We regret to announce the passing of Kenneth Gordon Haywood on November 21, 2011 at the age of 83 years.
He leaves behind: wife, Sheila–semicolon– children, David (Trudy), Gary (Debbie), Glenn (Cheryl) and Carol–semicolon– step-children, Daniel (Lisa), Debbi, Peter (Cheryl), John (Michaelene)–semicolon– 19 grandchildren, 10 great- grandchildren–semicolon– sister, Ruth as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Parents, Eric George Haywood and Gladys Margaret Haywood predeceased him.
Ken had a lengthy career in the automotive business. He established Kentwood Ford Sales in 1970 and continued to operate this dealership successfully for 26 years.
He was president of: the Motor Dealers Association of Edmonton, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and the Edmonton Crime Stoppers chapter.
He was a founder and president of C.A.F.E, a national nonprofit organization established in 1983 to promote the success of families in business.
In his “retirement”, Ken was a man on a mission with his creation of Auto Theft Canada. He became a tireless advocate to effect changes to legislation to reduce auto theft across Canada. His efforts were acknowledged in 2005 with the Alberta Solicitor General Crime Prevention Award.
He was an active member of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Northeast serving the community for 31 years and was also a member of the Paul Harris Society. Rotary also led him to champion the development of a girls’ school in Malawi. Using his networking skills and contacts attained in his many years of business, he was able to spread the word to many people who rallied behind him to provide further funding to help young girls gain an education, greatly increasing their opportunities in life.
Many thanks to the staff at the Grey Nuns Unit 53 and St. Joseph’s Auxiliary Hospital Palliative Care Unit for their kind and compassionate care.
A Celebration Of Ken’s life will be held at the Alberta Ballroom, Edmonton Expocentre, 7515 – 118 Avenue, Edmonton on Monday, December 5, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. Cremation has taken place and interment will follow at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the
APU Girls School of Malawi
C/o Christie Johnson
650 Pearson College Drive,
Victoria BC, V9C 4H7
or
Rotary Club of Edmonton Northeast Foundation
Box #71160 Edmonton AB, T5E 6J8 in support of “Champions for Children”
Pam Miles says
Dar Sheila,
My deepest sympathy on Ken\’s passing. He was a very busy and caring individual who really left his mark no matter what he did and there will be many who will miss him and his wonderful examples that he set.
You and your family had a great partner in life.
Sincere best wishes,
Pam Miles
Barrie Lydiatt says
Dear Sheila and Family
Janet and I wish to extend our condolences to you on the loss of a Ken. He will forever be remembered for his accomplishments and tireless pursuit of his many causes. For ourselves, I will remember him as a teacher and mentor. Many of the things I do today I learned from him. We are sorry we won\’t be with you on Monday but I\’m sure there will be both joy and tears as he is remebered.
Barrie & Janet Lydiatt
Rick Solkowski says
Dear Sheila and family
Please accept my condolences for your loss. I had many opportunities to work with and interact with Ken during my 32 years working with the Alberta Government and in particular my time working with Ken and as the Co-Chair of the Alberta Vehicle Theft Committee. Ken`s voice was often heard and never ignored since he had such a passion for this cause and was our resident expert!
Ken always brought his ideas and concerns to the table and he is a big reason that vehicles in Canada since September 2007 are required to have immobilizer technology installed at the factory. He was a true champion of this cause and many others and I was honoured to have had an opportunity to know Ken and also for the chance to work with him.
The awards he received for his work in this area were much deserved!
He will be much missed by all who knew and respected him.
Rick Solkowski
Alberta Government
Co-Chair Alberta Vehicle Theft Committee (retired)
Rev. Ken Walker says
Dear Sheila and family;
I was greatly saddened to hear of Ken\’s passing. It was easy to be a loyal client with Ken and my wife Fay and I so appreciated you Sheila and Ken. I was especially pleased the Sunday you and Ken attended \”my place of business\” one Sunday at McKernan Christian Church in Edmonton! I had many wonderful conversations with Ken about life!
The prayers of my wife Fay and I are with you and the family.
The Lord be with you and comfort you.
Rev. Ken Walker 780-907-6422
Pastor of New Hope Community Church
St. Albert, Alberta
http://www.churchstalbert.com
Derek Curtis says
I am saddened to hear of the passing of Ken. I had the distinct pleasure of working with Ken on the Alberta Auto Theft Committee. Ken\’s passion for the reduction of auto theft was second to none. Ken showed that passion in many ways. My fond memories of Ken will be his professional, caring approach and his subtle fun sense of humour. Ken\’s family should be very proud of the contributions that he made to his community, his province and his country. Regards…Derek
WILLIAM T Macklem says
My sincere condolences. I knew Ken as a Rotarian and we shared The Paul Harris Award. Also had dealings with Kentwood Ford when I owned Pioneer Bus & Body Ltd Ken was a tireless worker for many important causes. He will be missed.
Terry Capp says
My sincere sympathies to you Sheila and your family.Ken was very generous in his support of my racing team in the 70\’s. He became not only our sponsor but our friend. I raced with Gary and knew Glen through the dealership. All three became my friends.A fair and generous man with his talents and his opportunities which he shared with all of us. May he rest in peace.
Terry Capp
Ray and Shirley Smith says
Sheila and Family…. We are thinking of you and know there will be lots of tears and smiles today at the service. We are so grateful that we especially had time to relax and enjoy Ken on our last trip to Maui. It was really a treat for us to have that Mustang convertible and see Ken\’s smile when we pulled up to drive him to the Rotary meeting there! I am so appreciative of the support that Ken gave me during my year as President of our Rotary club. Ken was always there to offer guidance and especially the connections for making our Rotary work happen. Our Rotary theme last year \”Building Communities, Bridging Continents\” perfectly describes Ken! We can all be thankful that he was able to do that. God Bless You and your Family.
Love from Ray and Shirley
Bob Fisher says
Sheila, we were very sorry to hear of Ken\’s passing. He was a truely remarkable guy and gave so much back to the community. He was a good friend to all those that knew him. We had some good times with the two of you on our vacations and we will remember them fondly
Sincerely, Bob and Judy Fisher
Tom and Val Mason says
Sheila,we are sorry to hear of your loss,we had some good times with Ken over the years,he was a good friend and mentor.Our thoughts are with you.
Don and Elaine Bergsten says
To Sheila and family,
We are so very sorry for your loss. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Sincerely,
Don and Elaine Bergsten
Doug and Maureen Holmes says
We were saddened to hear of Ken\’s passing. We will miss visiting with him after the church services and will miss his contributions to the \”Joys and Concerns\” portion of the services. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
RICHARD AND JOAN HEALEY says
We wish to express our sadness at loosing our friend Ken Haywood. We share in your sorrow and pay tribute to a GREAT, KIND CARING PERSON that he was. We hope that the love of family and friends will carry you through this difficult time.
With Love and Care,
Rich and Joan Healey
Dawn Sundell says
You have lost someone very special…someone who touched many lives. I\’m thinking of you at this time of loss. May your happy memories along with love of family and friends help you in the journey ahead.