Corvette Action Center Loses a Valued Member

[ricersvette89]

RIP Ken We will all miss you.

 

[Sooo Bad]

God Bless, and Rest in Peace, Ken!

 

[barkingowl]

Very sad news...

 

[Best Vette Yet]

What a fantastic person. I followed his threads with great interest even though I had a C5 vette. He was always humerous and direct. His opinions were fantastic. There is nothing to say about his leaving CAC. I want to remember him as a great on-line friend.

 

[Edmond]

I'm just shocked, I really don't know what else to say. I read the e-mail Rob sent out yesterday and this thread as well. I just couldn't come to say anything until today.

I remember reading his road trip post and knew that he was really close to 69MyWay. I remember seeing the pictures and reading the threads.

I never met Ken but we e-mailed and talked on the phone. This isn't just a case of when someone passes on, everyone shows up and says how great of a person they were even if they weren't. With Ken, he was a great guy. There isn't any exaggerating about what kind of person he was. Ken was that great person that everyone here has said.

You respected and admired Ken because he didn't try to hide stuff. He never pretended to be who he wasn't.

I remember when this forum was a fraction of the size that it is now. Ken was pretty much there from the beginning and he was one of the friendliest towards then-newb's such as myself.

He will be dearly missed.

 

[black85vette]

Sad indeed; however, at least he spent his life in pursuit of something he loved - Corvettes!

 

[Ken D]

RIP

My condolences to his family

 

[geekinavette]

I'm just shocked, I really don't know what else to say. I read the e-mail Rob sent out yesterday and this thread as well. I just couldn't come to say anything until today.

That's kinda how I've felt...just not the slightest idea what to say. I never had the pleasure of meeting Ken in person, but always enjoyed chatting online with him. A class act for sure.

Ken, we'll miss ya bro.

Bill

 

[corvted]

I feel that I lost a friend. I stumbled on Ken’s website some time ago. After going through the website, I felt I made a friend. Even though I never met him I felt I new him. That is how much of an impact his website was for me. His love for <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

<st1:country-region><st1lace>America</st1lace></st1:country-region>’s best sport car ever made was so obvious. His passion for it was so tremendous. For those of you who knew personally, I am so sorry and feel your lost. When the day comes for me, I hope that I have accomplished as much as Ken did for his life. My condolences to his family and friends.

 

[KANE]

I chatted with Ken more than a couple of times over my old '78s TPI swap.

Great guy. Sad loss to the hobby. I pray for his family.

 

[4GHOSTRIDER2]

GODS SPEED

Well I'm new to the CAC but form reading all the wonderful things being said about KEN I'll add to it. "May you enjoy your time in eternity crusin' in your vette on eagles wings"

 

[vettered91]

I'm gonna miss you Ken, my friend..... See ya there!

 

[Piet]

Wow... I am stunned.
Ken will be missed. I always appreciated his involvement, experience and the life he brought to this community. My Prayers are with Friends and Family.

 

[Vanity Plate Bob]

Ken. Rest in peace. Condolences to the family and friends.
Bob

 

[Toy4Hal]

Goodbye to my friend!

I'm pleased to see all the kind words being expressed about Ken on this site. He deserves them all.
I actually initially "met" Ken on the CAC. I signed up when I bought my 62 'Vette. He saw where I live which is only about 10 miles from his place. He introduced me to many car ventures in So. Cal. as well as the local Corvette Clubs of which I continue to be a member. Ken and I went on to become, I feel, close friends. You could often see him at my place on the weekends while I (and of course he) worked on my car. Of course, you could hear him coming from quite a long ways! That is quite a "hot rod"! I think there are still black marks on my street!
I'm happy to say I called Ken this past Sunday afternoon and we had a great talk. Car talk of course, but also about how he felt. He was very tired last week and did not do much. He was encouraged by a conversation with someone from the CAC who recently went through a liver transplant. That helped his demeanor. Through the course of the conversation, he got into a much better mood and was even laughing! Car talk will do that with Ken.
Someone mentioned Ken's apartment and the "wall to wall" automotive material. "Wall to wall" and "floor to ceiling" throughout the place! And even more down in the garage. I remember going "book shopping' one day with Ken. Good thing he was on a tight budget because I suspect he would have bought out the store!
Ken had a tremendous knowledge of Corvettes and the history of Corvettes. But it went beyond Corvettes. He was a strong fan of the muscle car era, and knew a great deal of the history. You could tell he actually read (and absorbed) all that material in his apartment!
I spoke with Ken's brother on Tuesday. He will let me know of whatever plans there are for Ken in terms of a viewing and/or memorial. I have some calls from a few members of the CAC. I will be sure to notify you as soon as I hear the plans.
There have also been questions about Ken's web site. I will ask his brother if there is some way we can keep that alive for some time.
Rest well, Ken.

 

[slong]

My deepest sympathies go out to his family and to all his friends.
May gods speed be with him.

 

[UB2 SLOW]

When I first opened this thread I though it had to be a bad joke. Its hard to believe that Ken is gone. RIP Ken.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Yes, Ken was one of the most knowledgeable car guys I knew. He loved Corvettes, muscles cars, hot rods, drag racing and especially old drag cars; anything that was cool. We spent over 3 hours jabbering the last time we talked on the phone. It was just like we were sitting in the same room. Time flew by and I could tell that all of the car talk was energizing him. We would often send emails when one of us ran across some well known drag car from the past. I could tell when his name was on the email line and the subject was something like "Did you see this?" that it was going to be cool. I'll miss that.

We talked about the Don Garlits museum a few weeks ago just before I went down to Daytona. I planned on stopping on the way down and he was telling me how to get there and what to look for. A lot of the cars are on loan and change so I promised to take a lot of pictures. I took so many that I have been spending a lot of time editing them and sorting them into albums since I got home. I was sure that I would have the Garlits Museum album ready to send to Ken this weekend. I know that he would have enjoyed it.

Ken was a great friend. When I first met him at BG in '02 it was like seeing an old friend again. We had talked on the CAC a lot before and he was just what I expected. I didn't mind having to push his car to start it occasionally that weekend. It was worth it just to ride shotgun. One ride I'll never forget was when we left the NCM on Sunday afternoon. We were pulling onto the ramp for I-65 south back to town and there was a Z06 behind us. Ken was not accelerating too hard so that Z06 went for the left lane and stood on it. Ken also nailed it and that Z06 just disappeared in the mirror. With most of the dash out and the computers and harness on the passenger floor it was hard to tell how fast we were going but I saw 4600 rpm on the tach in 6th gear when he let off of it. That car still had me pushed back into the seat. What a ride.

Earlier we tried to fix the starter again (see first picture) but it only lasted one start. When we got out to Beech Bend we found an appropriate hill to park the car on so we could do a roll start. We just got into the car to leave when a very nice looking young lady cruised by in a yellow C5 with a black hood stripe. She stopped briefly and told Ken how much she liked his car. After she pulled away Ken said "That could have been embarrassing if she would have seen us rolling the car down hill to start it".

Ken was always optimistic that he would get moved up the list for his transplant. I can remember how positive he was after spending a long day with the transplant team. It gave him hope and encouragement. I just wish his name would have reached the top in time.

If anyone else has a Ken story they would like to share please chime it. There must be some good ones that we would like to hear. I only got to spend just that one weekend in BG enjoying his company but I made a lifetime friend.

See you later my friend.

 

[Norseman]

Passing

I never met the man but after reading these posts I wish I had.

 

[ScatRat]

I never had the chance to meet Ken. He sounds like a person I would've enjoyed knowing.

GOD'S SPEED....GOD BLESS.

Very Respectfully,
Scat Rat
a.k.a. Rob