Ken was born in Edmonton, Alberta on March 25, 1945, to the late Isabel and Douglas Young. Always a bit of an imp with sparkling blue eyes, an infectious smile, and an outgoing personality that made others want to be around him, Ken made friends easily and often and kept them close for a lifetime.

Ken attended the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology where he met his loving wife Jacquelynne (McDonald) Young. Their 58-year marriage was a very happy one and as Ken would say with a wink and a smile, every day a joy! Following in the footsteps of his parents, Ken became a successful Realtor which was no surprise to those who knew him since he enjoyed the to-and-fro of buying and selling. His mother would tell of his first sale as a child of his bike to his older brother, which she made him buy back because the price had been too high. Ken soon had his own realty business which he moved from Edmonton to Pigeon Lake in the 1980s under the name of Recreation Realty. He and Jackie owned a cottage there for 36 years, so it was a natural move for him, and he received numerous awards for this work. After retiring from the realty business, Ken did expropriation work for highways for the Alberta Department of Transportation. He also did contract work arranging powerline access from Fort McMurray to the southern Alberta border. His wonderful sense of humor was a distinct advantage in these positions.

After residing for 50 years in Edmonton, Ken and Jackie moved to Lethbridge. Although he had developed some health issues, it didn’t stop Ken from enjoying winters in Arizona where he soon made more friends. Riding his Honda Goldwing 1800 was a passion of his and he did numerous short trips with friends in the local Goldwing club and from Edmonton. He loved playing golf and watching his Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Eskimos, especially when they won. Ken enjoyed seeing the world with Jackie, taking many cruises over the years. His favorite trip was his last, to beautiful Lake Como in the north of Italy. Most of all, Ken loved meeting new people. On trips to Great Britain, he would often stop into a pub where he could chat with the locals over a beer. He had a quick wit that could be mischievously playful, once convincing a gullible sister-in-law (who shall remain nameless) on a driving trip that a tire gauge was an instrument for measuring lung capacity and that she should blow into it as hard as she could to get a reading! It is one of life’s cruel tricks that in his final 3 years, aphasia robbed Ken of the ability to communicate in any way other than through his wonderful smile that he kept to the end. He found peace on August 6th, with Jackie by his side.

Ken was much loved and will always be remembered by his family – beloved wife Jackie, sisters- in-law Suzan (Michael) Alexander of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jennifer (Bruce) Heron of Motueka, New Zealand, Marty Schacht and Dorna Young of Calgary; nieces Robyn Schacht of Calgary, Kimberley Schacht of Victoria, BC, and Breanne Young (Drew Jenkins) of North Carolina; nephew Braden Young of Lethbridge; three grand nieces and nephews and numerous lifelong close friends. Ken was predeceased by his parents, parents-in-law and brother David. Cremation has taken place and memorial events will be held at a later date in Lethbridge and Edmonton.