Kenneth Brian Moore

Kenneth Moore, or "Kenny" as he was known growing up, left the mortal world behind on May 22, 2021 at his home in Seattle after a valiant 21-month fight with brain cancer. Ken filled his life of 52 years with wonder, adventure, creativity and a compassion for others. A day with Ken was always a day of possibility. One of his secret superpowers was his ability to support and propel others around him into becoming their best selves by being a true collaborator and enthusiastic supporter. He often went above and beyond when working on projects and giving gifts. His wife called it "Ken Moore-ing it up."

Creativity and wonder radiated throughout his life with his best "works of art" being daughter, Sidney (11) and son, Calvin (8). While he poured himself into many endeavors, these two lights of his life enjoyed a childhood filled with spontaneous adventures and a dad who could see the world with infinite possibilities. From making epic couch & blanket forts, to planning elaborate scavenger hunts with riddles, to searching for dragonflies in Magnusson Park, to involved bedtime rituals with made-up catch phrases, to teaching them to mix chocolate chip cookie dough with their hands, Ken's kid-like curiosity and eagerness made time with them magical. But more than anything, he loved them beyond measure and wanted his kids to be compassionate humans who helped others.

Music played a big role in his life. Ken started learning piano at the age of 8, then moved on to drums and guitar. He notably collaborated with childhood friend Billy Mallery in talent shows & experimental works that served them later when he assisted Billy on drums with a musical score for a national commercial that was ultimately used for the final aired version. With college band friends Dave Purnell and Charly Grogan, he emulated their favorite Progressive rock bands like Rush and (early) Genesis and even staged a reunion basement jam in 2012. In recent years, he sought to master the Theremin with virtual lessons from German musician Carolina Eyck. He came by his multi-instrument musicianship in a family of musical and performance talents, most notably his late maternal grandmother Teresa Richardson, whose piano pieces were played by his bedside during his final days. His interest in music, art and computer science combined into many forms. He loved to invent things included wiring up some gloves with lights and hacking a Wii Controller to turn it into a virtual Theremin.

Born in Washington DC, he grew up in Bowie Maryland and later moved to Salisbury Maryland where he spent most of his formative years with his mother, step-father, middle brother and three step-siblings. Renowned for finding high adventure on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, teenaged Ken planned heist-level train rides with his friends Billy & Frank where they would jump onto moving freight trains while pretending to be "00" agents. After graduating from Bennett High School, he attended Virginia Tech to study computer science and math. During a semester abroad in Finland, he joined a local samba band that performed on a cruise ship sailing between Finland & Russia. After graduating, he traveled around Australia for six months, finding day work at some of the local mango farms. From that point, he always knew how to pick a good mango at the grocery store.

For his career, Ken wanted to combine his love of computers and his love of music and art but he first had to navigate other computer-related jobs in both the DC area and southern California. He finally got an offer at a music education software company which brought him to the Seattle area. His next role as Program Manager at the streaming media company RealNetworks provided him his first foray into visual design. Then after a brief stint as a consultant, Ken joined Adobe to work on their Creative Suite and Photoshop tools. He finally moved on to Google where he stayed for 14 years. He vastly expanded his technical and design skill sets, worked with talented international teams, created a handful of patents and met some incredible colleagues and friends.

Ken held a fondness for the Maryland Eastern Shore. He loved running in the hot, humid weather during summer visits, swimming in the warm Atlantic Ocean waters, seeing the fireflies come out at dusk, eating blue crabs on tables covered in newspaper, butter bowls & Old Bay Spice and reconnecting with friends & family. Yet Seattle was where he met and married first wife Kelley (Smith) Moore in 1999 but amicably divorced in 2003. Later he met his current wife and love "accomplice" Kali while working at RealNetworks during a usability study in late 2003. Ken impressed Kali very early in their courtship by making the most elaborate, colorful and immaculate fruit salad anyone has ever seen at a potluck brunch. The attention to detail, element of surprise and level of quality & thoughtfulness exemplified what Ken brought to their relationship. He proposed to her during a 2004 trip to Italy and they married at an Oregon vineyard in 2005.

In 2010, upon moving to his final home in Ballard, Ken was thrilled to discover the crown jewel of the backyard was a 60-year-old Adriatic Fig Tree that bountifully supplied figs each summer. He worked tirelessly, year after year to defend the fig tree from all manner of creatures who wanted to eat HIS figs. The backyard became a giant science project with cameras, cords, mini computers, a retrofitted leaf blower and a custom made "wacky wavy" nylon attachment to produce the ultimate in homemade bird and squirrel scaring technology, lovingly known as the Quadrapus. He gained many fig fans in friends, coworkers and neighbors and would hand out bags of figs during harvest. The yield was still plentiful enough to can many jars of fig jam still in the garage today.

Despite his mild-mannered demeanor, Ken loved thrill-seeking endeavors and physical challenge. He was a guy who would drive along I-90 into the foothills of the Cascades, pull off the road and start climbing where there was no trail. He called it "Mountain Attack" and only once did it result in having to dispatch King County Search and Rescue to come get him. Loving wind in his face and moving at high speed, Ken took up skydiving, paragliding and hang gliding in his young adult life, all the while riding a zippy Honda motorcycle about town. He shared this love of motorcycles with his brothers and they embarked on some notable road trips in Arizona and West Virginia together. When Kali wanted to do something extraordinary for her 40th birthday, they flew to the other side of the planet to go shark diving in South Africa and Ken was naturally all in. Upon turning 40 himself, Ken decided to run the Portland marathon. He had to do many practice races leading up to the big event, including the clothing-optional Bare Buns Fun Run in Issaquah, WA. (The spectacle might have been what the ancient Greek Olympics looked like.) These experiences propelled him into a love of running that lead him to participate in many other events including the Seattle Marathon, when he turned 50 and, after his cancer diagnosis, the Run of Hope 5K benefiting Pediatric Brain Tumor Research. It was also at 50 that he discovered a passion for skateboarding. He dedicated early morning hours to arrive at nearby skate park bowls before skaters half his age did and he attacked his new (though short-lived) hobby with gusto.

In the final years of his life, he became more outspoken about things he believed in and people he cared about. One such group were transgender people as he had worked with a few of them at Google and learned about their lived experiences. Not only did that affect how he designed software interfaces but it activated an empathy and desire to help in a bigger way. He became a fierce advocate, donor and trained in his final year to become a moderator for monthly support meetings. After his brain cancer diagnosis, he also became aware of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund and was deeply moved by the stories of the children and families affected. He considered himself lucky to have lived a full life and wanted to see these kids get a chance to have one as well. In a final gift and tribute, Ken requested to donate his body for study to the UW Medicine Research Lab in hopes that it might help improve brain cancer treatment for others and ultimately find a cure.

He is survived by his wife Kali Sakai and their children Sidney and Calvin Moore; mother and step-father, Joyce and Duke Shannahan; brothers Ed (Kay) and Michael (Mary) Moore; half-sister Kim Oot (Kris); step-siblings Susan (Michael) Alford, DJ (Cindy) Shannahan, Kelly (Tracy) Shannahan; uncle Jack (Christine) Richardson and a host of loving in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins & longtime friends from around the world. He was predeceased by his father, Kenneth E. Moore in 2004.

The family expresses appreciation to the Providence Hospice team and the Fedelta caregivers who compassionately assisted Ken and the family through the final weeks of his life.