Kenneth Theodore Jaeger

Kenneth T. Jaeger was born March 4, 1954, he died on his terms November 17, 2025. Ken lived his life firmly outside the lines as devoted member of the counter-culture. He spent decades dodging labels and would find it deeply ironic that this obituary requires so many of them.

The middle and favorite child of the late Albert "Bud" & Dorothy Jaeger, Ken spent the majority of his life in Connecticut and relocated to the Wilmington area eight years ago.

Ever humble, Ken would tell you he was a cabinet maker. This is simply not true. He was a master craftsman, a woodworker and artist whose skill with rare and exotic woods drew commissions from people with names he never bothered to mention.

The word best to describe Ken was "authentic." He knew who he was and what he stood for, and he rarely deviated from it. His love for music was a beautiful example of that; his record collection curated over the course of his life began with the alternative of the 1960s and evolved over the years into a case study of progressive rock and blues, with bands like The Beatles, Cream, Dereck and the Dominos, early Genesis, Poco, The Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East (first pressing no doubt), and of course: all the blues.

He shared a special love for animals, and boy did animals reciprocate. He leaves behind his beloved kitty Tuesday, who will miss him terribly.

Ken was proceeded in death by his other half, wife Barbara (nee Hay), whom he adored and was devoted to for the remainder of his life.

He is survived by the prototype of cool: his older sister Barbara (husband Richard) Thibault of Florida. His "kid sister" Lynn (husband Carl) Wilson of North Carolina, whom he enjoyed an especially close relationship with these past years. His niece Dorothy Wilson Griffin and her son Niko Boone Hatfield of North Carolina, both of which thought he hung the moon. A cousin, Janis (husband Steve) Behlen of New York, and nieces and nephews sprinkled throughout the western United States. There are numerous friends located in Connecticut whom he viewed as family and kept very close to his heart, Guy, Anthony and Kevin to name a few, and a brother-from-another-mother Jimmy Cullen who escaped to the South.

His family would like to thank the staff at Novant Medical Center. As Ken said three days before he passed "my new saying is I appreciate you." He received exceptional care from the nurses, doctors and therapists who never stopped advocating for him. No words could ever match the gratitude we feel for you.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Ken's honor on December 13, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., in the home he shared with his sister in Castle Hayne, North Carolina.

On line condolences may be offered to www.wilmingtoncares.com.

Ken never spoke an ill word of anyone. To honor his memory, be kind humans.

Wilmington Funeral and Cremation, 1535 South 41st Street Wilmington, NC 28403, 910-791-9099.