Kenneth Rowan Presley, Sr. - Born in Mobile, AL March 17, 1943, died Sunday, August 14, 2022 in Mobile, AL. He was the first of 3 children born to Kennie and Gloria Presley. The family moved to Jacksonville, FL when Kenneth was 5 years old. He was always pulling pranks on his sister and had a love of cars. Growing up, he was known as a Pontiac fanatic. Years later, his passion turned to 55, 56 and 57 Chevys where he would purchase, rebuild and restore them. One of his most beloved projects was restoring a 1971 Pontiac GTO with his son Ken. He loved drag racing and watching his beloved Alabama Crimson Tide football and spending time with his rescued horse “Pinocchio”. Kenneth enlisted in the USAF at 17 years of age. His first duty station was Forbes AFB, KS where he served as a Fire Fighting Specialist. Kenneth’s foreign tours of duty included Morocco, Vietnam, Turkey and Spain. While in Turkey, he was promoted to SSGT. Kenneth continued getting advanced firefighting training and became a Fire Specialist Instructor while stationed at Craig AFB in Selma, AL. Upon closure of Craig AFB in 1977, the family returned to Mobile while he completed is 20 years of military service at Keesler AFB, in Biloxi, MS. As Kenneth completed additional Fire Specialist training, he made rank of TSGT prior to retiring on August 1,1980. Upon retirement, he tried numerous occupations and eventually went to work for the City of Mobile Animal Shelter. He always had a love for animals, especially dogs and horses. He became active in Paws and Claus during holidays and organized pet adoption events with various Veterinary clinics. He appeared on local TV stations every week with various pets who were available for adoption. After numerous health issues, he retired from the City of Mobile. He was a great family man who enjoyed his retirement. He was preceded in death by his parents, Kennie and Gloria June Presley; his siblings, Yvonne Presley Smith and Gary Lynn Presley; and granddaughter, Sara Cotsamire Presley. He is survived by Sandy Presley; children, Kenneth Rowan Presley, Jr (Cathy), Sonja J, Presley, and Sherri J. Presley-Dumas (Wayne); and the mother of his children, Brenda L. Presley. He was known as “Pappy” to his grandchildren, Natasha Holcomb (Glenn), Caitlin Presley Plante (Timmy), Kenneth Rowan Presley, III, Natalie F. Dumas and Jacob B. Dumas; great grandchildren, Taytum, Flynn, Killian and Harper Plante. Pallbearers are Amber Chavez, DVM, Mike Rehm, DVM, Sam Rehm, Frankie Yell, John Yell and Jack Huff.
In lieu of flowers, please make an online donation in memory of Kenneth R. Presley, Sr. directly to Tunnel to Towers Foundation t2t.org, or by mail: 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, New York 10306. The family would like to give thanks to the caring staff of "The Retreat" (Saad's Hospice) and Saad's Home Health.
March 17, 1943 – August 14, 2022
A visitation for Kenneth will be held Friday, August 19, 2022 from 11:00 AM until time of Funeral Mass at 12:00 PM held at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 6300 McKenna Drive, Mobile, Alabama 36608. Interment will immediately follow on the grounds of Mobile Memorial Gardens, 6110 Three Notch Road, Mobile, Alabama 36619.
