Kenneth Edmund Hertel
June 9, 1942 ~ June 18, 2024
Kenneth “Ken” E. Hertel, 82, died Tuesday, June 18, 2024. Kenneth was born in Dodge City, KS on June 9, 1942, to Edmund and Florence Hertel. He had three younger siblings, Jerry, Wayne and Lynette. He was raised in Ness City, KS, attended Sacred Heart Grade School and Ness City High School. After graduation he moved to Hays, KS and went to Ft. Hays State University where he worked at Bike’s Burger Bar and developed his love for the restaurant business. He met the love of his life, Carol Ann Moore and they were married on February 6, 1965, in Hays, KS. From there they moved to Kearney, NE and then Beloit, KS where Ken was operations manager over several restaurants. After that, they moved to Ottawa, KS where their son, Troy was born. From Ottawa the family moved to Bellevue, NE where they welcomed the birth of their daughter, Cary.
Ken and Carol moved a lot in the first ten years of their marriage and everywhere they went was home. Ken had many jobs in management, supervision and operations management but his dream was to open his own restaurant. This dream came true in Council Bluffs, IA where he opened the first Barn’rds Restaurant. After several years, he had the opportunity to come to Wichita, KS where he opened Barn’rds on Woodlawn in December of 1983. In September of 2020, Barn’rds was moved to the west side of town at 37th St. and Maize Rd, where they continue to serve the best roast beef in town.
Ken has a wonderful love for his children, five grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. Ken was a devout Catholic and belonged to St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church.
Ken was preceded in death by his parents, Ed and Florence Hertel; parents-in-law, Vernon and Anna Moore; son-in-law, Matt Rogers; and many aunts, uncles and cousins. He is survived by his wife of the home, Carol; son, Troy of Wichita; daughter, Cary Rogers of Lawrence, KS; grandchildren, Natalie (Jordan) Bartz of Wichita, Breanne (Tyler) Smith of Grandview, MO, Amanda (Lucas) Rogers of Grandview, MO, Megan Hertel of Wichita, Brett Rogers of Seneca, KS; great-granddaughter, Emilia Bartz; siblings, Jerry (Dixie) Hertel, Wayne (Lorraine) Hertel, Lynette (Dennis) Gibson; many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Rosary will be at 10:00 am; Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 am, both Monday, June 24, 2024, at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. A memorial has been established with: St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Building Fund, 3642 North Ridge Road, Wichita, KS 67205.
Services in care of Downing & Lahey Mortuary - West Chapel.
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Ken was one of my oldest dearest friends. We worked together opening Bikes restaurants. He was my number one man. Those were the good old days. I will miss him dearly and I’m thankful for the memories and years of friendship. May your soul rest in peace. Your friend always Bill
Im going to miss my best friend. May these trees grow to be strong just like he did.
Oh the many memories of Barnrds and the family Hertel. Thank you for all of those special times of personal sharing. The Keefers
I am heartbroken. What an incredible man. He had a way of making people feel welcome, loved & treasured . When I was a single lonely woman in Wichita he always made me feel so wonderful. I would drive thru just to get french fries to see if Ken was there. When I moved back to Wichita years later with a husband, Rob was feeling like a stranger in town. I said Let’s drive thru Barn’rds. Sure enough, Ken was there…..and greeted us with open arms. After we left , Rob said “l think it’s going to be alright here.”
True story. Thank you Ken for your love and kindness. You will be so very missed
Susan Peters & Rob Snyder
Sending deepest sympathy on hearing of the loss of Ken. We were some of the first customers when Barn’rds opened in 1983 and Ken, Carol and Barn’rds are woven into the fabric of our family history of the past 40+ years. What a gift Ken has been to the Wichita community and never waivered in his commitment to quality and customer service. For me living outside Kansas, Barn’rds was always a “must have meal” any time I visited and there have been countless containers of vegetable soup that were frozen to take home for a later taste of Barn’rds- such comfort! What a great legacy Ken leaves us all and a solid foundation for 40 more years in west Wichita. Carol, Troy and Cary, we grieve with you and thank you for sharing Ken and your family with our family.
Lisa Hilts Benson
Daughter of the late Jim & Edla Hilts
Guthrie OK
Our thoughts & prayers are with you in your time of grief.
May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful
times together as you celebrate a life well lived.
I am still incredibly grateful that Ken hired me and always look back at my time at Barn’rds fondly. A servant life well lived with integrity who extended so much care to his customers, employees, and family. Well done and rest in peace.
Troy
John and I were at Barbards tonight for our 59 th anniversary. While walking past a table we saw your dad’s name on the table. We were shocked. Don’t know how we missed the obituary. We thought he was doing better. He’ll be missed by many we’re sure. Our thoughts are with your family.
The Dreiforts