Kenneth Cone actively served in the U.S. Air Force for a little over four years, but that’s not the only reason he’ll be grand marshal of this year’s Bowling Green Veterans Day Parade on Saturday.

Cone and his wife, Jan, own and operate Cone Funeral Home, the only veteran-owned funeral home in Bowling Green. For over a decade, the couple has taken a personal approach to serving local veterans and their families.

Cone is an active member of American Legion Post 23 and supports veteran and community programs through the organization. He also partners with AMVETS to provide food to those in need and volunteers the funeral home as a Toys for Tots drop-off location.

“I think my first and foremost position in life is one of being a servant,” Cone told the Daily News. “I don’t feel like being a ‘funeral home owner,’ being a ‘grand marshal,’ being anything of any title before being a servant to others – and I mean that.”

Cone was born and raised in Louisiana and joined the Air Force at 17 with his father’s sign-off. He was stationed in Maine after basic training and worked with the Strategic Air Command.

“The recruiter told my dad, ‘Mr. Cone, if he gets in with the wrong group of people, he’ll be trouble,’ “ Cone recalled. “ ‘But if he gets in and does his job the way he should, then he would have the opportunity of a fine career if he wants that.’ “

The Vietnam War continued to ramp up around that time in 1965. Cone decided he’d rather be there than stuck in Maine, so he volunteered to be shipped over.

“They sent me to Okinawa instead,” Cone said. “I was in Okinawa for a year and a half and I was in supply the entire time.”

Cone was then transferred to Barksdale Air Force Base – “back in Louisiana where I started off” – and finished his service not long after. He remained in the Air Force reserves for another year.

By the end of his active duty, he’d been supply sergeant for 30 “full bird” colonels and three generals.

It was a short time in his long life, but an impactful one. He walked away with an appreciation for structure and discipline, learning to take “pride in what you do.”

Those lessons come in handy for a man with a penchant for hard work.

“I started off drilling water wells on a drill rig when I was 13, so I’ve worked my entire life, and hard jobs,” Cone said. “I’ve worked in an oil field, I’ve owned 18 different businesses of all types, including a funeral home in Irving, Texas.”

Cone said through the various jobs, he always wanted to be a mortician, a dream that stemmed from tragic circumstances.

Cone lost his mother and brother’s fiancé in a car accident when he was 5 years old. He said he remembers the funeral like it was yesterday, though it was over 70 years ago.

“I remember walking out in front of the big church – the largest in our hometown, where we went to church,” Cone recalled. “I remember seeing Mr. Norton, he owned the funeral home. He had two old Packard hearses back-in out front for them to be put in. I remember the inside of the church, the whole nine yards.”

From then on, Cone knew he wanted to stand in Mr. Norton’s shoes, helping others as they were helped.

He co-owned his first funeral home in Irving but eventually sold his half and moved away, going into business with his brother-in-law and a man from Russellville.

Around 2011, Cone received a call asking if he’d be interested in taking over what is now Cone Funeral Home. It took years of hard work to build a name and reputation, but he said they’ve been “very blessed” in that time.

“I have not had any big money people backing me,” Cone said. “Everything I did, I took it on the chin and made it work.”

Cone said he wanted to cater to veterans since the beginning, and he often goes beyond expectations to do so.

Whenever a veteran passes away and is picked up from the hospital, the funeral home brings a “cot cover” to lay over the deceased. The cover resembles an American flag, reminiscent of that laid over the casket of veterans.

“We’ve been told we’re the only ones who do that,” Cone said.

Cone added they happily “go above and beyond” to help a veteran’s family find peace.

He recalled a man who asked for his wife to be buried in Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

“He made arrangements, then I and one other man took her up there,” Cone said. “I didn’t like the idea of her being in a cold warehouse, nor did (her husband), so we drove her, had her service there and drove straight home that night.”

Cone said most morticians would fly the deceased rather than drive themselves, but he said “I would not want to fly my wife up there” alone. He added that they were able to transport her personally without adding significant costs to the family.

As he nears 77 years old, Cone said he’s begun to slow down in his work, but he still loves what he does and makes time to attend most services.

He said to be chosen as grand marshal is a “position of honor,” though not only for himself.

“It’s representing the service of those who have gone before us and those who will come after us,” Cone said. “It’s to enhance the belief in our country – even though we have a lot of problems, we’re still the best country in the world.”

Cone said he takes pride in knowing that his “brethren” – be they AMVETS, American Legion, VFW, whoever – “would not hesitate to take up arms to defend our freedom.”

“I tell everybody here we’re servants,” Cone said. “We’re the low man on the totem pole because we’re here to do what others want us to do, and I feel the same way about being a veteran.”