In Memory

	Ken Stark


	Class Year:
	1984
	Cause of death:
	Influenza


	Comments:
	If you knew Ken Stark you knew you'd be listening listening to big words and then finding out the meanings. Ken was incredibly gifted in knowledge and became a doctor studying blood diseases. He was married to a beautiful woman, Joythi, who could certainly keep up with him in knowledge and fit him so well. Sadly, Ken died last year from influenza that poisoned his blood, he was only 37. He left behind a one year old daughter, Kali who was the light of his life. Ken's mom would like to put together a book of memories about Ken for her grandaughter to really áknowá him someday. If you have a memory of Ken please share it so we can let Kali see the funny and the serious side of Ken, the athlete and the scholar.

In Memoriam

This guy was Amazing !!!

Bill Thomas
1/13/2013

I met Ken in 2nd grade. He was a shy and quiet kid, and very sharp. We were close friends throughout elementary school. There were four of us, Mike, Greg, myself, and Ken. We used to sit on top of the monkey bars during recess. We all saw Star Wars together. We used to collect iron ore with magnets. Ken and I spent the night at each other's house building LEGO vehicles into the night. Ken was diffferent than the other boys I grew up with. He was never mean or cruel and while he avoided fights - he always stood his ground to bullies. Ken and I were in chorus together in elementary school. We always sang our own áfunnyá versions of the songs - much to the chagrin of the chorus director. We swam together as kids on a local team and later in high school. Ken avoided a lot of the stupidity and trouble that tempts guys in high school. He was a good student and a tough competitor in the water. I was impressed but not surprised to learn that Ken was an MD. He always had the intelligence and

Steve Mortenson
9/1/2005

“No more laps around the LQ pool, and no more blocking balls shot from LQ arms. It is over but not w/o good memories. We’ve all had some hard times, but not to compare with the confusion ahead of us!! Do everything you do with the knowledge and confidence in yourself. Do it because you want to!! See you around the summer and after. Enjoy Yourself!!!” This was something Ken wrote in my senior year book. I think it speaks volumes to how mature he was back then and I see that this maturity served him well in his career. It was not hard for me to remember what he wrote. Ken was like that, a man of few words but when he spoke he had something to say. We were teammates for all of our four years of high school. I also wanted to note that it is interesting that I do not recall him ever joining in on any of the negative behavior that we had on our teams. Ken wasn’t a person that seemed interested in putting others down. Anyway we weren’t best friends but we were teammates and he always was

Michael Bustamante
9/21/2004

I was a friend and teammate of Ken’s in high school and spent quite a bit of time around him during those four years. Some of my best memories of high school have Ken in the forefront or background of some meet, game, team event, or other social gathering. I remember Ken being such an incredibly serious, extremely gifted academic student and athlete who could snap into this disarmingly witty and very funny person at a moments notice. So many of us were just starting to figure out our lives yet Ken always seemed to know exactly what he wanted and where he was going. Although we were on the same team, because Ken and I swam the same discipline, there was always a very friendly, encouraging, competitive spirit between us; camaraderie one can experience in only a very select handful of opportunities over the course of an entire lifetime. I identified with Ken easily because of his discipline and work habit in and out of the pool. Ken was a quite leader who set an example by his own

Mark Treptow
9/15/2004