 Dad was cleared for takeoff early Thursday morning, we will miss him but have wonderful memories. It was VFR, a beautiful clear sunny day. When we see a contrail we know he is there...he was a rock in our lives.
Ken spent the last 11 months at Harbor House in Poulsbo in their Memory Unit. He did well there and thought he was in a hotel as he was dressed up in nice clothes instead of jeans which he always wore at home...He said he felt guilty living there but later said he had been working around the place doing projects...always contributing.
He had a fall and broke his hip one month ago and although he was doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances (always his comment to how are you doing) he did not recover. We thank the caregivers and staff at Harbor House for all their tenderness to Dad and to the family in his final days. It was nice for him to be there amongst familiar voices and friends.
Dad retired from United Airlines in 1981 and again in 1985. In his retirement he built a cabin in Southen Oregon on property he bought when he was 18 for back taxes ($75) He and Mom enjoyed traveling between their house in Corvallis and Gleneden beach, but as soon as the last two grandchildren came via Andrea they moved to Seattle to be close by. Mom and Dad took care of both Karey and Chandler as they had their other grandkids, Ian and Patrick in Denver and Jessica and Kyle in Redondo Beach but this time they were close by for all their early years and Dad picked up both kids from school every day and even after they were walking home on their own he wanted to walk with them...
Before moving to Corvallis and then Seattle, Mom and Dad lived 24 years in Palos Verdes Estates, California, where we were all raised...those were our formative years....the years all our friends knew Mom and Dad. With his irregular work schedule he was home when other Dads weren't and therefore participated in all our activities.
Dad hired on with United in 1947 as a mechanic, moving up to flight engineer and then being trained as a pilot. He was first based in Chicago and then spent most of his career flying out of LAX. He ended a very fullfilling career as a Captain (on reserve) on a DC-8 in 1981. He was included in the EEOC age discrimination lawsuit against United in 1982 and came back to fly two more years, ending in 1985.
Dad was born in Grants Pass, Oregon and grew up on a home stead ranch in Kerby, Oregon (near Cave Junction) with his Mother and father and three brothers. He rode a horse to school and played basketball in high school. He attended Oregon State College as a forestry major where he met Ruth but after two years he joined the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. He flew PB2Y's in the Pacific as a flight engineer which then led to his future career with United. Mom had also joined the Navy in 1945 and they were married in their Navy uniforms in October of that year. | 
