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BREVARD, N.C. -- Ken Williams, 79, passed away peacefully at home in Brevard, North Carolina, when his struggle with an extended illness finally ended on Friday, April 26, 2024.
Kenneth Roger Williams was born March 13, 1945, the eldest child of Kenneth and Jean Williams.
He grew up in Niles, but throughout a busy career in engineering and construction, he and his wife of 57 years, Pam, lived in places as diverse as Spain, Chile, Turkey, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Florida. He owned Ridge Professional Group in Lakeland, Florida, before retiring to North Carolina several years ago. They toured widely in Europe and the Middle East, so their children saw more of the world as babies than many people see in their whole lives.
Ken was an avid photographer and active in the Land of Waterfalls Camera Club of Brevard. He worked his way through school as a newspaper and wedding photographer but continued to chronicle his life and travels with Pam and their children for the next six decades. His early work for the Niles Daily Times and Youngstown Vindicator covered major news events. His pictures appeared (uncredited) on the Dave Clark Five album "American Tour."
He was proud that their two sons excelled following his passions. Chris is a successful commercial photographer based in Washington, D.C., while Mark is a managing partner at a Houston engineering firm. He found it rewarding to see them take their respective work to an even higher level than he had achieved.
Ken also enjoyed researching his family's history and tracing their genealogy. He collected documents, photographs and family Bibles and visited old hometowns, homesteads and countries of origin. He said he wanted their granddaughter, Emily, to know about her family.
Friends and family fondly remember Ken as a barbecue connoisseur, ranging widely from Peebles in Lakeland, Florida, to Hawg Wild in Brevard, North Carolina, and many others across the South. He also approached chocolate milkshakes like James Bond approached martinis. He always ordered them with precise directions: vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. His other favorite treat was a frozen Milky Way.
Other warm memories will include gathering around his old slide projector in one of their living rooms over the years, to watch his narrated presentations of the family's adventures. Over glasses of iced tea or Pepsi (never Coke) and bowls of popcorn, they would learn (or hear again) about Pam at the Pyramids, Baby Chris in Paris or Baby Mark in Chile. He was always excited to have someone new join that circle so he could share the memories with them.
Ken is survived by his wife, Pamela; children Chris (Jessica del Vecchio) and Mark (Michelle); granddaughter, Emily; and siblings, Carolyn (Larry) Pytlik, Joanne (Lamar) Patterson, Barbara (Robert) Cross, David Williams (Mary Ream), Marilyn (Paul) Graff and Donna (Mike) Carrino.
He was predeceased by his parents; brother, Donald Williams; sister, Patricia Solida; and nephews, Dustin Slick and Kevin Graff.
A celebration of life will be 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 1, 2024, at the Deerlake Village Clubhouse.
(special notice)