Kenneth Troutman
Kenneth Roger Troutman (Roger), 86, of Lexington, Ohio, died Oct. 19, 2025 in Wayne County, Ohio, of advanced kidney cancer.
Roger was born to Karl Troutman and Dorothy (Stuckey) Troutman on June 18, 1939 in Millersburg, Ohio. He spent his childhood on the family farm in Springville, Wayne County, Ohio. He graduated from Shreve High School in 1957, earned a BS in Agriculture and Wildlife Management from Ohio State University in 1962, and a degree in computer science/programming from North Central Technical College in 1977. Additional studies include work towards a masters in ichthyology at Ohio State and Kent State Universities.
He married Edith Louise Ackerman on July 19, 1968, in Perrysville. They had two children, Charla Louann and Philip Parke. They resided in their pink brick home outside Lexington, Ohio for the rest of their lives.
Roger’s first job was counting red salmon in Alaska for the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. He served in the Ohio National Guard from 1965 to 1971. He was the staff naturalist at Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio from 1968 to 1977. He spent the rest of his working career as a systems analyst for United Telephone (and its various successor companies) in Mansfield. He retired in 2001.
Roger was a citizen scientist and contributed to the body of knowledge in several natural sciences. He was a keen bird and plant watcher, and photographer of wildflowers, especially milkweeds, and other natural subjects. He was a lifelong bird watcher, participating in Christmas Bird Counts for 66 years and serving as a compiler for decades.
He was a life-long supporter of prairie preservation, visiting hundreds of prairies throughout the Midwest. He founded the Ohio Prairie Association and served as a vice president, treasurer, and editor for that organization. He was the chairperson of the Ohio Prairie Survey Project in the 1970s and chaired the 6th North American Prairie Conference in 1978, and attended virtually all prairie conferences held in his lifetime. He was especially interested in two prairie plants, milkweeds and liatris. He worked with herbaria throughout the U.S., reclassifying previously misidentified liatris. Roger authored or co-authored several works on prairies, birding, and plants covering his areas of study.
After his retirement, he developed an interest in a group of stone-loving mosses (Gray Grimmia) that grow on cemetery stones. This hobby led to an interest in genealogy, which led in turn to him writing a catalog of every known cemetery and burial ground in the state of Ohio (Ohio Cemeteries: 1803 – 2003). He was named a Fellow of the Ohio Genealogical Society in 2003 for this work.
He holds several records in his areas of study. He observed and photographed more members of the family Asclepiadaceae (milkweeds) east of the Mississippi River than any person past or present. He was a member of the first group to participate in multiple bird counts in one year, counting birds in 11 circles in three states over a 12-day period. He also compiled 120 counts, more than any other Ohioan. He also visited 1,200+ cemeteries throughout Ohio, more than any other person.
He was a member of several organizations, including the Wayne Nature Club, Ohio Native Plant Society Mohican Chapter (founding member), and the Wheaton Club.
Predeceasing him were his wife, Louise, his parents, and his siblings, William (Doris), Philip (Judi), and Linda.
He is survived by daughter, Louann, of Arlington, VA; son, Parke; grandson, Elliott; Yvonne Yiu, Elliott’s mother, all of San Diego, CA; brother Robert (Rosie) Troutman; cousin Albert (Rosemary) Burger; many nieces and nephews; and friend Patricia (Voss) McGinty.
Roger was buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hinckley, Ohio in a private service. A memorial service will be held at Troutman Vineyards, 4243 S Columbus Rd, Wooster, OH, on Nov. 23, 2025 at 2pm. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ohio Genealogical Society at https://www.ogs.org/donate/, by mail to the Ohio Genealogical Society, 611 State Route 97 W, Bellville, OH 44813-8813; or by phone, 419-886-1903, or the National Audubon Society at https://act.audubon.org/a/memorial-gift?ms=digital-fund-web-website_nav_membership_giving_donate.