Kenneth Ray Ordelheide

Kenneth Ray Ordelheide

Kenneth Ray Ordelheide was born in his home on Ogden Street, in Denver, Colorado, June 13, 1929, to Lula and Albert Ordelheide.  He was the youngest of four boys, who got along well and all had nicknames for each other.  The oldest brother, Manford, was “Baiter,” next was Jack, who was “Boss,” Walt was “Barg,” and Ken was “Butch.”  According to Ken, he was often the one to receive the short straw, the raw deal, and the hand-me-downs. This was illustrated by a plan that Ken and his brother Walt had when they were growing up.  Walt and Kenny decided that they would get a dog, and share the responsibilities.  Walt would take care of the front end, and Ken was assigned to take care of the back end. 

Ken attended Asbury Elementary School and graduated from Denver South High School in 1946. 

A neighbor lady had taken two of his brothers, Manford and Jack, to Sabbath school, and as a result, Lula started attending church and was baptized.  Albert attended church regularly, but wasn’t baptized because he kept smoking.  Albert did not want to smoke in front of the family but would often say he needed to go down to the basement to “check on the furnace.”  That was code for needing to go down to the basement for a quick smoke. One time while he was down there, Ken, went down to talk to him, and told his father, “Smoking is not good for you, and Jesus doesn’t want us to do that, so maybe you should consider stopping and give your life to Christ.”  Shortly after that, Albert stopped smoking and was soon baptized. Ken grew up going to Sabbath school and church and was baptized in the old South Church, April 17, 1941, when he was 12 years old.  

On Jan 9, 1951, he was drafted into the US army.  He served his country overseas in Korea during the Korean Conflict. He was stationed in a Korean Prisoner of War camp while he was there.  While in Korea he faced some challenges in keeping the Sabbath the way he thought it should be kept.  Through a series of miracles his commanding officers allowed Ken to honor the Sabbath hours while he was serving in the army.  After this experience, Ken continued to faithfully attend church on every Sabbath that he could and always made sure he was on time. Ken was discharged December 1, 1952.   

Ken met Maurita Wymore in the junior room at church.  She played the piano and Kenny thought she looked smart, so at first he was afraid to talk to her.  They became friends and later dated off and on. While Ken was in Korea, he and Maurita corresponded, and Ken wrote and asked her if she wanted to be the mother of his children.  Maurita was surprised, and told him that she would give him an answer when he came back home, which was about a year later. When he returned they became engaged, and got married August 23, 1953 in the old South Church.  His wedding gift to her was a fishing license.  They had plans to go to Pitkin, CO, where his father had a cabin, for their honeymoon, and he wanted to make sure she could go fishing with him.

Shortly after they were married they adopted a baby girl, and named her Sandy.  A month or so later, Maurita discovered she was pregnant with Peggy, and three years later Jackie was born.  Ken enjoyed spending time with his family. He built a pop camper for them to go camping in, and spent many vacations and weekends in it.

Ken worked as a painting contractor and wallpaper hanger. Over the years he painted many of the buildings in the area including this church building.  When his daughters were old enough, he hired them to work with him. Some daughters worked out better than others. He and Jackie had an agreement that she would not ask to work for him, and he would not ask her to!  Peggy won “Employee of the summer” for several years in a row.

While working, Ken wore a paint hat that had a button on it that said, “Thank you for not smoking.”  While painting the inside of a lady’s house (who happened to be a smoker) he noticed that she had gone outside, on a cold day to smoke her cigarette.  Apparently she had read his button, and didn’t dare smoke in her own home when Kenny was there!  That was a story that he laughed about many times.

One day he was driving the car home from the repair shop, and ran into a car.  When he told the story later he claimed that he was disgusted because the lady in the other car had ran a green light.     

Ken had a medical condition that resulted in a tumor growing on his optic nerve, causing him to lose his eyesight.  This brought his painting career to a close. Although he was considered legally blind, he managed to keep his driver’s license for at least 15 more years. He liked to tell people that since he became blind, he couldn’t play the piano.  After gaining their sympathy and they wondered why he couldn’t still feel the keys, he would confess that he never knew how to play the piano even when he had his sight.  Ken was always up for a good laugh.

Kenny did have sorrow in his life when he lost Maurita to death in 1993.  Ken found happiness again when he got remarried to Marjorie Chaddic on December 29, 1996.  The Ceremony was made all the more interesting because he was on crutches with a broken leg at the time.  They enjoyed traveling and visiting family together and remained faithful companions until his death.     

As advancing age and declining eyesight made it more difficult for Ken to get out he still enjoyed keeping in contact with his friends and family.  He always enjoyed visitors in his home and relished the opportunities he had to get out and associate with his friends.  He also enjoyed talking to his family on the phone and with practice developed the uncanny ability to frequently call during supper.   He also enjoyed spending time listening to books on tape provided to him through Christian Record and watching 3ABN on TV.  And of course he tried to never miss the games of his beloved Broncos and Rockies.

Kenny always tried to maintain a positive mental attitude and remain upbeat even with his physical problems providing a real example to anyone who has a physical disability.  He was recently trying to stay more physically active as well by exercising on a treadmill.  Those of you who spent any time with Kenny in the last few years can understand that it was a bit of a challenge for him to find a treadmill that would go slow enough for his walking pace but he did find one that was right for him.

In February, while walking on his treadmill Ken hit what he thought was the “off” button. Instead he hit the accelerator button, and the treadmill sped up so fast that it threw him off.  He fractured his shoulder and his leg when he fell.  He later he said that had never walked that fast in his whole life!  Later he told his brother, Walt, “I always knew exercise was bad for you.”

Ken was put in rehab to recover.  While there he endeared himself to the therapists, and all the other workers.  At bedtime each night, He would invite his nurse to pray with him, and in his prayer, included his roommate Bill and others in the rehab. The nurses all admired that in him.  

Ken was improving in his rehab and was looking forward to soon going back home with Marge when he passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 2. 

Ken was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Manford and Jack, Maurita and his daughter Sandy.  He is survived by his wife Marjorie, his daughters Peggy Wasemiller and Jackie Smith, his grandchildren, Jason, Mercedes, David, Stephen, Dillon, and Dawson, and great-grandson, Tacitus, a brother Walt, and many nephews and nieces.  Ken will always be remembered for his humor, his love for life, and his Christian demeanor/witness. 

Ken made it his goal in life to be a friend to everyone he met and he knew no strangers.  Those of us who had the privilege of knowing him are confident that he will be able to be considered a friend of God throughout eternity.  

A Celebration of Kenneth's life was held at Denver South Seventh Day Adventist Church (2675 South Downing Street) on Saturday, April 5, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.