William 'Bill' Earl Kahn

April 6, 1939 ~ January 27, 2014
January 30, 2014
William Earl Kahn was born to Elmer and Lena Smith Kahn on April 6, 1939, in Fairview, Oklahoma. He left us unexpectedly on January 27, 2014.

Little is known about his childhood. When he was four and a half years old his mother passed away on Thanksgiving Day. His school days were spent in Fairview, and that is also where he gave his heart to the Lord and then was baptized into the Church of God In Christ, Mennonite, on March 19, 1950, by Minister George Nichols.

Sometimes he worked in the woods with his dad. When he was about twelve years old, he and his sister, Iris, enjoyed building a little cabin in the canyon across the road from their house. His family moved to DeRidder, Louisiana, sometime during 1957. Bill found this state much too hot and muggy for his liking.

In 1961, Bill came to Idaho with his friend Aldo Classen. Aldo's Dad had called ahead to Walter Amoth's and this became their first place to board. That first summer here the Kootenai River was flooding and they spent three weeks working on the dikes.

Bonding quickly with North Idaho and its clear air made spicy with the scent of pines, Bill made it his permanent residence. Here he bonded with the people also. Through the years several families had the privilege of having him board in their homes; Walter and Susie Amoth, Lawrence and Rachel Unruh, Chet and Nettie Mae Unruh, Frank and Lovina Buerge, and David and Fern Dirks.

Shy and handsome, they enjoyed his songs and poems, his easy humor and shouts of laughter even if the joke was on him sometimes. At Christmas time he was generous with special gifts for the children of the household, making lasting impressions with special memories. He loved little children and usually found one to hold after church or at other gatherings. During his last days, Jared and Carrie's children were there to give him hugs, making his day.

When he settled into the work force, one of his first jobs was with General Feed and Grain in Bonners Ferry. His first trucking job was hauling pipe for Don Amoth. In 1967 Bill, bought his first truck, an International. Later he would own a Kenworth and then a Freightliner. These were log trucks, pressed into service for Ray Everhart, Bruce Leighty, and then Tom Foust with Bill at the wheel.

Logging was at its height in the North Idaho Panhandle in those years. It was hard work but satisfying, getting up long before dawn. When fire danger was high in summertime, it meant running the hoot owl shift, leaving for work in the wee hours of the morning to get his load while the dew was still on and the temperatures were cooler. It was early, but the pristine beauty of an Idaho dawn surely made up for some of it. And oh, what a view from the mountains!

"I Sing the mighty power of God who made the mountains toll…”

Winter driving on slick mountain trails was an entirely different story, but he was spared any serious accidents.

During those years, the cook, Aunt Rachel, says she'd be up at 2:30 to turn the lights on, fix breakfast, and get the lunch out the door with the first log truck driver in residence. The rooster would crow. She’d turn off the light and return to bed. For driver number two, it was the same routine a bit later. The lights would go on, breakfast served, lunch pail out the door with driver, the rooster would crow again, thinking this logger would make the sun rise. No such luck. The kitchen lights went out again. Still dark.

On Saturdays there was usually plenty of truck work to do in the shop. Bill was a good mechanic and did most of his own work. Sometimes he said that his truck talked to him. He'd ask her a question and the engine would groan out, "Noooo!''

Smaller engines than trucks occasionally appeared in his shop. For example, during the beginning years of Mountain View Christian School in Bonners Ferry, Bill unselfishly serviced at least one of the teacher's cars quarterly, picking it up and delivering it back. No labor charged.

Done with boarding, in 1980 he had the Seaman Brothers build him a house up on Baldy Road at the base of Baldy Mountain in a little clearing among tall evergreens.

He loved the spot.

Here he came to relax. He read a lot, especially studying the church writings.

Through all his years he stood firm on the beliefs of the Church that he claimed in his own youth. In mid-life he developed a hobby of searching out antique Bibles and adding special copies to his collection. But more than that, he read and studied the Word. He enjoyed singing and had a large collection of songbooks. Time was spent studying the music and getting groups together to sing before church Sunday evenings.

Some of the songs that were his favorites because of the inspiration in the words and in the music were "Oh, Could I Speak the Matchless Worth,” “Bringing Home Our Sheaves” and “I Sing the Mighty Power of God.” A favorite quartet song was "O My Redeemer.” Song leader was his title at the Mountain View Congregation in Bonners Ferry and more than once and he also served as custodian at the church.

Travel wasn't ever his main agenda. His family in the south wished he would come to visit more often. He spoke fondly of them and when they came to visit here, it was easy to tell he thought the world of them.

He was well known in several restaurants around town where he usually took his meals. He made friends there through the years whom he loved and related to as family. Others of his church family took him in also. John and Elizabeth Holdeman had him over every Saturday night for supper when their children were small. Willie and Darlene Peachey invited him on Thursday nights for suppers over these last years, and Bill could have a say in the menu that night.

Thirty-five years passed before he retired from logging in 2002. Poor health dogged him during retirement and he had some rough times, for often he was a very sick man.

His friends, Lyle Unruh and Willie Peachey, looked in on him to assist him so he could stay in his own home or visited him during his hospital stays. Recently he gave his last and personal testimony of his faith in God and his bond with the brotherhood he belonged to.

Shortly thereafter, on Monday, January 27, 2014, he passed away, leaving those of us who knew him with sadness. Yet good memories and thankfulness for the spice he added to our lives is a comfort and the confidence that he died at peace.

Those left to cherish his memory are two sisters Iris and husband Howard Smith, Westpoint, Mississippi, and Ann and husband Arlyn Holdeman, Leland, Mississippi; nieces and nephews Bruce Smith and wife Twyla, Clarksdale, Mississippi; Sherry and husband Randy Unruh, Line Springs, Iowa, Gaylene and husband Clint Koehn, El Campo, Texas; Cindy and husband Marlin Jantz, Westpoint, Mississippi; Starla and husband Warren Schmidt, Clarksdale, Mississippi; Wynona Holdeman, Montezuma, Kansas; Forest and wife Kendra Holdeman, Leland, Kansas; Sandra and husband Linley Toews, Leland, Mississippi; and their children and grandchildren. First cousin Frances (deceased) and husband Gene Harms of Bonners Ferry.

Although many in the congregation touched his life, there would be counted as his closest friends Willie and Darlene Peachey, Lyle and Rosemary Unruh Clayton and Dorothy Unruh, Rachel Unruh, John and Elizabeth Holdeman and family, and Galen and Twyla Ensz, all of Bonners Ferry, Aldo Classen, Greeley, Colorado, and Rory and Cara Walker, presently serving in Zambia, Africa.

He was preceded in death by his mother, father and stepmother Susie Koehn Kahn, three aunts, two uncles and one nephew.

Services were held at the Mountain View Congregation in Bonners Ferry on February 1, 2014, with ministers Willis Dyck, Ben Nystrom, Shane Ensz, Glenn Ensz and David Isaac officiating. Interment was in the Mountain View Mennonite Cemetery.

Family and friends are invited to sign Bill’s book at www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Bonners Ferry Funeral Home.