Kenneth Kyle George Sr. Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Longtime Caney resident and veteran printing company owner Kenneth K. George, Sr., age 84, of Caney died Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at The Journey Home in Bartlesville, Okla., after a brief battle with cancer. Kenneth Kyle George was born Aug. 21, 1937, in Independence, Kan., to H.K. “Skeet” George and Ethel (Miller) George. His early childhood years were spent in Mound Valley and Coffeyville. In 1943, the George family moved to Caney, where the elder Georges purchased the Caney Daily Chronicle. The newspaper business was front and center to the George family, as Kenneth was himself a fourth-generation printer/publisher. Kenneth worked at the Chronicle during his childhood and teenage years while also attending Caney High School, graduating in 1955. He briefly attended the University of Kansas and later attended Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., where he graduated with a business degree in 1959 and was a member of the Southwestern football program. In 1959, Kenneth returned to his hometown and his parents’ newspaper business where the family invested in an emerging technology of that era called offset printing. That investment in offset printing technology became the seed for Kansas Offset Printing Company, or Kopco, Inc. On Dec. 2, 1960, he married Reba Jean Moreland at the First Baptist Church in Copan, Okla. In the early years of their marriage, Kenneth and Reba joined other members of the George family in building Kopco, Inc., from the ground level. Over the years, they developed Kopco, Inc., into one of the top offset printers in the midwestern and southwestern United States. Coupled with its own transportation and mailing divisions, Kopco, Inc., became one of the best-known names in the printing and mass circular distribution industry. At the time of Kenneth’s passing, he and Reba continued to own and operate Kopco, Inc., which celebrated its 61st year in operation in December 2021. Associated to Kenneth’s devotion to printing was also his love for the newspaper business. He was publisher of the Caney Chronicle from 1978 to 1983 and also established the Good News news-shopper. In the 1960s and 1970s, Kenneth invested in the formation of various newspapers in southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma. During his years in Caney, Kenneth was active in community affairs, serving on the Caney City Council and the USD 436 Board of Education. He also was a past officer of the Caney Chamber of Commerce and kept his hometown spirit firmly planted in the Caney Booster Club. He was a Sunday school teacher and elder at the First Christian Church of Caney. Through his love for sports, Kenneth was active in various athletic pursuits. He and Reba were active members of the Caney Tennis Association and helped revive the tennis courts at Wark Memorial Park for the association’s matches. So engrained was the sport of tennis to the Georges that they built their own tennis court at their Caney residence. He also was a close follower of Oklahoma Sooner football and Kansas Jayhawk basketball. He also followed the athletic pursuits of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, some of whom took, or have taken, their athletic careers to the collegiate level. Kenneth and Reba also invested time and energy in the Oklahoma racehorse industry. For several decades, they owned and operated a horse farm near Sallisaw, Okla., where their mares frequently competed on the horse racing circuit throughout Oklahoma. They sold their Sallisaw farm several years ago but still maintained a passion for horse racing from their Caney home in their elder years. Survivors include his wife Reba of the home; three children, Patty McReynolds and husband John of Odessa, Mo., Kenny George and wife Anne of Bartlesville, Okla., and Jane Dodson and husband Joel of Caney; six grandchildren, John McReynolds, Steven McReynolds, Lauren Dannar, Catie George, Jordan Dodson and Bailey Dodson; and nine great-grandchildren. Other survivors include two sisters, Joan Paine of Phoenix, Ariz., and Kathy Taylor of Caney. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, June Freisberg. Kenneth’s family will receive friends at the Cornerstone Church in Caney from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday, July 18. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., at the church; burial will be held at Sunnyside Cemetery in Caney. Services are under the direction of Carter Davis and the Davis Family Funeral Home – Dewey Chapel. Online condolences and remembrances may be shared at www.DavisFamilyFuneralHome.com.

Kenneth Kyle George Sr.

August 21, 1937 - July 13, 2022