Harry Kenneth Neiswender's Obituary
NEISWENDER, HARRY KENNETH on October 23rd, 1926, Harry Kenneth Neiswender was born in Topeka, Kansas. Francis Benton Neiswender, his father would die in a car crash when Harry was a young boy. Raised by his step-father, John Ivan Walters and mentored by his grandfather Harry Blanchard, for whom he was named, young Harry would grow to be the kind of man every father could be proud of. Married at 17 to the only girl he ever loved, K, as his wife Dorothy called him, would join the Navy and serve in both World War II and Korea. They were to soon celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary, a milestone cut short by only six days . Between deployments, a son Larry was born. Then almost ten years later, Paula Sue and sometime later, Krystal came into our lives and made the set complete. Ken, as most people knew him, was a hard worker but even more impressive, a creative problem solver. These traits drove him to work sometimes three jobs while putting himself through college. Then, for the next twenty-six years, he dedicated himself to and excelled at the vocation of professional fund raising for incurable diseases. The American Heart Association, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, The National Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation, The Multiple Sclerosis Association and the Arthritis Foundation were all benefactors of this man’s dedication and integrity. Wherever he went, people gravitated to him because of the sincere but constantly upbeat personality; Ken never met a stranger. Yet with all of the accolade that could be directed towards him, the greatest of his contributions were the ones that few ever saw. Ken Neiswender was the living personification of the biblical son, always honoring his mother and father, or in his case step-father. He always referred to John Walters as “a Prince among men” and he carried that learned grace throughout his life. He was a scholarly but unpretentious man in the image of Harry Blanchard, a self-taught, highly intelligent gentleman of the late 1800’s. What he developed on his own though were the traits of compassion and absolute loyalty to his family. Ken Neiswender is survived by his loving wife of nearly sixty-eight years, three children, three grandchildren and two brothers. He was just fifteen days from celebrating his 86th birthday. Visitation will be from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at Restland Funeral Home. Service will be held at 3:00 PM, Wednesday, October 10, 2012 at Restland Abbey Chapel.
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