Sheridan native Kenneth Chauncey Bird, 85, of Doraville, Ga., died Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006, at home after a long battle with cancer.

He was born Jan. 7, 1921, in Sheridan. As a youth, Mr. Bird was active in First Methodist Episcopal (now United Methodist) Church of Sheridan. A three-sport athlete, he attended Sheridan High School, where he was MVP for the football team and a 1938 All Wyoming Team football player.

Graduating in 1939, Mr. Bird was named Sheridan Rotary Club Best Citizen for his graduating class.

Mr. Bird played football for one year at the University of Wyoming, then transferred to Brigham Young University and played offensive tackle there for three years. He was named to both the All Conference and All American football teams.

While at BYU, he was also named to the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity, Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges in 1942, and was senior class president.

In 1962, among only six football players in BYU history, Mr. Bird was named to the top Eighteen All Time BYU athletes.

Though offered a pro-fessional football contract after graduation from BYU, he elected to join the Navy. The Navy trained him at both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in radar and electronics in preparation for service as a radar officer in World War II.

He served in the Pacific on the USS Lenawee and was part of the invasion of Iwo Jima. He viewed the original raising of the U.S. flag there.

In 1948, Mr. Bird married Nona Bess (Nonnie) Smith, his wife of 50 years. They lived in Cody, where he worked at the Bureau of Reclamation and was a member of First Methodist (now United Methodist) Church.

Mr. Bird was the first Sunday school superintendent and sang in the church choir. He also volunteered as an assistant Cub Scoutmaster and a sports referee.

While his family remained in Cody, in 1954 he traveled to Jordan to help design that country’s irrigation system.

After briefly living in Great Falls, Mont., in 1960 Mr. Bird and his family transferred to Doraville, a suburb of Atlanta, and he worked at the Federal Power Commission. He retired from the civil service in 1976.

A longtime community and church volunteer, Mr. Bird lived in Doraville for 46 years. He continued to play sports into his 70s and sang in various groups and choirs into his 80s.

He traveled to Cody and Sheridan every summer to visit family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife and two brothers, Forrest Bird and Dallas Atwood Bird, formerly of Sheridan.

Survivors include two sisters, Helen Pearce and Virginia McClintock, both of Sheridan; a brother, Hugh Bird of Sheridan; four daughters, Kay Bird, Vicki Bird Barbre, Nancy Bird Evans, and Janet Bird Quick; six grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The Sheridan Press - August 23, 2006