Ken joins the navy

A little bit about Ken and his family. Ken returned to Washburn after his discharge from the Navy. Our worries about his welfare during the war were somewhat unfounded I guess. Despite the fact that he was aboard ship in the Pacific throughout the war, he never faced any serious threat from the Japanese. His greatest anxiety resulted from the typhoons he experienced In the China Sea.

After his marriage to Lois Thorsen of Washburn and the birth of Tom and Richard he moved to Flint, Michigan where he spent the rest of his life working for General Motors. His sad death at the age of 50 in 1971 was a shock to all of us.
Another touching anecdote. My mother was too ill to travel to Flint for Ken’s funeral and she asked my dad to order white flowers from the family with one red rose to represent her. The bouquet was placed on a stand just to the side of the coffin. At the wake my dad pointed out to me that the white flowers were standing straight and tall in the vase, but the red rose had slightly drooped, almost touching Ken’s right shoulder. My dad could only comment that it was an odd coincidence. I knew that Dad, not one for romance or sentiment, felt that it was almost supernatural.
I can’t identify many relatives in this picture, but I know that Tom is on the far right. His son, Mike, is to his left, and his wife, Sandy, is in front of him holding the sign. Greg is fourth from the end with the beard and sunglasses. Jeff is farther to the left; sunglasses and a moustache single him out. Lois and her husband George are in the front, holding the sign. I can only guess where Debbie is (on the far left holding the sign?) and I can’t identify any of the rest, Help!

After I distribute these albums, I’m going to ask each family to add details and to distribute them to each of us.