Preston Frank Kaess

Graveside Memorial Service: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2012, 12:00 p.m.
                                                      Place: Fairview Cemetery, Salida, Colorado 

Preston Frank Kaess, from Salida, Colo., died on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at the Arkansas Valley Regional Nursing Care Center in La Junta. He was 83. Preston was born on October 28, 1930 in Rocky Ford, Colo. to Cecil and Helen (Albright) Kaess. Preston lived in the Salida, Colo. area until 2011, when he moved to La Junta to be near his son.

Preston graduated from Salida High School in 1948 and was married on December 24, 1950 to Patricia Frayser in Salida. The Kaess family farmed in the Adobe Park area near Salida and operated a ranch on Ute Trail on Cameron Mountain, east of Salida.

Preston was known as pioneer and innovator for farming and ranching techniques. He installed the first gravity flow sprinkler irrigation system in the Upper Arkansas Valley and assisted others in the region to experiment with the new innovative irrigation technology. He supplemented the family income for many years as a blacksmith, sharpening plow shears and building and repairing farm equipment. Always an advocate for agriculture, Preston served 12 years on the Federal Land Bank Board of Directors in Pueblo.

The great-grandson of a German immigrant who had homesteaded in the Wet Mountain Valley, Preston had a great appreciation for the history of the Upper Arkansas Valley and loved to hunt, fish and arrowhead hunt in the region. In his later years, Preston and his wife Pat were involved with the Salida Historical Society and enjoyed researching the people of Salida and Chaffee County who helped to settle the area.

Preston served for many years as a 4-H leader in Chaffee County, leading trail rides into the mountains and assisting with 4-H projects. He enjoyed team roping and was a founding member of the Heart of the Rockies Rodeo Association. As his four children grew up, Preston was an avid supporter of their rodeo activities. He spent many hours at Little Britches, High School and College rodeos, cheering on their accomplishments.

After the sale of the farm and ranch in 1985, Preston was a working partner with his wife in their company, FreightWeight, an electronic scale company that installed and serviced truck scales throughout the U.S. After retiring for the second time 20 years later, Preston and Pat enjoyed traveling and spending the winters in Sun City West, Ariz.

Preston loved his children and his many nieces and nephews; serving as the extended families’ patriarch, giving them an appreciation for the great outdoors, for agriculture and the rural way of life; but most importantly, how to have fun in life.

Preston is survived by his children, Mary Ann Kaess, Salida; Dave (Almabeth) Kaess, La Junta; and Dee Dee (Bret) Trenary, Salida.

He is survived by 10 grandchildren, Wade Swift, Salida; Ryan Swift, Salida; Katie Swift, Colorado Springs; Levi (Annie) Kaess, Denver; Travis (Min) Kaess, Denver; Austin (Molly) Kaess, Denver; Tyler Kaess, Salida; Cory Kaess, Salida; Mercedes Trenary, Salida; and Jhett Trenary, Salida. He is survived by three great-grandchildren, Klarissa Swift, Canon City, James Preston Kaess, Denver and Kaleb Kaess, Salida. He is also survived by brother-in-laws Robert (Loretta) Frayser, Albuquerque, N.M; and Gilbert (Connie) Frayser, Sun City West, Ariz.; and sister-in-law Shirley Walters, Colo. Springs. He was also loved and will be missed by numerous nieces and nephews who spent endless summer days at the Kaess Ranch.

Preston was preceded in death by his wife, Patrica, parents Cecil and Helen Kaess, son Doug Kaess, and daughter-in-law Karen Kaess-Yunikar.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation or the Parkinson Research Foundation through Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home.

Peacock-Larsen Funeral Home & Arkansas Valley Crematory is in charge of La Junta arrangements.

A graveside memorial service for Preston Kaess will be held on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 12 p.m. at Fairview Cemetery in Salida, Colo. Memorial service arrangements are being handled by Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home in Salida.