Kenneth F. "Ken" Ross, 79, passed away Monday, October 26, 2026, following an extended battle with pancreatic cancer.

Born July 12, 1947, Ken was the first of five children for Norbert and Viola (Dreiling) Ross of Hays, Kansas. He grew up with a strong sense of family, community, history, and communication. He enjoyed listening to older storytellers reminisce, many more fluent in the language of their immigrant parents than in English. One story he especially recalled was hearing two elderly women swapping stories in their childhood tongue and laughing uproariously. When asked to repeat the stories in English, the women tried, but the stories failed, the humor lost in translation. Ken's love for the English language sparked a desire to help people communicate better using it.

After graduating high school from St. Jospeh's Military Academy in 1965, Ken attended Fort Hays State University (FHSU), graduating in 1969 with a BA in English. He joined the United States Air Force, achieved sergeant's rank, and served at Travis AFB, California; Saigon, Vietnam; and Williams AFB, Arizona. Exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam affected his health in later years. In 2021, Ken received a Quilt of Valor from the national Quilts of Valor Foundation that honors the service of Vietnam veterans.

Back in civilian life, Ken returned to FHSU to pursue an MA in English. It was then that he met Karen McAfee when she came to see her advisor, with whom Ken shared an office. They fell in love on cheap date on all kinds of weather with lots of walking and talking about literature, writing, and life. They married in 1977, and the real adventure began. They moved to Kansas City with no job prospects, confident that they would be employed within days. Days turned to weeks until Karen applied for a position at Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Ken's search for a job in his field, corporate communications, took him to the headquarters of the engineering company Black and Veatch. The job trained him beyond college textbooks, preparing him for his next steps and a move to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he worked at Lincoln National Corporation. When corporate downsizing eliminated his position, he established Ross McAfee Communications, but discovered that working with others energized him, while working alone did not. His gifts perked in collaboration and encouragement among co-workers, so he returned to in-house corporate communications and finished his career at Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. He wrote a book covering the first 100 years of Brotherhood Mutual and organized an archives storage area for historic items. He loved talking to his co-workers and could expound on topics about which he was knowledgeable or simply opinionated. His co-workers called these sessions "Ross Talks."

Ken retired from Brotherhood Mutual in 2017, then took on the communication needs of the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society, updating their print and online resources, and helping the organization raise money for the training of ministers to carry the word throughout Russia.

Through work, church, and civic activities, Ken developed relationships with people in all walks of life, relationships that became lifelong friendships. Ken was a writer, a communicator, an encourager and more. He wrote speeches for company presidents, newsletters and releases, brochures, web content, marketing materials, company history, white papers, legal publications, and more. He was trained in the led workshops in compression planning. He also wrote a book covering Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company's 100-year history. He loved his work and his co-workers.

In retirement, Ken took on the task of website manager at Ascension Lutheran Church, until illness forced him to release it. He read widely and especially enjoyed work by Doris Kearnes Goodwin and David Brooks.

Ken loved flower gardening. When the family moved to their Fort Wayne home, the yard was a blank slate--no trees and few flowers. Ken planted six trees in the back yard and one in the front, including an evergreen seedling his son brough home from school on Earth Day, plus bushes, and perennial and annual flowers. The garden was his happy place. Forty years later, the trees shade nearly the whole yard, the flowers add color everywhere, and the little evergreen seedling now towers over all.

Above all, though, Ken cherished his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law, and his grandchildren. His pleasure was evident in conversations, and their time spent together.

Growing up, Ken learned faith as his family worshipped in a church built from native limestone quarried by people seeking a new life in a new land. One of his favorite Bible verses, "Cast all your cares on Him, for he cares for you," (1 Peter 5:7) sustained him daily through peace and wartime, daily joys and deep sorrows. Shortly before he went home to his new life in a new land with the Lord, Ken told a friend he was "getting closer to the gate," and "what a great gate to be close to." The peace this believer had in his last year, especially, was an inspiration to all who now mourn his loss.

Family members include brothers Daniel, and wife Mary Ann Ross, Highlands Ranch, Colorado; Ronald (deceased), and Alice Ross, Overland Park, Kansas; Mary Jo, and husband, Donald Chambers, Hays, Kansas. Also surviving are sons Geoffrey, and wife Kristen, and their children, Fort Wayne; and Ethan, and wife Grace, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Viewings and the funeral service are scheduled as follows:

Viewing from 5-7 pm on Wednesday, November 4 at FairHaven Funeral Home.

Second viewing from 10-11 am on Thursday, November 5, and Ascension Lutheran Church

Funeral at 11 am on Thursday, November 5, and Ascension Lutheran Church

Internment at Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan