Kenneth 'Ken' Larabee

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Larabee, Kenneth "Ken" age 78, of Bloomington, MN died on March 1, 2016 after a courageous battle with Parkinson's Disease. Kenneth Edward Larabee was born May 1, 1937 to Donald and Bertha Larabee in Rochelle, IL. He was baptized in the Lutheran faith and confirmed at Emmanuel Lutheran Church (Paynes Point, IL). He attended a one-room country school through eighth grade and graduated from Rochelle High School (IL). Ken knew from the time that electricity was installed at his family's farm when he was 12 that he wanted to be an electrical engineer. He went on to Purdue University to major in electrical engineering, graduating with a B.S. in '62. He served in the Army from '56-'58. He accepted his first position as an engineer at Automatic Electric in '62 in Chicago, IL and married the love of his life, Gayle Dilbeck, that same year. Ken moved to Waseca, MN in '63 to accept a position with E.F. Johnson Co, and then went on to Minneapolis a few years later to undertake a new role with Control Data Corporation (CDC). He enjoyed 21 years at CDC, later known as Seagate Technologies, and served in a variety of managerial roles in their Magnetic Peripherals division. He retired in '00 and started an electrician business, Larabee Electric, LLC. Ken had a deep affection for trains and enjoyed traveling to other states to ride steam locomotives. He enjoyed going to classic car shows and was often seen in his garage refurbishing old cars from the 40's and 50's. He also had a passion for ham radios throughout his life with his most recent call letters being W0AP. He was fascinated with genealogy and developed a comprehensive body of research on his family's history. He loved reading, especially books about history, biographies of former U.S. presidents, and science. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, and son. He was preceded in death by his mother in 2001 and father in 1994. Ken is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Gayle; two daughters, Jeannine (Geoff) Larabee-Weigand and Michelle (Rudy) Padua; grandsons, Roberto and Romell; grand-daughters, Rodessa, Elizabeth, and Julianna; brother, Chuck (Gwen) Larabee of Barrington, IL; sisters, JoAnn (Jim) Lingel of Richland Center, WI, Judy (Ron) Sims of Logan, UT and Pam (David) Larabee-Zierath of Davenport, IA; and 13 nieces and nephews. Memorial service is at 2pm on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at Washburn-McReavy Dawn Valley Chapel (9940 Bush Lake Rd, Bloomington) with visitation one hour prior. Interment Dawn Valley Memorial Park. Memorials preferred to the National Parkinson Foundation. Washburn-McReavy.com Dawn Valley Chapel 952-941-7686

Published on March 4, 2016