Kendall R. Stockholm, PhD

Kendall R. Stockholm, PhD (July 18, 1939 – March 30, 2024), former State Trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety, and member of the US Marine Corps Reserves, was a 1957 graduate of French High School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Lamar State University and later obtained his Masters’ and PhD from Sam Houston University in Huntsville, Texas.

He was preceded in death by a daughter, older brother, father, and mother. He leaves behind his wife of fifty-nine years, son, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sister, brother, cousins, nephews, and nieces.

Ken moved his small family to Fairbanks, Alaska in the late 1960s where he quickly found himself at home with the many Texans who preceded him to the great Alaskan wilderness. Following in the adventurous footsteps of his many pioneering ancestors who settled Southeast Texas, he homesteaded 160 acres north of Fairbanks, obtained his pilot’s license, became a bush pilot, flying mostly float planes, outfitted fishermen in the interior of Alaska, and eventually became owner, operator of the 5-star, fly-out fishing lodge known as the “Wood River Lodge” in the Wood River, Tik-Chik Lakes area of southwestern Alaska. In 1974, Ken began teaching at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where he was very well-respected by co-workers and much-loved as an energetic and dedicated professor who genuinely cared about the well-being and education of all his students. After twenty plus years in Alaska and the death of his daughter, Dr. Stockholm retired from his position as Head of the Criminal Justice Department (a four-year degree program, which he founded at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks), and returned with his wife to his ancestral roots in his beloved Southeast Texas.

Dr. Stockholm’s arrangements were handled through Broussard’s Crematorium under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont. At Ken’s request, there will be no memorial service, only a family graveside service in Henrietta, Texas. A scholarship for criminal justice students is planned in Dr. Stockholm’s name at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks at a later date. Those wishing to make memorial contributions are encouraged to make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association, , 6055 South Loop East, Houston, Texas 77087.

Before beginning his adventure in Alaska, Kendall spent his early years in Beaumont, learning of the legacy left by his ancestors who were pioneers, adventurers, and inventors, all settlers of Southeast Texas. Some of them included his great-great-grandfather, Cpt. Peter D. Stockholm, a Gulf Coast and River Steamboat Pilot, married to Mary Keith (Keith Lake). He was employed by the Customs Service of the Republic of Texas, served under General Sam Houston aiding in the transport of his troops, and later protected his own house and family from attack from the naval vessels approaching his home at Sabine Pass during the Civil War, where he piloted a ship that ran aground an enemy vessel. A great-great-great-great-grandfather, Nathan Smith, an Indiana State Legislator, moved to Southeast Texas where he engaged in Gulf Coast shipping enterprises with the family schooner. Ken’s great-great uncle, Nott Smith, was Chief of Police in Beaumont in the early 1900s. On January 10, 1901, Ken’s grandmother’s father, Charlie Ingalls, declared that black sticky stuff was ruining his seven-acre farm, and he would sell it cheap to the first man who wanted the property that quickly became known as “Spindletop”. His great-great-grandfather, William Lafayette “Uncle Bud” Brackin, was well-known throughout the Big Thicket, as one of its greatest area bear hunters. Ken’s great-grandparents, Jake and Isa “Ma” Lloyd, built the original wooden Honey Island artesian water swimming pool and later-constructed pavilion, bath houses and two newer cement pools. Kendall learned much about his family’s history and that of the area from his mother’s father, James Addison Moye, who was a good friend of Chief Batiste of the Alabama Coushatta Tribe. Moye, in his later years, became the bail bondsman for the Hardin County area. Ken’s grandfather, George H. Stockholm, was a member of the first class of the newly built South Park Elementary School, which a very young Kendall also later attended. Ken’s father, C.A. Stockholm, was known to electricians and pipe fitters of the later 1900s as the inventor of 4-Way levels as well as other tools useful in area refineries. He also was well known for his invention of items for use by law enforcement.