Page 10 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Summer 2019- Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS
Kenneth Pirtle
The Artist Within
by Kenneth Pirtle and Jelaine Workman
enneth Pirtle was born
February 12, 1948 and grew
Kup in Levelland, Texas. He
met his future wife, Tarrie Sue, in
the 2nd grade at South Elementary
in Levelland. They dated some in
high school but did not get serious
in the relationship until they went
to Texas Tech in 1967. They married
in February 1969. Ken spent one
year at South Plains College in
Levelland before embarking on a
degree in Advertising Art, with a
minor in Photography, from Texas
Tech University which he completed
in December 1970. He is still an
avid Red Raider fan, having season
10 Amarillo Senior Link
tickets to all home football
games since he graduated.
He hasn’t missed many, if
any, games in all these years.
Ken and Tarrie Sue moved to
Amarillo in 1971 for Ken to go to
work at the American Quarter Horse
Association to do layout for their
magazine. He left there in 1972 to
work at Channel 7 as an artist and
photographer while completing
his master's degree (Art) from
West Texas State. He remembers
purchasing a Volkswagen for $50
to drive back and forth to Canyon.
It did not go over 55 miles per
hour and left a trail of smoke as
he chugged down the Canyon
expressway.
Ken began teaching
photography
at Amarillo College
in 1975. His
areas of teaching
expertise included
Photography,
Adobe Photoshop, History
of Photography, Alternative
Photographic Processes, traditional
and digital photography. Professor
Pirtle also served as chairman of the
Visual Arts Department. He retired
on August 1, 2008 - 33 years after he
began teaching.
Tarrie Sue has a bachelor's degree in
Chemistry and taught that subject
at Randall High School for 18 years.
She recently retired from teaching
at Ascension Academy in Amarillo.
Ken and Tarrie raised two children
in Amarillo - Suzy who lives in
Wilson, NC and Jeffrey, who works
for Universal Studios in Hollywood,
CA.