Kenneth Edward Spotts

Kenneth Edward Spotts passed away on April 28th, 2026 at his home in Portland, Oregon at the age of 83. He was a man of remarkable range: a pilot who became a pastor, a general contractor turned bus driver, a father of five who kept a garden, played a half-dozen instruments, and never met a stranger he didn't try to encourage.

Ken was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on October 30th, 1942, to Roland Edward Spotts and Helen Addie Spotts (Wehunt). Ken graduated from Parkrose Senior High School in 1960 in Portland, Oregon before going on to study at Portland State College. Friends and family remember his tremendous drive and his love of music from his earliest years.

An early fascination with aviation led him to Skyways, Inc. and then to the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, where he earned his commercial pilot certificate and flight instructor rating in 1964. He went on to complete ground school with TransWorld Airlines and flew as a flight engineer and pilot, teaching others to fly along the way.

His path through life took many twists and turns as he followed his interests. He earned a bachelor's degree from Moody Bible Institute in 1973 and continued his studies at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary. He served as a pastor and school principal, drove trucks, operated buses and trains, and spent years as a general contractor. Before any of that, he'd already worked as a newspaper boy, offset press operator, mailroom clerk, custodian, engineering aid, and volunteer firefighter. Ken believed in the importance of work and applied focus and mastery toward all of his undertakings.

Ken came to faith in Jesus at 13, was baptized at 15, and by his own account didn't take his relationship with Christ seriously until he was 23. From that point on, he was all in. He shared his faith freely and deliberately with everyone he met, not as a transaction, but as a natural extension of who he was. He had a particular gift for exhortation: calling people around him to live with greater devotion and discipline. He didn’t approach people from a place of superiority but with genuine investment in their growth. The standard to which he held others was the same one he was striving toward himself.

His time as a general contractor grew out of his deep skill as a designer and builder. His deliberate methods and attention to detail not only served his customers but also allowed him to build additions to his homes in Bellevue and Portland. His Portland home in particular was full of signs of his ingenuity: rigging ways to hold doors open, hang objects from walls and rafters, run cables, hold and sort wood, and much more.

Ken was a "universal neighbor." He stopped to talk, stopped to help, stopped to offer whatever he had: time, labor, a listening ear. His conviction that everyone should improve themselves and their communities often saw him mowing neighbors’ lawns or trimming their trees, showing them a vision of good stewardship while offering whatever God had been teaching him about keeping eyes fixed on Him. Ken’s dedication to his own health and physical fitness led him to work out regularly at a local gymnasium where he was widely known and mostly loved, and which he cultivated consistently as a personal field of ministry.

His favorite passages of Scripture, Matthew 6:33, Psalm 103, and the book of James, reflect his focus: seek first the Kingdom of God, don't forget the salvation and graces you've been given, and let your faith show up in what you actually do.

He was an avid reader with a particular appetite for theology, politics, and health. He played the cornet, baritone, French horn, harmonica, banjo, piano, and guitar. He ran track in high school, worked wood, shaped metal and leather, and kept a prolific garden for much of his adult life.

Ken had a preoccupation with jokes, shoveling out witticisms and banter and then often scolding himself, though the scoldings never seemed to take. His sense of humor, a fluid blend of silly and spicy, is one of the great inheritances he gave to his children, so please forgive them if any jokes and stories have a bit of an edge to them.

He married Diane Brown in 1972 and together they raised five children: Roger, Aaron, Russell, Conrad, and Karen, primarily in Bellevue, Washington.

In 2001 he married Phyllis Nash; they knew each other in high school and reconnected after Ken returned to Portland. Phyllis passed on May 4, 2024, just shy of two years before him.

He is survived by his children Aaron, Russell, Conrad, and Karen; his five grandchildren; and his siblings Shirley Carothers, Mary and Dale Myers, Ruth and Barry Tillson, Deborah and Bill Chastain, and Steve and April Spotts. He was preceded in death by his son Roger and his sister Penny-Sue.

Ken lived many lives during his time on Earth and he made his presence felt and valued in many more.