Kenneth C. "Ken" Ewing

Kenneth Curtiss (Ken) Ewing embarked on his homegoing Friday, November 28th. He was born in Sioux Falls, SD on February 25, 1931, the son of Kenneth J. Ewing and Evelyn (Garver) Ewing. He grew up in Sioux Falls with his brother and sister, where he attended local grade schools and graduated from Washington High in 1949.

Coming of age in the shadow of the Korean War, he completed a year at Miami University in Ohio and some classes at Augustana College before enlisting in the Air Force in late 1951. Within a few months he entered pilot training and got his wings in May, 1953. Graduating high enough to get a fighter assignment, he went to F-86 (Saberjet) gunnery school at Nellis AFB, Nevada. There followed assignments flying the F-86 at Geiger Field, Washington, Kimpo Air Base in Korea, and George AFB, California.

In 1956 he departed the Air Force and went into training with United Air Lines in Denver and joined the Wyoming National Guard. He served the usual airline apprenticeships as flight engineer and co-pilot, all the while flying the F-86 on weekends with the Guard and finishing his bachelor's degree at the University of Denver. He made captain in 1967 and, with the exception of some time instructing in United's Training Center, he flew as captain until his retirement from UAL in 1991.

In his first year with United, he met a stewardess, Fay Johnson. They were married in December, 1957, and a year later they bought their first home. Their first-born, Thomas, arrived in September, 1959, and tragically was taken away just after Christmas. The pain of that loss receded with the birth of Richard in January,1961 Soon afterward the family moved to Illinois, where Ken flew out of Chicago for several years. A girl came in 1962 with Nancy's birth, and Robert joined them in 1969. In 1977, Ken took them all back to Denver, where he finished his career. He also learned that the children he taught to ski could all outski him.

He spent a significant part of his retirement years finding his pilot training classmates, some 350, and arranging a reunion 45 years after their graduation. He spent three years searching and arranging the reunion. It was such a success that they gathered four more times in the next 10 years in U.S. locations and, since students from half a dozen NATO nations trained with the class, they held two reunions in Europe.

He was predeceased by infant son, Tommy, and Fay. Grateful for the time they had with him are his children, Dick, Denton, TX: Nancy, Lakewood, CO and Bob, Highlands Ranch, CO; four granddaughters, Kathryn Ewing, Jordan (Ewing) Berdiales, Savannah Ewing, and Taylor Ewing; sister Marge Kirby, Denton, TX; brother Charles, Williamsburg, VA; and not least, Kathy Brendlinger.

Life goes on for his family and his many friends, and each new day dawns as a gift. We cherish them all, but it will never be as good as it was when Ken Ewing was here.

Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, December 6, 2014 at Oliinger Crown Hill, Pavilion of Reflection, 7777 W. 29th Ave., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033.