1911-1989Kenneth Newton Probasco was born December 8, 1911 in Ohio. He grew up in Wilmington, Ohio where his late father, Ora K. Probasco, was superintendent of schools. After graduation from the College of Administrative Sciences at the Ohio State University, he was hired by the Farm Bureau Cooperative Association (later Landmark Inc.) in 1934. He began his career as an accountant and became a certified public accountant in Ohio in 1946, and later became vice president of finance. He graduated from the School of Management of the American Management Association in 1955 and the same year became chief executive officer of Landmark, Inc. of Ohio, until his retirement on January 1, 1977. Landmark is a regional cooperative which serves farmers throughout Ohio with feed, seed, fertilizer, petroleum, general farm supplies, and marketing services.
By appointment of the President of the United States, Mr. Probasco served a six-year term as a director on the Federal Farm Credit Board. He served on the board of directors for the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives in Washington, DC, and represented them as a delegate to the International Federation of Agricultural Producers at New Delhi, India. He was also a trustee to the American Institute of Cooperation in Washington, DC. Along with his agri-business ties, he served on boards of many inter-regional cooperative organizations and banks. He served for four years on the advisory council of the OSU College of Administrative Sciences, and on both the boards of trustees and elders of Worthington United Presbyterian Church.
He married Glenna Mannon and had three sons: James, Jack and Gerald Kenneth (who died as an infant). On October 26, 1989 Kenneth N. Probasco died at his home following a three-year illness.
