RIP ‘Disney for Seniors’ Ken, we’ll miss you!

The Chip & Company Family learned today of the passing of our great friend Ken.  Ken was one of the founding writers for Chip when he started the site, and had over 41 PAGES of articles that he wrote for the site!  Ken loved taking his wife Helen to Disney World, as you can see in this photo taken in front of Cinderella Castle!

The unfortunate part of being a blogger on such a big site as Chip & Company is that we are all located across the Internet.  As a result of this, I never met Ken, but I think it is safe to say that I did know Ken.  He and I worked together in the Week in Review, and Ken was always ready to lend an ear or offer up a piece of advice whenever I needed some assistance with anything.

Ken’s primary focus was on Disney for Seniors, in which he gave his views on how Seniors like himself could get the most out of their Walt Disney World vacations.  Out of that series of articles was born the Facebook Page Disney for Seniors.

Another part of Ken’s writing that really stands out is his genuine love of Disney, but even more so, his hysterical sense of humor.  In his first post for Chip and Company, Ken wrote about how Seniors at Disney are a slightly different species, with the Latin name “Oldius Goodius” (Oldies but Goodies!)  I think it is the sense of humor that I will miss most about Ken, and my thoughts and prayers are with his wife at this most difficult time.

At this time, I’m sharing with you some of the thoughts of the other members of our family.  We all miss Ken in our own way, and this post is written by all of us, straight from our hearts.

Kristin had this to share about Ken:

Ken was so sweet to me when I first joined Chip and Co as a writer. He was such a Disney addict and one of the kindest men I’ve ever met. He was an inspiration to me as a writer and a dear dear man. Thank you Ken for inspiring the Disney lover in me to stay forever young!

Our friend Brenda had this to share about Ken:

Back in early 2011, Chip gave all of us an assignment – to write about the “And Company” and post personal info about ourselves in a post. I read through each of them to learn about each of our writers and I was really surprised to find out that I had the most things in common with Ken. Ken had a Disney home office, most of his clothes were Disney, and he collected snowglobes which he kept in a large china closet in his dining room; all just like me. I will never forget his answer to the most important question Chip asked of us. The question was, “What is your first Disney memory.” Ken’s answer was the very best of them all and it was this: “Walking down Main Street USA and thinking “I have finally found MY place!!“
Ken was very kind and funny. I absolutely loved the way he and Chip and Lee and Mike would feed off of each other and it would crack me up. Ken was also very patriotic, fair and honest. I believe he fought for our country and he carried that patriotism proudly. He was so excited to have his own site called “Disney for Seniors” and I am so grateful to all of you who helped him with that gift, especially you Chip for actually developing the site for him. He was always so thankful to get a card or a postcard. He was a very appreciative person and I always heard from him right away, which is actually why I have been so worried. I sent him a postcard from Disneyland during my trip on Feb 22-25. He never wrote to me to say he received it. It turns out the day I sent it was the day he died. He will be sadly missed.

One of our Disneyland experts, Jessica, wanted to share with us these thoughts about Ken:

I’m so lucky to have gotten the chance to know Ken. Unfortunately I never got to meet him in person. I liked calling him Grandpa Ken because that’s what he was to me. He was like having another grandfather. I’m truly going to miss him. He was always so sweet, kind, and silly. What a perfect combination. I’m going to miss you, Ken.

My North of the Border Buddy Lee had this to say regarding Ken:

Ken was a good example of how to face things with dignity and humor. I hope I can be half the man when it’s my turn.

Aljon from Sorcerer Radio, and a writer for Chip, had this to say:

What a great man. He will be missed. God bless him and his family.

Our resident Marvel guy, Patrick, had this to say about Ken:

I didn’t know Ken for very long. I’d just gotten to know him over the last several months when I started writing for Chip. But Ken’s happiness and humor was infectious. He has just such a great outlook on life, always looking up and enjoying it, never dreading it. He knew how to make the best of situations, and he was always there with a witty joke or some little anecdote that just made your day. He was just an all around great man, and I for one hope my life can be nearly as happy and fulfilling as his. I’ll miss you, sir. 

Our writer Jess had this to share about Ken:

RIP Ken. I was just reading the email he sent when I started writing for Chip. What a warm and caring soul. May his journey to the above be filled with dole whips, park hoppers, and lots of photo ops with the Queen of Hearts!

Finally Chip who broke the news to us yesterday had this to say:

Ken was with me from the beginning. Our love of Disney and Politics would lead to some very interesting emails. I met him back in 2008 in the Passporter Forums when he would like and discuss my articles. Back before anyone ever looked at the site he was my #1 fan. Over the years I learned so much from him and hope when I am a Disney Senior I will be able to take on the parks like him. Ken was a fighter till the very end and we will all miss him dearly.

Ken, you will be are missed.

Related articles

• Oldies But Goodies — Seniors at Walt Disney World (chipandco.com)
• Disney For Seniors (chipandco.com)

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