1940-2019
Farmington, UT- Ken was born in Los Angeles, CA on November 8, 1940 to Al and Margaret Hackmeister. He passed away peacefully, after a brief hospitalization due to COPD, with his wife Les and children by his side.
Ken attended Pocatello, ID High School, graduating in 1958 and was a 4-year baseball Letterman. He was drafted by the Oakland A’s as a catcher but declined due to the civil unrest in Selma, Alabama where he would have been assigned. He married Sharon Tolman in 1962. Ken worked for Farmers Insurance in Pocatello, then transferred to Los Angeles in 1965. In 1969 he purchased his own Farmers agency in Bountiful and the family moved to Farmington, UT. After a divorce, he married Leslie Starbuck in 1981 and she has remained his faithful partner for 38 years.
Ken retired from Farmers Insurance in 1995 and was hired by Disney to open and operate the Softball facility at their new Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, FL. He returned to Utah three years later to enjoy retirement.
He is survived by his wife Les, brother Gary (Lynette), sons Troy (Rhonda) and Bob (Tricia), daughters Missy (Abed) Abouhassan and Mindy (Ted) Mees, and step children Sonnett (Troy) Wilcox and Shannon (Vickie) Starbuck. He is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren of whom he was immensely proud. He was preceded in death by his parents and granddaughter Skylie.
Ken had a lifelong passion for fastpitch softball (http://www.alsfastball.com/news/13828/308/Ken-Hackmeister-has-passed.html). He was a player, coach, organizer and staunch advocate for the sport. Any tournament or event he was part of was planned and executed to the last detail, with class and style. His title of "Mr. Fastpitch" was well-deserved!
He will be laid to rest at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery in Salt Lake City. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, November 24th from 11am – 3pm at the Bountiful Davis Arts Center, 90 North Main Street, Bountiful Utah for anyone who would like to attend. In lieu of flowers please send donations to Huntsman Cancer Institute http://thehuntsman.org/give
