Kenneth G. Lerner

Kenneth Gerald Lerner, aged 86, passed away peacefully in his home in Manchester, NH on September 21 after a valiant battle against pulmonary fibrosis. He was surrounded by family and friends. Ken was a man full of life and love, with a brain that never stopped learning and body that sat still only at the end of his years. A beloved father, grandfather, husband and friend, Ken was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan to Thomas and Lillian Lerner. He went on to spend his adult years in the Pacific Northwest and New Hampshire and, as an avid sports fan, while he never stopped rooting for the Lions and Canucks, he found room in his heart for the Celtics and the Red Sox.

Ken’s younger life was spent playing baseball and music whenever and wherever he could. A true music aficionado, he played the piano, saxophone, flute, clarinet and even the penny whistle. Ken and his high school band played gigs all over Detroit, and years later would reunite to play at his eldest daughter Lori’s wedding. Ken proudly graduated from Mumford High School and was never so tickled as when Eddie Murphy showed up on the silver screen wearing that famous shirt in Beverly Hills Cop.

Ken was a two-time graduate of Wayne State University which prepared him for an internship at the Henry Ford hospital and residency in pathology at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. Ken went on to have a distinguished career in hematopathology at the Fred Hutchinson Clinic in Seattle, then on to Emmanuel hospital in Portland, and finally at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Ken wowed us with his brain capacity and insatiable desire to learn - be it a new language, military history facts or sports stats. We should not have been surprised when he chose to do a second residency in psychiatry at the age of 58. He packed up his wife, Barb, and youngest son, Ben, and moved from Vancouver to Hanover, NH to complete a residency alongside Lori at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He proceeded to have a successful and deeply meaningful second calling as a psychiatrist, first helping children and families, and ultimately ending his career working with veterans at the VA Hospital of New Hampshire. In all of his work, the care he showed his patients is what stood out. Visiting the surviving parents of childhood leukemia patients, spending extra time with parents of struggling teens, or truly understanding the trauma of our veterans, Ken’s heart made room for the suffering of all.

While Ken was a powerhouse in his career, we all really knew him for the life he lived outside of work hours. Ken was as easily found behind the tiller of his sailboat - the “Tomato Sloop”, the steering wheel of his VW Vanagan, and the handlebars of his bicycle as he was behind the lenses of a microscope. A committed bike commuter, he could be found riding 15 kilometers each way to work during his time in Vancouver, BC through all four seasons of the year - and not on an e-bike! He avidly lived and embraced life, an eternal optimist who never let an illness or injury deter him from his goals and plans.

The loving husband of Barbara, and father of Lori, Robin, Cameron and Ben, Ken was a consummate family man. He raised his girls on theater, travel, camping trips and eclectic dinner parties; and spent time with his boys coaching their sports teams, rooting on the Canucks, building models, and heading out on family road trips. You really can’t tell the story of Ken without including the love he had for his wife, Barb. While he drove her crazy much of the time, his love for her was as deeply-rooted as love can be, and he let that be known to all.

Ken’s passing leaves a hole that we cannot fill, but we celebrate the life of this extraordinary spirit, intellect, and love in its most genuine form. For those so moved, the family requests donations be made to the NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI.org).