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Kenneth Robert Karcher
November 28, 1928 ~ June 6, 2018 (age 89) 89 Years Old
1 Flower or Condolence has been shared with support of Kenneth's family - View on Tribute Wall
Ken Karcher, of Boise, Idaho, passed away on June 6, 2018, surrounded by his family. Ken was born in 1928 in Boise, Idaho. His grandparents, George Karcher Sr and Elizabeth Karcher, were Idaho pioneers who homesteaded where the Karcher Mall now stands.
He grew up in Boise, graduating from Boise High School in 1946, then attending Boise Junior College before going on to Oregon State University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering. He was briefly employed by Boeing in Seattle, where he met and married Marge Leonard, who had grown up in Twin Falls. Soon after, he then joined the Field Service Group at Sperry Gyroscope Co., moving his family (that had grown to include two sons and one daughter) around the country before settling in Kings Park on the scenic north shore of Long Island, where he stayed for the remainder of his career. There they added two more daughters. He was for many years a Scoutmaster, positively impacting the lives of many young men. His family enjoyed boating and summer vacations in New York, Canada and, of course, visiting grandparents in Idaho. After retiring in 1991, he and Marge moved back to Boise. Marge died soon after they moved to Boise, and he never remarried.
Around age 50, he started jogging to stay in shape and was talked into running his first race. Running was addictive to him, and he eventually ran in several hundred races including marathons, trail races and Ultra marathons locally, around the country and as far away as France, Czechoslovakia and Italy. He more often than not won his age group. After moving to Boise, he joined the Y-Striders, a local running club. His running, the running community and his family remained the central focus of his life, until his untimely death.
Those left behind include his sister Dorothy Efron, his sons, Doug Karcher and his wife Connie, George Karcher, his daughters, Lynne Karcher and her husband, Michael Edminster, Liz Nelson and her husband, Gary, Sara Gambassi and her husband, Ron, 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marge, his parents, and his brother, Lewis.
A service will be held on Saturday, June 9, at 2 pm, at the Urn Garden in Morris Hill Cemetery, followed afterward by a gathering at his home.
A special thank you to the St. Luke’s Meridian ICU and Telemetry staff for their excellent care and support during his stay with them. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI).
Services
Service
Saturday June 9, 2018 2:00 PM Morris Hill Cemetery 317 N Latah St Boise, ID 83706