Kenneth Charles Laumann

Born April 15th, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois the 1st of four children to Charles and Edith Laumann, Ken’s family included Richard (d.), Robert (Shirley), and Carol (Ron). Ken joined the Air Force in 1959, which gave him the gift of meeting the love of his life at a drugstore counter in Graniteville, S.C., as well as the electronics communication training that prepared him for his long career with the telephone companies.

Wanting to see more of the world and a better life for his family, Ken and the family moved to Grand Junction, Colorado in 1971. He continued his career with AT&T and stayed with the phone companies until his retirement at 62. Ken and Jackie made the most of their golden years, travelling extensively with a wonderful and tight-knit group of friends on cruise ships, to Las Vegas and on many other adventures.

Ken loved exercising and outdoor activities. He became a skilled snow skier, taking lessons with his wife and later teaching his daughters to ski. Biking later became his passion, leading to many friendships and tours, including multiple Ride the Rockies and Tour of Tucson. Only the number of biking shirts he owned rivaled the number of tours in which he participated. In addition to participating in many sports, Ken enjoyed cheering on his favorite teams, the Denver Broncos and Colorado Avalanche.

Maintaining fitness was one of Ken’s highest priorities and he loved going to Crossroads Fitness. At “The Club”, he both exercised his body and made connections with many community members.

Ken’s daughters and granddaughters (Skye, Hannah and Sage) were the light of his life and he was usually talking about them at the Club. More recently, a great grandson, Reign, joined the family. Ken was so inspired by his sweet face that he joined the baby on the ground to play. Taking family vacations and spending the holidays together was a source of joy to Ken. He enjoyed traveling to Chicago and Wisconsin for frequent visits with his sister, brother and friends from the old neighborhood.

After receiving an Honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1963, Ken’s love of airplanes continued. He had the opportunity to “Co-pilot” several World War II airplanes, many of which were recorded on DVD. The pilots who flew with Ken can be heard encouraging him to take trick maneuvers after receiving some basic training.

After retirement, Ken returned to college, receiving his Bachelor degree in 2008 at the age of 70, joining both his daughters who also received their degrees from Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University).

A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 2:00 pm at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary, 2515 Patterson Road, Grand Junction. Reception to follow immediately.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association or the Prostate Cancer Foundation in lieu of flowers.