KENNETH ROY HUESTIS

WHITING — Kenneth Roy Huestis, 69, born Nov. 9, 1955, to Carl and Madelina Huestis, passed away on June 20, 2025, after an 18-year battle with muscular dystrophy. Known by many as Ken, Kenny, or “the baler man,” he was a pillar of knowledge in the agriculture community.  Ken was raised on his family farm in Bridport, Vt. surrounded by loving parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He graduated from Middlebury Union High School in 1974 while working on the family farms. After graduation, he ran a Petco gas station in Middlebury where he eventually met and married the mother of his daughters. As he was, Ken raised his kids between Bridport and New Haven on the farm. Ken would move on from Petco to work for Cartmell’s Sales and Service before ultimately landing at Hendy Bros. in Middlebury, Vt. for the remainder of his career. His specialty was anything John Deere or Claas, but he would tinker on anything he could get his hands on. After his official retirement, Ken could be found fishing for the big catch on the banks of Lake Champlain, spending time with his grandchildren, or still in the middle of a hay field helping farmers repair equipment, even once he was confined to a wheelchair. He had a talent and lived for making friends with any animal that crossed his path.  He loved classic cars, classic tractors, NASCAR, and good westerns on TV, but most of all he loved his family and the support of his community. There will be a celebration of life in the fall, as he wouldn’t want any farmers to stop their field work to remember him. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his memory to Addison County Benefit Pull at PO Box 126, Vergennes, Vt. 05491 to help assist other families in our community like those that helped him. ◊