Kenneth Warren Wilson age 84 of Litchfield Park, AZ died unexpectedly of complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was born in North Dakota to Leslie Harry Wilson and Hazel May Kopishki. He was the youngest of three children. When he was eight years old the family moved to Albany, OR. He graduated from Albany High School in 1949 and married Marietta Burford in 1952.
Ken was always hard working. At the age of 13 he became the assistant manager of the Safeway. In his early twenties he became a foreman at Simpson Lumber where he worked until 1960 when he went to work for AllState Insurance. He retired in 1995.
Ken was a humble man full of quiet strength, caring and compassion. He never met a stranger. In 1981 he became a Shriner. He was extremely active and proud to be able to reach out to the community through the Shriner organization. Two of his own grandchildren have benefited from Shriners Hospitals. Patriotic through and through, he was also very supportive of the Wounded Warrior Project.
Ken was an avid golfer and was the Springhill Club Champion in Albany, OR. Upon retiring he moved to La Quinta, CA where he was able to live out his dream by playing daily at PGA West Golf Club. In 2004 he moved to the Phoenix area.
Ken was passionate about golf, but family was his life. Although he was given the opportunity to play golf professionally as a young man, he sacrificed that opportunity to raise his family. He is survived by his three daughters, Colleen (Charles) Hess, Tigard, OR; Lori (Gordon) Otto, Avondale, AZ; and Shelly (Richard) Herndon, Albany, OR as well as seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Marietta, his brother Darrel, sister Fern and son-in-law Richard Herndon.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:30 pm, Tuesday, March 14, 2016 at LaLoma Village, 14154 S Denny Blvd, Litchfield Park, AZ 85340. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Wounded Warrior Project, http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ or Shriners International http://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/.
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