Ashley's Tribute to Big Daddy

Kenneth Wayne Muecke
You may recognize him as K.W., Kenny, Kenny Wayne, Uncle Kenny, Mickey, Mr. Muecke, Daddy, and other names we can’t even mention, but most of all we all know him as the one and only… Big Daddy. Many say “they broke the mold when they made him” which is true. Big Daddy was a character, a prankster, a joker, and everyone knew his jokes and tricks. there was the Mongoose, the Moose Horn, the card tricks, the bug in the ice cube, the Jackalope, the Moon Dog and ‘ScareMo!’ just to name a few. Everyone’s got a story to tell of his practical jokes.
Now, Big Daddy was also a bit of a show off. He made sure everyone knew about his newest toys and gadgets and most of you, at one point in time, got to take the Cadillac out for a spin, but this is only because he was so proud of what he had and he worked so hard to get where he was. What he was most proud of in this world was his family. He had his beautiful wife, Norma, of 54 years, his children, Wayne, Penni, Johnny, Kitty, Greg, and Debbie, and he had so many grandkids and great grandkids… we’re still counting. He loved all of his babies to the depths of his heart. He loved each and every one of them so deeply that he would give anything just to see them smile. All of the kids loved Big Daddy and remembered him for his slobbery kisses. Rani remembers helping him pick and water his fruit, spending the night and sleeping “right in the middle” with Gamaw and Big Daddy. She and Olivia would lay out his clothes before he took a bath and when he shaved, the girls would put shaving cream on their face and sit in the mirror with him, pretending to shave with him. Dylan remembers his most treasured moment as being when Big Daddy gave him a pocket watch that belonged to his great grandfather, Louis John Muecke. Many of the grandkids remember Big Daddy for teaching him how to peel and eat crawfish, they loved his jokes and magic tricks and most of all they remember him for always being happy. At every gathering, yo could see the pride on his face while he sat back looking at his abundant family and he knew he was the source of why the house was so full of love.
He was a man who loved unconditionally; everyone was welcome in his home. He didn’t care who you were or what your shortcomings were, he took you in and made you family. He wouldn’t let you leave empty-handed. He made sure you were going to leave with a full belly, a full heart, and at least a bag of fruit or some leftovers. This man did not take ‘no’ for an answer. Big Daddy also loved his fruit. He watered his fruit, picked his fruit, and counted his fruit one by one. At any given time, he would tell you exactly how many fruits he had. He grew lemons the size of grapefruits, limes, oranges, peppers… and his most prized fruit… the persimmon.
For the last year or so Big Daddy had suffered from tremendous back pain. Although, to look at him you could barely tell. He was a stubborn man and he was not going to let pain stand in his way of living life to the fullest. His love for Norma and his kids is what kept him going strong. He still attended all the family gatherings, birthday parties, boils, and their extra curricular activities despite the pain. Bob Bauer had a story to tell about a hunting trip they went on together years ago. “ It was a cold winter in Colorado and it was Kenneth’s first time hunting so we stopped on the way to buy him a pair of boots. When he tried on his normal size, they were just too tight on him, so he tried on the next size up and they were way too big. He didn’t want to risk wearing the bigger size and having trouble walking and getting blisters so he went with the smaller size. For the next ten days, Kenneth wore the boots around and they really hurt his feet. When we got back home he left the boots in his closet until the next year. And when he went to try the boots on again, he noticed those tight boots had newspaper stuffed in the toe of each boot. When he tried the boots on after pulling out the paper, they fit perfectly and the pain was gone.” So what we need to think about is that Big Daddy’s pain is gone and he continues to live through all of us, for he will always be known as a legend.

Compiled by Ashley Zamorano, granddaughter