William (Bill) Delbert Kennebeck

William (Bill) Delbert Kennebeck

Trenton, MO

William (Bill) Delbert Kennebeck of Trenton, MO passed away peacefully and surrounded by family July 3, 2025 at St. Luke’s Hospice House after a brief battle with cancer. Graveside services were held Monday, July 7, 2025 at the Olin Cemetery in Olin, IA with a celebration of life Friday, July 11, 2025 from 5:30-7:30 pm at Resthaven Mortuary in Trenton, MO.

Bill was born February 25, 1948 in Anamosa, IA, son of Edward and Ethel (Remington) Kennebeck. Bill graduated from Olin Consolidated High School in 1966 then continued his education earning a bachelor’s degree in business finance from Northwest Missouri State University in 1972. Believing you were never too old to continue learning, in 2006 he earned his MBA from William Woods University.

Bill was married June 7, 1969 to his childhood sweetheart and love of his life, Linda Renee Peterson, daughter of Leo and Ardella (Hamed) Peterson in Olin, IA.

His career always revolved around agriculture, starting at a very young age on the family farm in Eastern Iowa. After college he became a regional seed sales manager for Trojan seed, and in 1977 he began a long career in the popcorn industry taking the job operations manager at Vogel Popcorn in Hamburg, IA. Over the span of the next 10 years he played a pivotal role in the business becoming one of the largest and premier processors of bulk popping corn in the world. In 1987 after Vogel sold to Golden Valley Microwave Foods, Bill relocated his family to Mattoon, IL to oversee the buildout of a state-of-the-art popcorn processing facility. In 1991 GVMF sold to Con-Agra at which point Bill decided the business had grown too large, taking his vast knowledge and experience to Trenton MO to start his own company, K&W Popcorn LLC. Over the next 24 years he built his business from the ground up, starting only selling a couple million pounds of popcorn his first year to selling over 30 million pounds in 2015, his final year owning the business, while also becoming the largest seller of organic popcorn in the world. In 2015 Bill sold the business to Preferred Popcorn LLC staying on as a consultant for 1 year, ending his illustrious career. While he had many accomplishments throughout the years, a couple of his proudest moments were when he was elected to the U.S. Federal Popcorn Board, being appointed by the Federal Department of Agriculture as a charter member and in 2019 he was honored in Omaha, NE by being inducted into the popcorn hall of fame.

While he always said his business came first and foremost, he did take some time off to fish and golf being an avid outdoorsman. He had no hobby, his hobby was his business, his business was the popcorn business, his popcorn was K&W Popcorn. Known for his quiet generosity, he believed in giving back to his community anonymously donating to several causes and organizations.

His love for his wife and family was unwavering and immeasurable. He is survived by his wife Linda of the home in Trenton, MO, daughter Jennifer (Jason) Ross of Jensen Beach, FL, son John (Jennifer) Kennebeck of Liberty, MO, 4 granddaughters, Hannah (Colton) Ellis, Jordan Ross, Grace (Quincy) Griffin and Ella Kennebeck; as well as 1 super handsome great-grandson. He is also survived by his brother, James Kennebeck of Marion, IA and sister Connie (Keith) Christensen of Center Junction, IA. He is preceded in death by a brother, Bernard Kennebeck, a brother-in-law, James Peterson, his parents and mother- and father-in-law.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to St. Luke’s Hospice House and the Wesley United Methodist Church all in the direction of Slater-Neal Funeral Home.