Born in Toledo, Washington, Ken was his father Joseph's seventh son and his mother Irene's second. Ken reveled in the fact that although he was born on the 11th of May his birth wasn't recorded until May 12th--which gave him two full days to celebrate every year.
Ken had eight brothers and one sister. The family moved to Grass Valley before his first birthday, where he began his lifelong love of the mountains.
At the early age of eight, Ken, along with two brothers and his mother, was a patient at the Weimar Tuberculosis Sanitorium, where Irene tragically passed at just 29. Unable to care for his younger children, Ken's father placed him and two brothers in a detention home in Grass Valley to be cared for and sent the two youngest children to live with relatives.
Ken attended local schools and was farmed out to work in orchards in California and Arizona during the summers. He learned at a very young age that the harder you work, the more people want you around.
When Ken was 16, his father collected him and his brothers from the home and moved the family to Benton, Illinois. Ken attended Benton High School and worked on a local farm until graduation. After graduating, he moved back to Grass Valley and worked at the Empire Mine until he was called up by Uncle Sam. Ken served in the United States Air Force for four years during the Korean War, most of that time stationed on two Japanese islands where he installed and maintained communications towers.
Upon being discharged from the Air Force, Ken went to work in the copper mines in Butte, Montana. Back in Illinois after high school graduation, at the end of the summer, he had met a neighbor girl from a nearby farm who had just graduated eighth grade. Her name was Ruby. It was while Ken was working in the mines in Butte that he mailed a train ticket and engagement ring to Ruby, who by then had just graduated from high school. Ruby caught a train for Montana and she and Ken were married immediately when she arrived. They had three children and celebrated 67 years of marriage before her passing in 2021.
Ken also worked as a lineman for the Illinois Bell telephone company, a machinist with Caterpillar, and then as a long-haul truck driver until he retired.
For decades, Ken spent most summers mining his gold claim near Blue Canyon, the Ruby K. He league bowled until just two months before his passing and enjoyed the camaraderie and friendships of fellow bowlers, in both Illinois and California, for more than 60 years (nearly 45 of them in Placer County). Ken always said that any day you can throw a bowling ball is a good day. He was a Fellow in the Order of the Moose and belonged to Lodge #2264 in Auburn, where he played horseshoes for many years. His life was a testament to the Moose Lodge ethos: Do some good thing for someone each day.
The last 30 years of his life, Ken lived in a house he helped build on the property of his daughter, Susan Barnsdale, and son-in-law, Dr. John Barnsdale. Living at times with three generations, he was able to teach his grandchildren the many skills he had learned along the way.
Throughout his life, there were few days, rain or shine, that Ken couldn't be found with a shovel, wheelbarrow, chainsaw, snow chains, or hammer in his hands. He was a hard worker. He didn't tolerate laziness. He believed in handshakes. He persevered and he didn't have regrets; he knew that every decision he had ever made, good or bad, had made him who he was. He will be forever missed and will always be in our hearts.
Kenneth is survived by his son Steve (Rebecca) and daughter Susan (John); brother Bill (Rose) and sister Shirley; many nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; longtime mining partner Dan Hipple (Kathy); caregiver Janet Paehlig; and his many friends and loving community. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruby, and their son Kenny, and by his parents and seven brothers.
Services will be held on Saturday, August 17th, 2024. The Burial of the Dead - Rite II will be at 11:00 in St. Luke's Episcopal Church, followed by a Celebration of Life Reception at 1:00 in St. Luke's Parish Hall. Both are located at 128 Orange Street, Auburn, California.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Moose Lodge #2264, in memory of Kenneth Launius, may be sent to Moose Lodge #2264, 250 Sacramento Street, Auburn, California 95603
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