George "Ken" Kenneth Prentiss Jr.

November 28, 1932 - June 05, 2019

George "Ken" Kenneth Prentiss Jr. Obituary George Kenneth Prentiss Jr. (Ken) passed away peacefully on June 5, 2019 at the Spokane VAMC Hospice. He was born Nov 28, 1932 in the Brookline neighborhood of Boston, MA to Alice B. (Lynch) and George Sr. The family was living in Milton in January, 1946 when his mother?s heart gave out at age 43. Big sister, Marjorie (Cruickshanks), looked out for him for a while. GKP Sr. remarried in 1947 and they all moved to Newton, MA. At ages 14 & 15, Ken?s stepmother arranged a fulltime summer lunch counter job for him at the downtown Schrafft?s restaurant where she worked. At 16 & 17, his father arranged fulltime summer mailroom jobs at the downtown insurance company where he worked. Ken paid a modest room & board charge during those 4 summers; no free lunch. Ken graduated from Newton high school at 16 with poor grades and took a few inexpensive community college courses in 1950. The future looked bleak at 17. The Korean War started in June, 1950. Ken?s Air Force career started in October after his father finally agreed to sign the paperwork. After basic training in Texas, since he had NO skills, was reasonably intelligent and they needed mechanics, they sent him to Aircraft & Engine School, the B-36 School. He graduated with grades that allowed him to choose his first duty station - Fairchild AFB in Spokane, WA in August, 1951. While the B-29 to B-36 swap was taking place, he was sent to one more school ? R4360 (piston) engine school at Chanute AFB. In 1954 he was a Staff Sergeant and there was plenty of B-36 work to be done during the next few years. He had temporary assignments in Alaska, Michigan, Okinawa and New Mexico. The B-36 was about to be replaced by the all-jet B-52. Re-enlistment (in October, 1954) and jet training were possible but the new Korean War G.I. Bill offered the opportunity of attempting an electrical engineering degree dream. Ken had met Mary Lou Hoen at the Dishman Roller rink in 1952 and they dated off and on. There had to be an east coast or west coast engineering college that would admit a ?veteran? on probation. Was she willing to take a chance? She was and they married in Spokane on June 19, 1954. A team was formed that lasted 64+ years! In October they drove to Boston to visit the Prentiss family and checkout the regional colleges, all which were on semester systems that would not allow a start until September 1955. The University of Washington in Seattle was on the quarter system which allowed a January 1955 start and they accepted his application. The newlyweds drove back west to Seattle after Thanksgiving. At UW, he earned a very good GPA the first 5 quarters. It was difficult for him and very lonely for her. Mary Lou got a job at DeSoto Motors to help stretch out the G.I. Bill monthly allowance and fill her time. She was sorely tempted to pack it in but toughed it out (Norwegian stock). In March, 1956 they discovered that their family was going to grow. Ken finished the quarter and applied for an engineering aide job at the ?Seattle Development Lab.? This 70 person Honeywell facility was staffed mostly by WW2 vets and was looking for someone that they could train to be an underwater acoustics engineer. Ken was hired in April, 1956. In September, he was allowed to work part-time around his class schedule and received his BSEE in June, 1958. The Prentiss/Hoen team worked very hard for that degree. As an engineer in the years that followed, Ken received acoustic training as a field engineer (submarine and otherwise) and went to the U.S. Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare School for Contractors in Norfolk, VA. His position was classified; he was a cold war warrior in underwater detection and imaging! Another part time job/full time school year was negotiated to keep up with technology and the math requirements of his job. Ken earned an MSEE degree at UW in 1968. The Prentiss family grew over the years. Ken gradually spent more time with them doing Northwest things like hiking, camping, fishing, photography. Mary Lou fulfilled her dream, going back to school and becoming an RN. She spent the majority of her career working in surgery at Providence Medical Center in Seattle. Ken and Mary Lou ?discovered? Dixieland Jazz in the 1980?s; went to regional festivals and later, jazz cruises. Ken loved his children and was proud of each of them. Alan became a physician; Gary a pharmaceutical tech; Kevin a Snohomish County Sheriff?s Dept. Bureau Chief and Cynthia a behind-the-scenes TV person and mother. By 1987, the Honeywell facility in Seattle had become the 1,000 person Marine Systems Division and the nature of the work had shifted to more production (profit) oriented work. After 30 years, Ken had health issues (high blood pressure) and felt the need to retire early and did so in November, 1987 at age 55. Retirement Plan B was 10 years dealing with 1? acre of waterfront property on the south side of Rockford Bay, Idaho. Ken and Mary Lou were city slickers trying to turn a summer place into a year-round home. As a newly developed area, a ?volunteer? with an engineering background was needed to become the first President of the Woodland Shores Water and Sewer Homeowners Association. More stress! However, the computer skills acquired during this period and extensive genealogical research helped ?find? Mary Lou?s ?long-lost? Norwegian ancestors and family members. Mary Lou returned to work, part-time at Kootenai Medical Center, 20 miles away. 1997 brought a February heart attack, a helicopter ride from KMC to SHMC and a Jeep (for better winter access.) A decision was made to move to Spokane where the grandchildren were and medical care would be closer. Alan and Ronda (Hahner) had two grandchildren in Spokane: Christa and Stephanie. Cynthia and Mark Reugh later had two grandchildren in Spokane: Brayden and Brianna. Gary and Becky (Fletcher): Kent, WA and Kevin and Leslie (Madden): Edmonds, WA (currently Las Vegas). Ken passed away with his wife of nearly 65 years by his side, after a courageous, two-year battle with leukemia. A true soldier. He will be deeply missed by all who loved him and all whose lives he touched with his stories, wit and wisdom. Ken was a ?non-denominational Christian? who believed that the ?Creation? and ?Evolution? theories are compatible, that the planet Earth is 15 billion years old and that there is ONE God-entity for ALL of us. Ken?s family would like to thank Dr. Brian Seppi and his staff at Providence Internal Medicine, Cancer Care Northwest, Valley General Hospital, SHMC, and Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center for their care. Ken?s ashes will be saved for burial at Greenwood with Mary Lou?s when the time comes. A remembrance gathering is planned for family and friends in the near future.