Kenneth Gregory Wisniewski

A celebration of life service for Kenneth will be held Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Bateman Carroll Funeral Home, 520 W. Powell Blvd, Gresham, Oregon.

Kenneth Gregory Wisniewski was born July 30, 1943, in South Bend Indiana. He was the oldest of four children and son to Casimir and Gertrude Wisniewski, both deceased. He has two sisters, Diane Bailey and Elaine Johnson and a brother Paul Wisniewski, deceased.

Ken left home and joined the Air Force in 1962-1966. His Air Force buddies referred to him as “Whisky”. He met his wife, Rosalie (Rose) Munroe at Rooster Rock in 1964. She was at the beach with a friend and there was a group of military guys including my Dad. My mom told her friend she could have whichever guy she wanted but the one sitting alone on the log (Whisky) was hers. She was engaged at the time, but that same day made the trip to tell her then fiancé she had met someone else. Ken and Rose were married June 2, 1967.

Ken and Rose had three children, Roxanne Danelle Haworth (1971), Brenda Michelle Wisniewski (1975) and Casimir (Casey) Ervin Wisniewski (1983). Roxanne is married to Bill Haworth and has two children, Zachary William Haworth (29) and Rebecca Danielle Haworth (25). Brenda has two children, Alyssa Jordan Dodd (29) and Logan Wisniewski (27). Casey is married to Bethany and has two children, Sofia Rosemarie Wisniewski (3) and Jacob Riley Wisniewski (3).

Ken settled in Gresham Oregon but later in 1990 they moved to Gilbert Arizona. There they enjoyed the sunshine and helped Brenda raise her children, Alyssa and Logan. In 2010 they made the move back to Oregon along with Brenda, Alyssa and Logan.

Ken enjoyed bowling and he and Rose were in bowling leagues for many years. He enjoyed watching movies and reading. Roxanne was in dance as a kid/teenager and Casey got involved in martial arts as a kid through adulthood. Ken really enjoyed watching Roxanne dance and Casey do his karate. Ken loved karate so much, he even participated in some martial arts classes as well.

While Brenda was not in any activities, he sure loved her children and was a father figure to both of them. He and Brenda also enjoyed watching TV shows together that Rose did not care for. Ken also enjoyed watching his granddaughter Alyssa dance, his granddaughter Becca play soccer and sing in choir and play saxophone in band and grandson Zachary play trombone in the band throughout middle school and high school and electric guitar just for fun. While Logan was not involved in any specific activities, he was very into cars and my Dad enjoyed them too and they bonded over guns. Ken also enjoyed planes and played online flight simulation games and collected figurine boats.

The last several years, Ken enjoyed attending Music Mondays in the Gresham Art park with Rose, Roxanne, Bill, and Brenda which runs from early July through the end of August. He very much enjoyed his two newest grandchildren, twins Jacob and Sofia who brought him and the family so much joy. He had a very special bond with Jacob (Casey’s mini-me).

Most of Ken’s career was in sales. After the birth of Casey in 1983, Ken took a job that required him to travel quite a bit. He covered territory in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Hawaii and New Zealand to name a few. He especially enjoyed Hawaii, New Zealand and Arizona obviously, given their move there.

Ken was a funny guy and played on the fact that he was Polish quite a bit. He was known for telling “polack” jokes given his polish heritage. One in particular comes to mind because there is a picture of him doing it. The joke? How does a Polack pull up his socks? He pulls down his pants and then pulls them up! There are plenty more for sure. He enjoyed drinking Pepsi, eating potato chips and peanut M&Ms. He made homemade pierogi, polish sausage and polish cookies called kifli’s. He enjoyed cooking. He talked a lot about getting in trouble as a kid and that he often got into mischief. Ken studied the bible and became a Christian late in life and was baptized on October 28, 2016. He built some great friendships through that journey.

Ken was diagnosed with COPD which was one of the reasons they moved back to Oregon to be closer to family. At that time, his health started to decline. He did well for several years. However, in 2024, he began not feeling good, but it was not clear what the issue was. In December 2024, they found a mass in his lungs. It was determined it was cancerous and had spread to his back and bones. Sadly, it progressed quickly before he was even able to establish care with oncology or have a biopsy. He passed on March 7, 2025.

Ken was a funny, loving man who loved his wife, his children and his grandchildren very much. He will be missed by many.