Ken did not have many (any?) close friends. Some people enjoyed or admired Ken; others did not. When Ken died it was interesting to see how varied people’s responses were – from people talking of him as if he were a saint to people trying to come up with anything nice to say about him.
Our friend Josh gave me one of the most fitting appraisals I have ever heard of Ken. Josh explained he had read a book on team building and there are characters who seemed to be on consistently successful teams.
Those teams or communities contain an older, experienced person who nudges each member to do better – for the team. Often the members would prefer not to be pushed, but most realize that as each member improves the group also moves forward. Josh saw Ken in this role. I agree
