Kenneth Parker 'Doc' Mains
Kenneth Parker “Doc” Mains, 90, a longtime Emlenton businessman and the husband of a United Methodist pastor, passed away Wednesday evening at his home.
Ken was born in Boyers on April 13, 1924. He was the son of the late Charles Klahr and Blanche Parker Mains.
Ken attended Whitehall Elementary School and graduated from Emlenton High School in 1941. As a young man he worked for the Quaker State Oil Refining Corp., then attended St. Bonaventure College.
For many years, Ken made a living racing on the area's dirt tracks many nights each week. In 1956, he qualified for Daytona but had to withdraw due to the death of his father-in-law.
He joined the U.S. Marine Corp in 1942, serving during World War II, and was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant in 1946.
Mr. Mains owned and operated a garage and machine shop in Bradford until 1956 when he returned to Emlenton and returned to his prior employer at the Quaker State Oil Refining Corp. Later Ken was employed by Mr. George Breen as the operations manager for the Sports Pal Canoe factory in Emlenton. Along with his business partner, John Smith, he operated J&K Enterprises on Main Street in Emlenton for many years. Mr. Mains also owned and operated the Emlenton Laundromat and Car Wash for many years.
He was an avid motorcycle enthusiast, starting with his first Indian and ending with his 1993 Harley Davidson which he reluctantly sold at the age of 84. Ken was a skilled airplane modeler throughout his life and was a founding member of the Hilltop Flyers Modeling Club.
Doc was a talented golfer and loved golfing with his wife and buddies at the Foxburg Country Club, which he joined in 1946. He was a 50-year member of the Bradford Lodge 749 F & AM and the Consistory Valley of New Castle. He was a longtime active member of the Emlenton United Methodist Ministry where he served on the board of trustees, the administrative council and the planning committee when the new church on Kerr Avenue was built. He was a member of the Emlenton Fire Department and was a faithful worker at the department's annual Summer Festival and Strawberry Festival, volunteering with his wife during this year's festival.
He is survived by his wife, Denise Goans Warfield Mains, who he married on May 2, 2004. Also surviving are his daughter, Melissa “Mitzi” Fitzgerald of Emlenton and her friend, B.J. Page; his sister, JoAnn Wilde of Flagstaff, Ariz.; his three stepchildren, Brandon Warfield, Mitchell Warfield and his wife, April, and Amanda Matassa and her husband, Travis, all of Emlenton; his three grandchildren, Matthew Slater and his wife, Candace, of Pittsburgh, Mark Slater of Seneca and Robert K. “Bobby” Sloan and his wife, Dawn, of East Brady; his five stepgrandchildren, Alexander and Sebastian Warfield of Sligo, and Thatcher and Cooper Matassa, and Jada Warfield, all of Emlenton; his three great-grandchildren, Dawson Sloan, Alexis Slater and Laython Slater; and his three step-great-grandchildren, Dakota, Jonathan and Rylee.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Wilma Sloan “Billie” Mains; his daughter, Patricia JoAnn “P.J.” Grimm; and his grandson, Brian E. Sloan.
Mains — The friends of Kenneth Parker “Doc” Mains, who passed away Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014, will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the Hile Funeral Home, 1204 Kerr Ave., Emlenton.A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home with the Rev. Kent O'Neil, pastor of the Emlenton United Methodist Church, officiating. Military honors will be accorded by the V.E.T.S. Honor Guard at the funeral home. Interment will follow in the Emlenton Cemetery.Memorial contributions may be made to the Emlenton Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 371, Emlenton, PA 16373.For additional information or to send a condolence, please visit www.hilefh.com.
