AUBURN — Kenneth D. Myhre, 69, a longtime resident of Center Street in Lisbon Falls, passed away Saturday, Nov. 5, with friends at his side.

He was born in Worcester, Mass., May 10, 1942, a son of Nils and Agnes (Dewar) Myhre. Ken was educated in Massachusetts schools and graduated from Reading High School in Reading, Mass., in 1960. He also attended N.H. College-Brunswick Center in 1981, and Central Maine Vocational Technical Institute in Auburn in 1983.

Ken Myhre, of Norwegian heritage, grew up in Reading, Mass., where he was a member of the Orientals, a hot-rod racing club, for a short while, before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in the early 1960s. In the Navy, he honed his mechanical skills working on aircraft, including helicopters, during the Vietnam era and beyond, in places like the Philippines, Corpus Christi, Texas, Italy and Brunswick at BNAS, where he retired from the service as a master chief flight engineer on P-3 Orien Anti Sub aircraft.

Maine is where he decided to stay, settling in Lisbon Falls. He enrolled at CMVTI in Auburn for schooling in the machinist trade and after that program, he began working at North American Philips, Philips Elmet Division, in Lewiston in parts fabrication and later as a plant machinist until he left, later working for Napa, then his own business as an installer and repairer of exercise equipment until fully retiring.

Throughout his working career, one of his passions was the automobile. Starting with a 1953 Ford, he went on to a 1940 Ford Coupe, Jeeps, a Fiat brought home from Italy, a long and storied association with a few different Corvettes during and after the Flight Engineer era, saying it was the closest thing to flying sometimes. His last and lasting project was his 1936 Ford Panel Truck, which was very well done, but was still evolving, as most street rods do, over the last 30-plus years.

In 1991, he officially joined Downeast Street Rods, Maine’s oldest continuous street rod club, after having known some of the local members for awhile and acquiring his panel truck. His thoughtful and methodical approach to things mechanical showed, not only in his building a first-rate truck, but also in his daily work and he was a sounding board for others in his car club, from building to organizational procedure.

Ken was the Downeast Newsletter Editor for a number of years, being a contact with like organizations, and brought the club into the computer and Internet era. He was big on organizing and follow-through, always trying to get it just right.

Ken was a plain spoken, matter of fact, man of his word. He was a genuine friend who you could count on as well as honest. He was just a real good guy who will be missed by his extended family of friends. Ken, have a smooth flight to the next destination.

He leaves his sister, Agnes Ferguson and husband, Edward, of Cherryfield; and his extended family, those close friends and fellow members of Downeast Street Rods.

You are invited to share your thoughts, condolences and fond memories with Ken’s family and friends by visiting his online guest book at www.crosmanfuneralhome.com.