Kenneth Lee Pusey

Kenneth Lee Pusey, 91, was born into eternal life on October 15, 2021, in Austin, Texas, following a 40-year battle with heart disease. Upon making the decision to enter hospice care, Ken gathered his closest family members on August 21, 2021, and gave a profound farewell speech, recounting many fond memories as well as the abundant blessings he had experienced throughout his long life, the pinnacle of which was his 60-year relationship with the love of his life, Janet Marie Boelte Pusey.

Kenneth was born on January 11, 1930, in Westover, Maryland to Eldon Pusey and Cleo Richards Pusey. He was the youngest of 7 children who grew up together on the family’s farm. Ken’s favorite work on the farm was driving the big machinery. His least favorite was milking the cows twice a day whether by hand or when milking machinery became available.

Music was a big part of Ken’s life from a young age. He enjoyed playing the guitar and anything with keys, such as his organ, electronic keyboard, and especially the piano. He loved playing duets with his son, Michael Lee Pusey, and grandson, Lucas (Luke) Kalle Pusey, at his side sharing the same piano bench. It became a Christmas tradition for Ken to gather the family around the piano with Michael on the guitar, Ken and Luke on the piano, grandson, Andrew (Drew) Kenneth Pusey on the bassoon, daughter-in-law, Casandra (Cassie) Ann Hedrick Pusey on Ken’s ukelele and Janet playing an old German cowbell. Ken also enjoyed listening to a variety of classic Country artists and other Oldies music. In recent years, Ken experienced much joy in asking Alexa to play his favorites from Elvis and Roy Orbison to songs that were likely popular in his time that only Alexa could find.

Ken’s family remembers him as hard-working and dedicated to providing for them. He enlisted in the military in 1951 and served 27 and a half years in the Air Force Audit Agency’s Human Resources department. While in the Air Force, Ken enjoyed the adventure of being stationed in a variety of locations including New York City, New York; Tokyo, Japan; Washington, D.C.; Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany; Norton Air Force Base (AFB), California; Carswell AFB, Texas; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. While stationed in Washington, D.C. in 1961, Ken met Janet who also worked for the Audit Agency. It was love at first sight for Ken. He invited Janet to the Ice Capades for their first date in 1961 and the two were soon engaged to be married later that year. One of Cassie’s favorite memories from Ken’s last week on earth was hearing him express to his grandsons that they need to be sure that their future brides know the depth of their love for them.

While serving at Norton AFB, Ken experienced the joy of becoming a father to Michael, who often expressed that he and his dad were more like brothers at times than father and son. The two often recalled the fun they had making breakfast together one time when Michael was young and Janet was away. Neither of them knew how much water or Cream of Wheat was really needed, so they kept adding more of each until there was enough Cream of Wheat to feed the whole neighborhood! The two also took great care in making sure their beloved dog, Chigger, was well taken care of with Ken constructing a custom dog house filled with straw and architected to protect against the cold winters in Ohio.

Throughout his last months and weeks, Ken repeatedly spoke of how much he missed Janet and Michael while attending classes at the University of Maryland. He thought of quitting school several times because he could not stand being away from his wife and son, but his desire to provide for them won out and he graduated in 1971 with a B.A in Business and Management. Ken’s perseverance paid off when he retired from the military and secured a new position in Human Resources at Carter & Burgess, an engineering firm in Fort Worth, Texas. Ken’s hard work continued until his second retirement at the age of 73.

Decades of duty in the military and in the private sector afforded Ken’s family many benefits, including funding college educations for his son and grandchildren, taking his family on fabulous trips, and living out his last 8 years at a comfortable retirement community known as Longhorn Village, located on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. Having lived in Fort Worth for the previous 34 years, the move and the change in lifestyle were not easy for Ken, but he overcame the challenges not only to live close to his son’s family but also to allow Janet to retire from her decades of cooking, cleaning, yard work and other duties as a homemaker. Monthly family brunches at Longhorn Village became a new tradition, along with in-person birthday and holiday celebrations, and attending school, sporting and scouting events. His last outing with the family was to see his grandson, Drew, recognized for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in the summer of 2021. Ken enjoyed living independently with Janet in their apartment up to the week before his death when he transitioned to the skilled nursing unit just a short indoor walk from his previous home.

During Ken’s last few days, he created precious new memories that will live in the hearts of his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandsons forever. He enjoyed listening to Elvis sing his favorite gospel songs such as Peace in the Valley (Psalm 23) and expressed his desire to “walk the streets of gold, as they say,” (Revelation 21:21). His entire last day was spent with a smile on his face and in his eyes that we had not seen in some time or perhaps ever. He focused his energy on telling Janet, Michael and Cassie about the struggle he had experienced early that morning, saying, “I believe I died. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I felt welcomed.” He chuckled quietly throughout the day with his eyes fixed on a new world that the rest of us could not see, as if he couldn’t be happier about where he was going and who would be there.

Kenneth Lee Pusey was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, and sisters. He is survived by his wife Janet of Austin, Texas, his son Michael and wife Cassie of Bee Cave, Texas, grandsons Drew and Luke of Bee Cave, brother-in-law Dennis Boelte and wife Mildred Boelte of Lone Wolf, Oklahoma, as well as several nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, October 24, 2021. Extended family will gather for burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. at a later date in an event open to all who wish to join.