Kenneth Drews
1940-05-25 2020-08-05
Kenneth Alvin Drews, 80, of Delray Beach Florida died Wednesday, August 5, 2020, at the Delray Medical Center.
Ken was born on May 25,1940, in Jackson, Tennessee to Alvin and Margaret Drews. He and his parents remained in Jackson until 1946 when they moved to Des Moines Iowa where his father worked for the Des Moines Register.
In Des Moines Ken later attended Franklin Junior High School and Theodore Roosevelt High School where he played on their very successful and celebrated football team. After graduation in 1959 he attended Drake University for two years before he enlisted in the Army in January of 1962.
Upon his transfer to the US Army Reserve in December 1963 he returned to Drake University to continue his studies. =He graduated with a degree in Business Administration in January 1966 after which he moved to Denver, Colorado where he met his wife Katherine (Kay) Bonner. Ken and Kay were married on March 18, 1967. They had two children.
Ken and Kay remained in Denver until 1969 when Ken accepted a position in educational sales with McGraw Hill in New York City. His job in educational sales with other smaller companies took them from New York to McLean, Virginia, back to Denver, then to Lakeland, Florida and ultimately back to McLean, Virginia where Ken began work as a manager in Information Technology with the Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He retired in 2002.
After living and raising their two children in McLean from 1976 to 1995, Ken and Kay decided to build their dream house on the banks of the Potomac River. They built a lovely colonial home on 3 ½ acres where they enjoyed living, boating and entertaining on the waterfront. Ken retired from the Securities and Exchange Commission in April 2002. While waiting for Kay to get the retirement bug he kept himself occupied with travel, sightseeing, and putzing around the acreage on his tractor.
When Kay retired in 2004, they sold their home so that they could be freed up for more and frequent world-wide travel. They did so with gusto. Ken loved history and seeing the world. He always did his homework before traveling and was like a seasoned tour guide. His friends and tour mates (particularly each of his grandchildren on his or her one-on-one trip to Europe with Ken and Kay) reveled in his story-telling and his in-depth knowledge of even the most obscure and remote information. And, what he didn’t already know and subsequently learned, he recalled years later. With the utmost enthusiasm and detail he shared those memories with anyone who was willing to listen and learn. He would have been a most-loved and effective professor of social studies if he had ever decided to pursue that career path. Absent that career path he still enriched many with his knowledge.
Ken had a love of family, friendships and life in general. He was known for his positive and enthusiastic outlook on life and was nonjudgmental and always quick to forgive. His attitude, life is too short to dwell on the negative. With a twinkle in his eyes, he would look at a problem or adventure and say “I/we can do that.” To some, he became known as “Can do Ken,” to all he was a beloved friend, father, grandfather and husband.
Ken leaves behind his wife, Kay, two children Devon Drews and Dana Hanton, and four grandchildren, Katie, Logan and Brett Hanton and Collin Drews. He was predeceased by another grandson, Ryan Drews. Memorial services are being postponed until his interment at Arlington National Cemetery when a date on the Cemetery’s schedule can be arranged.
Because there are so many worthy organizations, Ken would have wanted any donations in his name to go the donor’s preferred recipient organization.
Ken was born on May 25,1940, in Jackson, Tennessee to Alvin and Margaret Drews. He and his parents remained in Jackson until 1946 when they moved to Des Moines Iowa where his father worked for the Des Moines Register.
In Des Moines Ken later attended Franklin Junior High School and Theodore Roosevelt High School where he played on their very successful and celebrated football team. After graduation in 1959 he attended Drake University for two years before he enlisted in the Army in January of 1962.
Upon his transfer to the US Army Reserve in December 1963 he returned to Drake University to continue his studies. =He graduated with a degree in Business Administration in January 1966 after which he moved to Denver, Colorado where he met his wife Katherine (Kay) Bonner. Ken and Kay were married on March 18, 1967. They had two children.
Ken and Kay remained in Denver until 1969 when Ken accepted a position in educational sales with McGraw Hill in New York City. His job in educational sales with other smaller companies took them from New York to McLean, Virginia, back to Denver, then to Lakeland, Florida and ultimately back to McLean, Virginia where Ken began work as a manager in Information Technology with the Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He retired in 2002.
After living and raising their two children in McLean from 1976 to 1995, Ken and Kay decided to build their dream house on the banks of the Potomac River. They built a lovely colonial home on 3 ½ acres where they enjoyed living, boating and entertaining on the waterfront. Ken retired from the Securities and Exchange Commission in April 2002. While waiting for Kay to get the retirement bug he kept himself occupied with travel, sightseeing, and putzing around the acreage on his tractor.
When Kay retired in 2004, they sold their home so that they could be freed up for more and frequent world-wide travel. They did so with gusto. Ken loved history and seeing the world. He always did his homework before traveling and was like a seasoned tour guide. His friends and tour mates (particularly each of his grandchildren on his or her one-on-one trip to Europe with Ken and Kay) reveled in his story-telling and his in-depth knowledge of even the most obscure and remote information. And, what he didn’t already know and subsequently learned, he recalled years later. With the utmost enthusiasm and detail he shared those memories with anyone who was willing to listen and learn. He would have been a most-loved and effective professor of social studies if he had ever decided to pursue that career path. Absent that career path he still enriched many with his knowledge.
Ken had a love of family, friendships and life in general. He was known for his positive and enthusiastic outlook on life and was nonjudgmental and always quick to forgive. His attitude, life is too short to dwell on the negative. With a twinkle in his eyes, he would look at a problem or adventure and say “I/we can do that.” To some, he became known as “Can do Ken,” to all he was a beloved friend, father, grandfather and husband.
Ken leaves behind his wife, Kay, two children Devon Drews and Dana Hanton, and four grandchildren, Katie, Logan and Brett Hanton and Collin Drews. He was predeceased by another grandson, Ryan Drews. Memorial services are being postponed until his interment at Arlington National Cemetery when a date on the Cemetery’s schedule can be arranged.
Because there are so many worthy organizations, Ken would have wanted any donations in his name to go the donor’s preferred recipient organization.