Ken died peacefully in the Shuswap Lake Hospital on Friday July 21, 2017, in Salmon Arm with his family beside him.
Ken is predeceased by wife Lenora and survived by his children Stephen (Wendy), Julie (Rod), Jodie (Bob) all from Ontario, Jeff (Velvet) from Ohio, Scott from Saskatchewan and Jennifer (Gary) from Ontario. Also predeceased by his former wife and the mother of his children, Carol. Ken leaves behind 9 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
He will be lovingly remembered by his extended family in Salmon Arm and Sisters-in-Law, Anna Lund, Betty Unterschultz, and Brothers-in-Law, Vic, Stanley and John Kavalinas (Joyce), many nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and great grand nieces and nephews and his special friend, Gwen Corey.
Ken was born in Montreal, Quebec, on May 6 1934. He lived in Ontario and Calgary, Alberta, where he met and married Lenora Kavalinas while working for IBM. They moved back to Ontario, where he and Lenny opened a Canadian Tire franchise. On their move to Salmon Arm in 1979, Ken worked in mobile home sales. He moved on to open Ken’s Office Supply and took part in establishing other retail outlets.
Ken was a dedicated member of the Salmon Arm Rotary Club and held several positions giving a true meaning to the Rotary motto “Service Above Self”. In 1996/97, as Governor of Rotary International District 5060, Ken was instrumental with fellow Rotarians in raising $1,000,000 towards the cost of building the Southern Interior Rotary Lodge associated with the B.C. Cancer Agency in Kelowna. This was the hi-light of his many community achievements. Travelling to other areas of his District, he with Lenny, worked together very hard in promoting the fellowship of Rotary. They were highly thought of and held in high esteem throughout their district travels. Ken was the recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow award many times given for highest achievement in following the Four Guides of Rotary.
Ken was a generous supporter of the Rotary Foundation of Salmon Arm, the Shuswap Lake Hospital Foundation and associated facilities, as well as a big supporter of the SPCA. He had a special love of cats. His great friend “Oscar”, predeceased him in May of 2017.
Ken was an avid sports fan which included baseball, hockey and golf. He held many positions at The Salmon Arm Golf Club and his passion for hockey included over 20 years as a referee in the Ontario Hockey Association.
After retirement, Ken liked to attend the Salmon Arm Senior Centre and play spirited games of pool with his many buddies. He lived in Canoe for 10 years, then moved to Piccadilly Terrace in May of 2017.
Ken’s never ending courage, determination and positive uplifting spirit will forever remain in the hearts of his family.
We wish to thank Dr James Levins, Dr Scott McKie, Dr Chris Main, the Nursing team, lab and xray technicians, the paramedics and the kitchen and cleaning staff of the Shuswap Lake Hospital who provided such excellent and compassionate care, thank you. Special thank you to the Intensive Care unit staff.
A private graveside service was held on Monday July 24 at Mount Ida Cemetery in Salmon Arm BC with Pastor George Fleming officiating. Thank you to Kevin Bolen at the Bowers Funeral Home and Crematorium for his caring guidance. Online condolences can be sent through Ken’s obituary at www.Bowersfuneralservice.com.