Ken Alexander

Long-time Shaw Island resident Kenneth M. Alexander died May 8 at the home of his son, Michael, in Seattle.

He was 94.

Ken was born Aug. 14, 1911 in the University District of Northeast Seattle. He was the oldest of four children of Mae (Pope) and Ira Alexander.

Ken’s two younger brothers also lived in the San Juan Islands. The late Loren Alexander lived on Lopez from 1981 to 2001, and Daniel Alexander served two years on Stuart Island for the Coast Guard, 1948-49. Ken’s cousin, Alan Pope, also lived on Lopez.

Ken worked for Seattle City Light for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971, after serving three years in the U.S. Army in World War II, stationed in India and Burma.

Ken first heard about the San Juan Islands from his brother Dan. Ken and Gladys, his wife of nearly 60 years, visited Dan on Stuart Island in the late 1940s. In the 1950s, the two brothers often sailed the islands or hunted for deer on the more remote islands, while Ken scouted out his own personal retirement haven.

Ken and Gladys Alexander bought a parcel of land on Blind Bay, Shaw Island, to which they moved full time in 1973, two years after Ken’s retirement. In the following 30 years, Ken and Gladys enjoyed many happy — sometimes controversial — times on Blind Bay. (Shaw Islanders know what we mean).

When age and health conditions required long-term care, Ken and Gladys sold their Shaw home in 2003 and bought a new home in Sedro-Woolley.

Ken is survived by his wife, Gladys, and son, Michael.

— Submitted by brother Dan Alexander of Olympia, and nephew Gary Alexander of Lopez Island.