A celebration of life was held for Ken King on Dec. 12 at the Arcola Prairie Place Complex, with a capacity crowd gathered to honour him.
King wanted a celebration that made people happy, with laughter and music, and this is the celebration that was had.
The celebration began with the Caragana Ramblers from Forget entertaining while people had the opportunity to talk and tell stories about King. They could also check out the memorial wall that was set up with many photos and awards that King received throughout his life.
King's youngest brother Lyndon was the MC for the evening, and he spoke fondly about his brother. He told King's nine children that their father was immensely proud of each one of them, and he loved spending time with them and his five grandchildren.
Ken King's second-oldest son Lucas took the stage and welcomed everyone and thanked the crowd for coming out to celebrate his dad’s life.
Lucas said his dad wanted people to improve themselves and not to feel bad for him. They shouldn't get stuck in the past and they should look forward to the future.
Next up to speak was King’s sister Kathy. She looked after him for the past year, and noted that when King was diagnosed with a brain tumour, he said he had 61 great years.
She went on to say how special her brother was. He never complained while she cared for him, and he was always truly a nice guy.
“He had a gift to talk to everyone and it did not matter to him where you came from,” she said. “He always had a special place for the underdog, and he made everyone feel great.”
“He would be humbled with the comments made for him,” she added. “He always wanted to see people happy.”
Kathy said her brother was very athletic and ran two half marathons last year. He was also into fitness, played and coached baseball, and loved minor sports.
She said people should all strive to be more like her brother, with kindness, helping others and being patient.
Something King had said was, “Not all storms come to disrupt our lives, some come to clear our path.”
Carson Brady from Living Skies Fitness spoke on Kings dedication to fitness, and how he always spoke to everyone and encouraged them to keep going.
“He was everyone’s cheerleader,” said Brady.
“They were very lucky to have King in their class as he was the real deal of kindness,” he said.
Gord Paulley and Nicole Currie from Carlyle town council thanked King for his years of dedication to the town's Main Street.
They have nominated King for the Order of Merit for Saskatchewan, and they are hoping that he will receive this distinction.
John Eberle and Derrel Robins were King's best friends, and they have known each other since high school. They spoke about some of the mischief they got into and how they loved to play jokes on others. They felt great when they could see King for an hour before his passing. The two friends will forever cherish the time.
To complete the evening, Jacquie Walbaum and Teagan Littlechief performed.
