After an epic life, Kenneth Howard Stacey of Austin, TX has landed in his final resting place. I can’t thank the guy enough for all he did for my sister and I. He was the primary parent at a time when that was not in fashion. He never cared about that. He loved every minute of being the primary parent. While we were at school he would sign up for cooking classes and learned to make amazing food. He taught us to cook and how to life.
He was extremely patient and would answer any question we asked him. He never gave us the “uhh huh” or shrug off, he would sit and explain anything we asked him to explain. He taught us to cook and signed us up for every sport possible. He also volunteered to coach just about every sport possible. He would drive his pick up truck around the neighborhood collecting all the kids on his team and take us to practice then drive everyone home after practice. It was not just Tara and I that loved him, many of the kids in the neighborhood knew him because of his coaching.
We didn’t have strict rules in our house, he would say to us on Friday night when we were leaving the house with his car keys in our hands….”remember, you have school on Monday.” He believed in allowing us to make decisions and experience life and he was always there to pick us up if anything went off the rails. He would just talk it through with us.
He also tricked us both in to getting computer science degrees in college. Back in the 80’s he had the foresight to tell us that every company was going to have a computer that they ran their business on. I have to say that I thought he might be a bit crazy back then but I am sure glad I listened to him now.
He was born in South Dakota, November 25, 1935, and he was raised on a farm. He always loved animals and they have always loved him. He graduated from South Dakota State University with an electrical engineering degree. He married Marlene in 1964 and they moved to Austin, Texas in the 1970s for Ken’s job and to raise kids.
In Austin, they were always fun. They bred, raised, and showed Pembroke Welch corgis, started a gourmet club, and we lived on the most fun street in Austin. They enjoyed lots of social events with their large friend base. Ken loved to invite friends over for dinner and cook amazing food and serve his wine selections.
He raised us to be strong humans and rather than coaching specific techniques in sports or competitions of any type, he would talk about killer instinct. He was a competitor and he wanted the same for us. We are strong women who know how to stand our ground and how to win. We also learned to win and lose with grace and humility, that is the greatest gift he gave us.
He is preceded in death by his parents Howard and Olive, his brother, Lee Stacey, his sister Elaine Combest, and everyone’s favorite Auntie Lois Lillebo. He is survived by his wife, Marlene, their 2 daughters Tara Bodwell (and husband Walter Bodwell) and Trisha Stacey, and his 4 grand daughters Brynn Bodwell, Maya Fuller, Erika Bodwell, and Abby Fuller.
I know that wherever he is, he is winning. Thank you Ken for teaching us how to life, love you forever.
In lieu of flowers, donations to American Stroke Association (https://www.stroke.org/en/) or Animal Humane Society in Minneapolis (Animal Humane Society).
