Obituary of Ken Ninomiya
Kenneth Joseph Ninomiya was born on April 23rd, 1931 in Prince Rupert, B.C. He went to Japan when he was 6 years old and returned to Canada when he was 16 and went to work at his uncle’s tomato and cannery farm near Kelowna, B.C. He got his certificate in hotel management and lived up in Fort Nelson B.C. working at a hotel. He loved his job; he met so many people. After he semi-retired in the industry he lived around Drayton Valley and worked in construction. He actually worked on the Edmonton City Hall Building. From there he went and worked for a friend on a Peco camp up by Lodgepole, AB., where he was the maintenance man of the camp. This was something he enjoyed a lot, he became a jack of all trades plus he got to meet and visit with a lot of people.
Ken was a very ambitious man and always had to be doing something. Watching sports was also a big part of his life, it was quite common for him to be watching two different games on tv plus reading the Edmonton Sun/Journal all at once.
Ken was a people person, loved to visit and joke with everyone. He always had a big smile on his face. Everyday he made a few trips to the local Co-op store; he claimed it was because he had forgotten something or the cat needed a truck ride but we all know it was to visit with the girls and anyone else he might run into. Plus, he loved to shop! Shopping was Ken’s addiction. When on sale buy lots was his motto! It’s quite ironic how Grace and Ken met. If you can believe it, they were shopping at a mall and ran into each other, Ken struck up a conversation and things went from there, back in 1994. They were married on January 11th, 2011.
In 2001, they moved from Edmonton to Sedgewick and experienced rural life. Ken loved this, he got to be friends with everyone. He continued to be busy as a maintenance man to many people, house cleaner to others, he enjoyed and was an avid gardener. He loved to garden and would spend hours hoeing, weeding, usually on his knees. Flowers were beautiful to him. Spring and fall he would spend lots of time “shopping” for new varieties of Dahlias and Lily’s for his garden. If he wasn’t in the garden, he would occasionally be on the roof cleaning gutters, trimming large trees much to Grace’s dismay. But if you knew Ken, you’d know you couldn’t tell him what not to do. And it would usually end with his arm wave or you might be fortunate with a “your cuckoo!”
Ken also had an eye for photography and enjoyed taking pictures of just about anything. He enjoyed the trips that he and Grace took to four British Isles, Niagara Falls, Barrie, Ottawa and England. He has many photo albums of those trips and would look back at them frequently.
Ken’s greatest love was his cats; Lucas, Tinker, Milley and Angel. His cats were his pride and joy and were “His Kids”. Those cats had a better diet than most people, getting a variety of fresh fish daily. He made numerous trips to the local store and Camrose to check out the new dry cat food variety that his kids might like. Daily truck rides for Lucas and walks were always on the agenda.
In the spring of 2019, Ken took a bad fall which was the start of his declining health. In 2022, he moved to Galahad Long Term Care where he resided until his passing on October 23rd, 2024 at the age of 93.
Ken lived life to the fullest, always had an infectious smile that struck up friendships where ever he went.
Ken is survived by his wife Grace Lowther and many family and friends
A Celebration of Life for Ken will be held on Saturday, November 16th, 2024 from 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm at the Lougheed Seniors Centre.
Memorial donations may be made in Ken’s memory to a charity of Donor’s Choice.
