Kenneth Alan Planisek

Kenneth Alan Planisek was born July 26, 1943, in Cleveland (Euclid), Ohio, to John and Jennie, the children of proud Slovenian immigrants. Growing up with his older brother, Robert, Ken cultivated a wide range of passions early in life. He loved music, gardening, and sports-remaining a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Guardians and Browns. His curiosity extended to trains, reading, photography, astronomy, history, aerospace, and space exploration. And, of course, he never lost his sweet tooth for cookies and ice cream.

A love of music would follow him through his entire life. He played in his grade school marching band - he always loved watching parades. He learned to play the drums, built his own organ, and later in life became a devoted supporter of the arts, attending the Columbus Symphony and other performances for many years. He always had classical music playing while working on home projects or in the car. His passion for astronomy and space exploration arose as the Space Race opened new avenues of adventure and understanding about the cosmos. He closely followed shuttle launches for years and enjoyed visiting Cape Canaveral. He built his own telescope and always tracked the whereabouts of the International Space Station. His undying love for Star Trek and sci-fi also fueled his dreams.

He graduated from Mayfield High School in 1961 before attending Baldwin Wallace University where he joined the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and earned a Bachelors in Physics in 1965. After a brief attempt at teaching and working at a nuclear power plant, he took an engineering/computer programming job at Western Electric (later At&T) in Columbus, Ohio, where he would meet the love of his life. Although she stood him up on their first date - later disclosing she'd had been hospitalized – Ken and Abby (Jane) Planisek were destined for each other. He had a beautiful smile that lit up his entire face, it was the first thing that Abby noticed about him when they first met. They married in 1971 and remained so for 53 wonderful years. They had four children: Rachel (Ryan) Rogers, Peter Planisek, Amanda (John Elden) Planisek, and Sarah (Scott) Coons; and later in life four grandchildren: Liam (Rogers), Benji (Rogers), Will (Coons), and Keegan (Coons). They cherished being parents and grandparents, guiding the younger generations with love, wisdom, patience, and the gift of time.

Always willing to help others he took kids to sports practices and games, coached little league, tons of community events, family trips to many places across the country, ran the Summerfield Civic Association, was actively involved in church, and could fix nearly anything. Ken loved to bake. His pancakes and waffles were legendary, as was his Slovenian potica (po-tee-suh). Animals loved him and he always had an array of furry grandchildren ready to dote on him. He made many sacrifices for his family and worked hard to ensure their financial legacies. He was never lacking in personality quirks and had a great love of humor, especially slapstick.

In his later years, Ken traveled to France, England, Hawaii, Alaska, Slovenia, Turkey, Italy, and Spain. He participated in local historical societies, took up swimming, and enjoyed earning badges for his Metro Parks hikes. He survived both emergency triple bypass heart surgery and skin cancer, and cared for Abby during her final years of illness before her passing in August 2024. Ken, 82, passed away at Mount Carmel East Hospital on November 29th, 2025.

Friends and family may attend visitation hours on Friday, December 12, 2025, from 4-7 P.M., at DWAYNE R. SPENCE FUNERAL HOME, 550 Hill Road North, Pickerington. A small vigil will be held at 6:45 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday December 13, 2025, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 600 Hill Rd. North, Pickerington at 10:00 A.M. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, Pataskala, with a lunch reception afterward at Spence funeral home.

The service will be available via Live Stream on the Seton Parish website starting at 10:00 on December 13th.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Ken's name may be made to the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society or to the Columbus Symphony Orchestra https://columbussymphony.com/support/

DWAYNE R. SPENCE FUNERAL HOME, Pickerington, has been entrusted with helping the family through this difficult time. Online condolences may be made at www.spencefuneralhome.com.