The Chevalier Kenneth Kittelberger, Papal Knight, Scouting Leader, Dies at age 81, Leaves Legacy of Service to Others

The Chevalier Kenneth

Kittelberger, GCSG

WALTER REED 16 December 2019 (ORCNS) - The Chevalier Kenneth F. Kittelberger was born 20 February 1938 and died 14 December 2019 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, USA. A papal knight and international Scouting leader, he leaves behind a legacy of Christian service to others. In addition to other memorials and liturgy, a requiem mass will be celebrated by his friend and fellow Scout leader HIRH Cardinal Don Rutherford, Archprince-Bishop of St. Stephen.

Chev. Kittelberger became an Eagle Scout in Webster, NY, in 1952. In 1975, he was appointed as a Chapter Advisor in Black Eagle Lodge, the lodge of American Scouting's honor society, the Order of the Arrow located in the Transatlantic Council. He soon discovered that the Chapter membership roster was very out of date. Through his meticulous efforts, he spent many hours updating and computerizing lodge records. In 1976, Ken became Black Eagle Lodge Advisor. Although he faced many obstacles common to an overseas OA Lodge, where membership generally changed every 3 years due to families rotating to and from overseas, he was successful in getting the ball rolling.

When he returned to the United States in 1978, Chev. Kittelberger started to accumulate memorabilia issued by Black Eagle Lodge, even deciding to write a book in 2002 depicting every known issue from the Lodge and Chapters since 1952. He updated the book in 2015, including 148 pages, with 133 in color depicting 410 patches, neckerchiefs, and pins. For each item, he included a brief history of the activity and any other information he could verify. His work was the first, most accurate history of the Lodge and Lodge issues, forming the basis of several other histories and data published among collectors.

Chev. Kittelberger was also one of the foremost historians on the Baden Powell family; having known various family members and written many manuscripts about BP. Much of his work was used as a reference by the British Scout Association, according to archivists there.

A retired military officer and NASA contractor, Chev. Kittelberger lived in Maryland for the past 36 years. He was active in the Baltimore Council and retained his membership in Black Eagle Lodge, becoming one of the few brothers named an honorary Life Member. He held many awards including the NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award, and the Silver Beaver Award.

Chev. Kittelberger was also named a Knight Grand Cross, Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great and was a member of the College of Papal Knights. He was a Baden-Powell Fellow of the World Scout Foundation. In 1991 was named a NASA Manned Space Flight Honoree.

Chev. Kittelberger's legacy lives on in many other ways, including his Eagle Scout son and grandson, and his many significant donations to various Scouting Museums, such as The BSA Museum, The Ottawa (IL) Scouting Museum, the World of Scouting Museum, and Gilwell, England.