Allen Kenneth "Kenny" Tope, 82, of Grinnell died January 12, 2015, at his home. Private services were held. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Allen Kenneth Tope Memorial Fund. Kenny was born November 27, 1932, near West Union, Iowa, the son of George and Edna Woodson Tope. He was raised in West Union and was a 1951 graduate of West Union High School. He was a veteran of the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. Following his discharge, he returned to West Union and was employed with the State of Iowa as a surveyor. On May 17, 1958, he was united in marriage with Ellen J. Fitzgerald, in Emmetsburg. The couple lived in Emmetsburg for several years where he was manager of the Central Iowa Telephone Company. They later moved to Nevada, Iowa in 1971 and he managed the phone company there. In 1986, they made their home in Grinnell and he was in the engineering department of GTE until his retirement in 1993. Kenny enjoyed hunting and fishing and later in life he held a passion for gardening. His yard was very important to him! He enjoyed watching football and was an avid fan of the Minnesota Vikings, University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones. Survivors include his wife, Ellen of Grinnell; four children, Julie (Brad) Brooks of Nevada, Kathy Tope of Colo, Tim Tope of Des Moines and Janet Tope of San Diego, California; one brother Russell "Mike" (Delores) Tope of Cedar Rapids; eight grandchildren, Jeffrey, Joni, Jillian, Melissa, Jessica, Kristopher (Marie), Joseph and Michael; and three great-grandchildren, Dakota, Mylee and Devyn. He was preceded in death by his parents and one grandson, Tony Kammin.