Tribute 5

Tribute given by Mom:

There is a quote by Mother Teresa that says:

“They may see the good you do as self serving, continue to do good.

They may see your generosity as grandstanding, continue to be generous.

They may see your warm and caring nature as a weakness, continue to be warm and caring….for you see, in the end,

It is between you and God. It always was”

Ken always had a clear perspective on this, he was happiest in the background quietly doing what needed to be done, no need for recognition for him. At some point in our discussion about his wanting to donate his body for medical research he said you know you do not have to have a service for me, or if you do make it a small one. I told him that I hope that there are holes in the floor of heaven, and we would have a service about him but not really for him as he will be celebrating in Heaven with his brother Dale and all those that have gone before him.

As we prepared for this service and I thought of what to share memories came flooding back!

A note in my mailbox at Philhaven where we were both working when I first met Ken. “Service cannot become slavery to one who loves” his way of encouraging me to take a position that I had been offered in New York City at Heartsease Home, and all the memories of times spent with the young women I worked with there, and much of our dating time.

Ken’s trepidation at becoming a father, which quickly disappeared when Megan was born and Megan had him wrapped around her little finger from the time he first held her. Nothing gave him greater joy then spending time with his children, he was so proud of each of you.  With the addition of PJ and then Emma he would talk about how blessed we are to have a family that loves the Lord and each other.

The years spent volunteering in Americus, GA where we saw God work in amazing ways, life long friendships were made, a new Mennonite church was started and we even had former Pres. Jimmy Carter as our SS teacher for 6 months.

Years of working with the youth group here at our church, Ken was happiest when he had work to do or he was helping to organize and lead missions trips, not just for our youth group, but for other churches and organizations. W. Virginia, several trips to Nicaragua, Guatemala, Jamaica, several Habitat projects and helping at Mennonite Disaster sites.

So this time has been a time of much laughter and many tears! As we ran Ken’s race we were moved and touched by the good wishes and stories  that allowed us to take a walk down memory lane and for Ken to hear the stories of how his life and quiet faith had encouraged others in their faith walk. We were blessed by those of you that came and sat with us and shared in music, prayers, and quiet moments of reading the Bible, and the other important book – “PA Game News”.

This has been a precious time of savoring each day, both the good and not so good days a time of sharing our deepest feelings as we were keenly aware that this time may be all we have. Reflecting on God’s leading in our lives and how all of our days are numbered, and telling the stories of how God preserved Ken’s life during the “Tet” offensive in Vietnam where his household were the only American’s that were not killed or captured in the city of “Hue”. And when he and his friend Paul rode motorcycle through Afghanistan and due to some unusual circumstances were stoned by a nomadic tribe and then ended up in prison, a time when again God preserved their lives. While in prison the chief of police read through Ken’s Bible in 3 days and they had a chance to discuss the differences between the Bible and the Koran, the chief had many questions and ask if he could keep the Bible. Only after they left the country did they find out that proselytizing was punishable by death at that time, again seeing God’s hand of protection.

We are also so grateful for all of you who joined us on this journey, your love, support and prayers continue to be the wings beneath our feet.

The best qualities of Ken he leaves behind in each of our children,

 Megan, you have your father’s quiet, gentle spirit, quietly working in the background, happy to not be in the limelight. You parent in the same way he did with love, patience and joy!

Joshua, you have your father’s tender, compassionate heart, you always see the need around you and respond, you have his work ethic that any job worth doing is worth doing right!

Joel, you have your father’s courage, tenacity, and compassionate heart, you tackle any new project that needs done with the same thought that your father had “I should be able to figure this out”.

And Tina, our honorary daughter, Ken loved you and was so proud of the woman you have become, he appreciated your honesty, your strong work ethic, your honest search to know God and your fun loving spirit.

So, I will continue to see glimpses of Ken in each of you as you walk out your faith in the paths God calls you to.  He was so proud of each of you!

Tribute 4

Tribute given by PJ Savage (Pop's Son-In-Law):

When I think about Ken I’m reminded of a part of the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus is teaching in the temple.  His audience is astounded at what they were hearing.  To that point the people had only heard about how bad they were and how much they were sinning.  Jesus’ words were now giving them hope.  A teacher of the law, a Pharisee asked Jesus a question.

He asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

This was how Ken lived his life.  He was the embodiment of how Christ wanted us to live. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone.  He was always willing to lend a hand expecting nothing in return.  Shortly after Megan and I were married we were at the wedding of one of Megan’s friends.  After the meal, without being asked, Ken and Nancy cleared all of the tables in the reception hall.  That was as clear an example as any of Ken’s servant heart.

One of the most fascinating things I ever learned about Ken was how he became to be in Vietnam.  He did not believe in war.  But when the war in Vietnam began and Ken was drafted he chose to serve rather than run away.  Instead of going to Vietnam with a gun to destroy, he went with a hammer to help build.  I believe this is the epitome of loving your neighbor as yourself.

During the last two weeks as we were preparing for this service and I was looking through the hundreds of pictures and memories there were a few things that stood out to me.  The smile on Ken’s face when he was with his family and his friends was unmistakable.  The gleam in his eye when he was with Nancy, Megan, Josh, Joel, and then Emma was clear.  Ken loved his family.  Ken loved his friends.  Ken loved his life.

There are people in this world who are not lucky enough to have one father figure in their life.  I was fortunate enough to have two.  Besides my own father, Ken was a great example of what it was to be a husband, a father, and a man. 

I feel blessed to be a part of this family.  I consider myself blessed that Ken treated me like one of his own.  I am blessed to have known him.

Tribute 3

Tribute given by Megan:

As I thought about what to share today, many thoughts and memories quickly came to mind.  Memories from childhood to memories as a teenager to memories now… and through it all, I was always daddy’s little girl.  There was never a time when dad wasn’t walking each step by my side, encouraging me when I was down, disciplining me when I was out of line, loving me when I drove him crazy, and supporting me through tough decisions. 

I remember countless times running into problems, whether it be while driving or with my car or at my house or anything else that came up, my first thought would be to call dad.  He will know what to do cause there never seemed to be anything that dad wasn’t good at or couldn’t figure out.  He was a walking book of knowledge that I am so glad I got to experience… Or was made to experience.

I remember very clearly being at a soccer game in high school when someone announced my car had a flat tire.  How convenient I thought that dad and mom happened to be at the game.  So I turned around and yelled to dad, “My car has a flat tire and it needs changed.”  Dad got that little smile on his face that we all know so well and nicely yelled back, “This seems like a perfect time for you to learn how to change your own tire.”  So much to my chagrin, dad stood by my jeep and taught me how to change my tire. 

And then there are many memories of dad being surrounded by children.  It seemed all his life, children where drawn to him and he loved being with them.  This became all the more evident to me last summer when I gave birth to Emma, dad’s first and only grandchild.  Our happy fun-loving little girl had a rough start of it.  Spending the first 6 weeks of her life crying and wanting to be held.  And when PJ and I didn’t think we could walk any more with her that day, dad would take Emma, put her on his shoulder, and start walking.  Within minutes, she would nuzzle in on his neck and sleep like a baby should.  He would come back from walking around the circle at the farm smiling, enjoying every second of holding Emma, and showering her with love. 

And now as Emma asks where Pop-Pop is, she responds to her own question… “Jesus.”  She knows and we know that Dad is in a much better place, sitting at the feet of Jesus.  And while there is a void left here on Earth, we celebrate in the fact that one day we will see him again and be together as a family, spending eternity in Heaven. 

So in closing, here is something that speaks of who my dad was.

For a Man I’m Proud to Call My Dad

My dad was a man of strength… from the arms that carried me as a little girl to the unwavering support he surrounded me with until the end.

My dad was a man of character… through his commitment to always do the right thing and raising me to do the same.

My dad was a man of love… from the way he showed compassion toward others to the way he defined his own happiness by mine.

My dad was a man of kindness… from always doing things for me to show his love to doing things for others to show me how to live.

He was a man of respect… the kind of man I’m so proud to call my Dad. 

Tribute 2

Tribute given by Pop's sister Joan Pipher (read by her daughter, Pop's neice, Kristy Richmond):

I have many fond memories of growing up on the family farm.

I think we must have learned to work before we learned to walk.  I was always grateful when you boys could work outside doing farm chores.  I really didn’t like gathering eggs.  There was always the nasty pecking hens.  More than one went to chicken heaven in the manure pile.

It seems like you took responsibility early in life.  You worked in the barn with the all the animals, as well as in the fields until dusk brought you inside.  We had plenty of fun though too, getting into trouble.  Remember the time we went sledding down the back hill, using the tin roof from the chicken house as our sled.  We could have killed ourselves.  The Good Lord must have been watching over us.

And the time when everyone went to a conference except for you and I, and our grandparents.  We would sit and play “church” on the steps of the house for hours.  We would have Lassie (our dog) give us sermons from the steps.  We would tell her to preach, and she would bark out loud.  So, we’d give her a treat.  Those sermons were great!  When our cousin Luke Jr. got older, he replaced Lassie as the preacher.  Poor Lassie.  Luke Jr. didn’t eat biscuits though, so it saved us lots of money on food.  I’m sure Luke Jr. was a “free minister.”

And oh how you thought you were big stuff when you were younger.  I can still see you running after a fox up in the field.  You were so sure you would catch that fox.  What an entertaining evening!  Remember the times too of poking at water snakes in the stream at our house?  You never acted scared.

Spotting deer was an experience that few people got to enjoy as much as our family.  Especially when my sleep was so rudely interrupted because I was the one who had to drive the car.  It seems like the faster I drove, the more deer we saw.  And you would hang out the window with a spotlight, and when you would see the deer you would bang on the roof for me to stop.  I would have to come to a sudden stop so you could count the deer.  It seems like fun looking back, but not then!

I could ramble on and on, but I am putting a lid on it for this time.

My dear brother Kenny, I love you so very much.  I would have gladly traded places with you, and taken away all of your suffering.  But I couldn’t.  That hurts me very much, because a big sister needs to protect her baby brothers.  I’m proud of the man you became, and I’m proud to call you my brother.

All my love,

Sis

Tribute 1

Tribute that was given by Pop's parents, Mary and Edgar Keefer:

“The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh – Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

We used this same quote from Job nine years ago at our son Dale’s funeral.  Many things we don’t understand, but we know God holds our hand.

It only seems like a short time ago that our baby Kenny came into our lives.  What a joy!  From a very young age he was always very industrious, and that follow him throughout his life.  At a young age his older sister Joan and he had a big disagreement about who was to play with a toy carriage in front of the house.  I don’t remember exactly what the disagreement was about, but they yelled at each other for a while.  Finally, Kenny, who could not speak very well yet, told his older sister that when he gets big, “I buy my own do-cart.”

When he was young he nearly always carried a small toy elephant with him.  He couldn’t say elephant, so it was his “nec-a-no.”  We have no idea where that came from.

Another time, his older brother Carl and he decided to build a boat.  We don’t know where they came up with the idea, maybe they were helping Noah build the ark.  It was in the stream near the back of our house.  We don’t know where they found the lumber, or the nails, but it took a long time to build and a lot of hard work.  When it was finished, we all gathered in the yard to see the boat go down the stream.  As they both stepped into the boat, it sank straight to the bottom of the stream.  What a disappointment for them!

Throughout high school, Ken worked his uncle’s garage, Witmer Motors.  Then came the Vietnam War.  So, to fulfill his military obligation, he went with Mennonite Central Committee to the heart of Vietnam.  A young 19 year-old working in Vietnam, a worrisome time for a mother.  He would spend the next 7 years there.  The first 3 years fulfilled his military obligation, but Ken wanted to stay there for another 4 years as a volunteer.  No phone calls, only letters or tapes, which were very scarce.  What a blessing to see our Ken return to the states after 3 years!  Little did we know that he planned to return to Vietnam.  After returning, the TET offensive occurred, and we heard the news that 8 Vietnam volunteers were missing.  We prayed for days and days.  Finally, the news came that the 8 volunteers were found alive.  More on that from Harley Kooker, he was one of the 8.

After a number of weeks, Ken came home for a short time only to return to Vietnam, taking his younger brother Dale with him.  Now we had 2 sons in Vietnam.  As time went on, the boys decided that we should come over and see their work.  What an eye opener to see the work that was going on at the vocational farm, where pigs were being raised and auto mechanics was being taught.

The missionaries who lived there also worked in a large hospital.  We were at one of their prayer meetings.  We could sense the power of the Spirit even though the service was all in Vietnamese. 

Sometime later, he was in a gasoline explosion at the hospital, and had a large portion of his body badly burned.  Through much prayer, and much care, he was nursed back to health without a scar on his body.  Finally, after 7 years Ken decided to return to the United States.

Time went by, and Nancy came into his life, along with his children.  Together, they all moved to Georgia to work with Habitat for Humanity, and then back to Pennsylvania, working and serving his church.

His time on earth was so short, and we will miss him deeply, but he was a wonderful son who worked and served the Lord to the best of his ability.

Finding a New Normal

The past few weeks, we have each spent time finding a new routine.  There is suddenly a large change that will take a bit of time to adjust to.  Gone are the late nights sleeping on the couch, and the weekly visits to Lancaster Cancer Center, the time schedule for medication, and the hours spent listening to music.  Gone is that routine...and in comes a new one.  It has been unexpectedly bittersweet.  While there is now discretionary time, and a looser schedule, it means that a significant element has been removed.  That element is Pop.  However, though the void is felt, it is not unbearable or dwelt upon.  Many of the traditions that we started as Pop became ill, we have tried to carry-on.  Family meals, a few times per week, are high priority, and simply conversing about life has permeated our conversations.  Of course there are moments where a picture, or thought, will steal the breath from our lungs, but it is too sweet not to reminisce on all the memories.
The morning after Pop's Life Celebration, we piled into a suburban (graciously lent to us by a friend) and made our way down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  As we were driving through Virginia, Mom pulled out the 'My Favorite Memory of Ken is...' cards from the service and read them aloud.  The memories flowed from the small note cards like a river of life.  Each of us sat gazing out the window, lost in worlds far away, as the stories carried us back and forth in time.  Mom would throw her head back in laughter, and cover her mouth, at the humor of some of the memories.  A few seconds later, she would stop reading, and bite her lower lip to keep it from quivering as tears made their way down her nose, falling onto the paper.  It was a beautiful moment where the humor and impact of Pop's life rang in the open space of the vehicle. 
This rang true as well for the Life Celebration that so many of you helped to make possible.  It was the people in the seats, who came together in joy and honor, that made the event so beautiful to us as a family.  Thank you for sharing in Pop's life, and for blessing us by sharing in the day.  May all the praise and honor for Pop's life go to the one who has created us all...Christ Jesus.

For the next seven days (starting tomorrow), the postings will be the tributes that were shared at the Life Celebration.  For those who were unable to make it to the service, we felt your prayers and presence there as well, so thank you, but we also wanted to provide a way for you to share in the day.  Hopefully, some of these tributes will resonate with you, and perhaps even take you to another place and time.