From Ken's wife JoAnne

I would like to say thank you to Diana for the tribute page in Ken's honor and thank all of the members for your posts. It has been such a comfort to read all of your kind words. I shed many tears as I read. These were tears of grief for the loss of my best friend and also tears of joy and pride for Ken - seeing how many people he had touched and became friends with.

Ken lost his first wife, Pat, to cancer and I lost my husband to cancer too. Mary and I were friends and this is how I got to know Ken. We only had a little over three years together, but these were the best years of my life. What a special man Ken was. He was very wise and brought joy to my life again. We enjoyed every day we were together. I now know what unconditional love is. Ken gave this to me.

He was interested in everything and wanted to try it all. He had a wonderful life. I would like to share with all of you some of the things Ken did through the years. I am sure Mary, Ken's daughter, can add many more to this list.  

• He loved to read and did this every day.

• He worked with copper, making teapots, candle sconces, and belt buckles.

• Built water fountains.

• Restored many cars.

• Enjoyed sailing his sailboat and exploring the lake in his pontoon boat.

• Rode a motorcycle.

• Enjoyed traveling in his fifth-wheel camper.

• Made pottery.

• Explored the sky with a telescope.

• Did oil painting.

• Played guitar and sang and also played the harmonica some.

• Had a great interest in rocks and used a rock cutting machine and polisher.

• Had a dark room and developed pictures.

• Traveled all over the world while in the military and went to many states here in the U.S.

• Ken spent a lot of time writing and sharing his thoughts and ideas with whoever was interested.

• He enjoyed gardening and grew tobacco, which he cured in a shed.

• He was a friend to many and never once boasted about himself.

• Ken loved nature and animals. He did not believe in God, as some do, but his love for the earth and the universe and his desire to learn all he could was never ending.

As you can see, Ken enjoyed his life, and as Mary would say, Daddy tried so many things and once mastered would move on to something else. No time was wasted by Ken. His zest to learn all he could was one of the things I loved most about him. But the most important thing I want to say is that he was a wonderful Husband and a terrific Father. He was very proud of Mary and her husband David and his only Grandson Kenny. We all miss him very much. The grief journey is slow and very painful.

I think of Ken's words often these days. He would always say everything is going to be ok, and I know it will. It just takes time to heal, and all of the good and positive things about Ken will be our comfort forever. I will close for now and hope that all of you enjoyed reading these things about Ken. What a special person he was and how lucky I was to have him in my life. I would enjoy hearing from any of you that care to write.  

Thank you again,

JoAnne Clark
joclark@ipa.net