| Our Brother In Law, Ken Schaack |
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Ken Schaack (December 3, 1939 - August 18, 2009)
Kenneth Schaack, 69, of Pierre, died Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at St. Mary’s Healthcare Center/Hospice.
A viewing will be held 5-7 pm Thursday at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Pierre, with a memorial prayer service at 7 pm followed by coffee in the parish hall.
On Friday, a viewing will be held 11:30 am – 1 pm at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Watertown, followed by a funeral Mass at 1 pm and committal in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Watertown. Refreshments will be served in the church hall following the committal.
Isburg Funeral Chapel, Pierre, is in charge of arrangements, assisted by the Wight, Comes & Sogn Funeral Chapel, Watertown.
Ken was born in Watertown on December 3, 1939, the son of Paul Peter and Jennie (McPeek) Schaack and the grandson of immigrants from Luxembourg. He attended McKinley Elementary, Watertown Junior High and graduated from Watertown High School in 1958.
He was a member of the basketball, track and cross-country teams, the Ki-Yi royalty, and the school newspaper and yearbook staffs.
Following high school, Ken attended South Dakota State University, where he was member of the Jackrabbit basketball and baseball teams and wrote for the Collegian newspaper. He graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism; in 1969 he earned the Master of Science degree in Journalism, also from SDSU.
His professional career included the early years 1958-1966 at the Watertown Public Opinion newspaper, where he was both sports editor and news editor. He held the sports information director position at SDSU from 1966-1970, moving on to Southwest State University in Marshall, MN, in 1970, as assistant professor and university publications editor.
In 1974, Ken joined the Secretary’s office at the Department of Transportation in Pierre. Starting in 1989, he participated in launching Governor George Mickelson’s Office of Economic Development, heading the Division of Research, writing speeches, and overseeing the Future Fund, a grant program for research programs at the universities and tech institutes.
Following the tragic plane crash in 1993 which took the lives of Governor George Mickelson and Commissioner Rolland Dolly and others, Ken re-focused his career in 1995 as academic coordinator at Pierre’s Capital University Center (CUC), retiring in 2002 at age 62 after advising hundreds of students and hiring and mentoring many willing instructors.
Ken married his rock, Karon Lampy, on December 28, 1964; they were blessed with four children, and were privileged to raise three to adulthood—Katie, Ann, Jon. Their daughter, Amy Karon, died at birth in 1972.
He enjoyed parenting, golfing, hunting, fishing, blackjack and family travels, and was a long-time member of the Pierre Elks Lodge. He became an avid fan of Husker football when two of his children attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also enjoyed attending Drake basketball games with his daughter and son-in-law. He lived a life devoted to family, friends, and the State of South Dakota.
In 2005 Ken courageously faced a diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy and fronto-temporal dementia, diseases which cruelly robbed him of his use of language and muscular coordination. In October 2008 he moved to Golden Living, Pierre, where he was lovingly cared for until he was moved to St. Mary’s Healthcare/Hospice on Wednesday, August 13, where he died on Tuesday, August 18.
He is survived by his wife, Karon; his daughters Katherine (Kevin) Olsen, Des Moines, IA, and Ann (Yohance) Humphery, Eagle River, Alaska; his son, Jon (Tara) Schaack, Rapid City; and his beloved grandchildren, Emily, Tobias, Anna Rose, Benjamin, Lilibeth, Cecily, and the grandchild he looked forward to meeting in January 2010. Two brothers survive Ken: Donald (Esther), Watertown, and Richard (June), South Shore, as well as many adult nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Amy Karon, his father, Paul Peter, his mother Jennie, his sisters Darlene Letze, Lorraine Acker, Caroline Kant, and his brother, Clifford.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Ken’s memory be honored with memorials to the South Dakota State University Foundation/Journalism, St. Mary’s Foundation/Hospice, Countryside Hospice/Memory Diagnostic Program, Hillsview Golf Course/Club House Building Fund.
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