Ned Kehrli, 90, passed away April 23, 2023.
Graveside Services with Military Rites will be held on Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 9:00 am at the Calvary Cemetery in Ryan. A Memorial Mass was held Saturday, April 29, 9 a.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Tulare, Calif.
He was born Feb. 14, 1933 on the family farm, in Ryan, to William and Ida Dalen Kehrli. Ned was christened Bernard Edward Kehrli in St. John’s Catholic Church in Ryan. The oldest of four boys, he attended the Catholic School at St. John’s for his education. Ned loved playing baseball and played on Ryan’s town team. His dream was to be a major league pitcher, and he signed with the farm team for the St. Louis Browns. However, his dream was cut short when he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War.
Returning home from the war, Ned decided to use the GI Bill to attend the University of lowa where he became a staunch, and forever, Hawkeye. After graduating with both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Iowa, in 1962 Ned married Arlene Berns. They moved to Tulare, Calif., where Ned had been offered a teaching position in Biology. He became the Director of State and Federal Projects and later Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum while working on his doctorate degree, and then Superintendent of Tulare Joint Union High School District, holding that position for 18 years.
Ned leaves behind his second wife Carolyn, one brother James of Valencia, Calif., two children, Karen Mitchell (Randy Mitchell) of Akron, Ohio and Steve Kehrli (Pablo Patino) of Washington, D.C., along with a stepdaughter Carolyn Michele Campbell (Hillary Bennett) of Graniteville, S.C. He also leaves behind five grandchildren along with one great-granddaughter. He will be missed by his lifelong friend Walt McNamara of Cedar Rapids, and his two pups and sleep buddies, Bosco and Gracie.
