- Date Of Birth: 0002
- Date Of Death: 2017
- State: Minnesota
Obituary of Kenneth Maynard Lampert
Kenneth Maynard Lampert, age 86, originally of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and long-time resident of St. Paul, died May 30, 2017 from acute heart failure after a 20-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Ken is survived by daughters Mary Schwartz (Christopher) of St Paul, Elizabeth Lampert (Eric Tjossem) of St Paul, and their mother Catherine Madden Lampert of St. Paul; brother William Lampert (Marian) of Anchorage, Alaska; sisters Norita Miller of Medford, Oregon, Aletha Gerken Gilbert (Stephen) of St. Paul, and Martha Clark (Larry) of LaCrosse, Wisconsin; many nieces and nephews, and six beautiful grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Kenneth grew up in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, as the second of five children. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War and seized the opportunity to attend college on the GI Bill. With a keen mind and a love of learning, Ken graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a degree in electrical engineering. He went on to pursue a master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and eventually obtained a Ph.D. Ken worked on several government projects in his early career and later joined Control Data where he traveled extensively and forever shaped the lives of his children when he moved his family to Caracas, Venezuela in 1976. Ken finished his engineering career with Power/mation and became a part-time professor at Metropolitan State University. Ken liked to camp and fish and went on long trips with his friends. Family road trips usually involved a leaky tent, baked beans for dinner and smelly old camping gear. To redeem himself, the man would remarkably whittle a perfect whistle and string up a fishing rod for his daughters. In later years, he traded in the camping gear for a family cabin in northern Minnesota. Parkinson’s disease weakened his body and limited his plans, but he never complained about his limitations. He was intelligent, independent and fiercely stubborn; attributes that allowed him to do remarkably well despite the disease progression. Ken enjoyed walking, backgammon, lunch at Cecil’s deli, cribbage, and bridge games—he even played bridge routinely with a group of friends until just last week.
