, peacefully at the Jerome Hospice House in Jerome, Idaho. Lawrence was born March 11, 1914, in Anthony, Kan., the son and fourth child of six born to Matthew Oscar and Minnie Elizabeth Mull Kuykendall. He moved with his family in 1919 from Kansas to Idaho. He graduated from Twin Falls High School in 1932, where he lettered in track, basketball and football and played the French horn in the symphony band. He continued playing the French horn for many years in the Twin Falls Municipal Band. He started work at Rogers Bros Seed Company right out of high school and worked there until his retirement in 1982. He married Violet Becker on July 14, 1951, and to this union were born two daughters, Judy and Penelope. Violet and Lawrence were later divorced. In his spare time, Lawrence bowled on a bowling league but his real passion was gardening. He had the consummate green thumb and shared his knowledge of cross pollination and plants with many different people. He would share different varieties of plants and once, some green beans that he shared with some family members grew and all won blue ribbons at the fair. He was very proud of that. He loved growing various flowers, such as tulips, snapdragons and allums and was especially fond of growing tomatoes. Lawrence was a man who shared his zest for life with everyone, had a good sense of humor and was very witty. Surviving Lawrence are his two daughters, Judy (Dave) Sommer of Twin Falls and Penelope (Mike) Miller of Mountain Home. He also had a stepdaughter, Patricia Kriegh (Dave) Butikoffer. Also surviving are his five grandchildren, Bryan Jon Sommer (Kate) of Jacksonville, Fla., Jenny Louise (Jaime) Noriega of Twin Falls, Tuesday Dawn (Michael) Dyer, Kris (Lauren) Miller and Andrew (Heidi) Miller, all of Boise; 12 great-grandchildren; a niece, Helen Terrell of Twin Falls; and nephew, Larry D. Kuykendall of Boise. His parents; two brothers; three sisters; and stepson, Robert L Kriegh preceded him in death. The funeral for Lawrence will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, at Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home, 2551 Kimberly Road in Twin Falls, with Pastor Jim Sommer officiating. Visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, at the funeral home. Private Inurnment will follow at a later time.