Kenneth David Kaye

1951 - 2023

Kenneth David Kaye
Ken Kaye of East Haven, died Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at Yale New Haven Hospital with family and husband by his side.
Ken was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 3, 1951 to the late Samuel and Ruth Kaye. He was raised in West Hempstead, New York with his older sister Barbara and younger sister Nancy. Through hard work and determination, by the late 1970s, Ken lived and worked in New York City and had established himself as a well-known artist, specializing in pallet knife oil paintings with gallery representation around the country. As Ken often said, "I just paint. It's up to others to determine if I'm an artist." Along the way, Ken bred and showed champion Chow Chow dogs. Also, along the way, in the summer of 2002, Ken met and fell in love with his husband, Jim Harding, while Jim was working at Yale New Haven Hospital. They lived and worked in NYC, but they decided to spend their final years at their home in East Haven, CT. With a home and yard to tend, Ken became a Registered Master Gardener through the State of Connecticut Program and a registered rosarian… in order to paint what he grew. Ken used his rosarian skills to volunteer tending roses for the Town of East Haven and the Town of New Haven at the Pardee Rose Garden.
A Graveside funeral service is scheduled for 11:00 am on May 21, 2023 at Beth Moses Cemetery: 1500 Wellwood Ave., West Babylon, NY 11704. If people wish to contribute or donate money to a cause dear to Ken, they can send a check made out to "Commission of Public Parks" and on the memo line "Ken Kaye Memorial Fund". Please mail checks to the attention of Gary Dickinson, Pardee Rose Garden, 180 Park Rd., Hamden, Ct 06517. The Robert E. Shure & Son Funeral Home, New Haven is in care of Arrangements. To sign an online registry book or to leave a message of condolence, please visit, www.shurefuneralhome.com .