Kenneth Fletcher

Kenneth Fletcher
WORCESTER - Family and Friends mourn the passing of a compassionate and caring man, Kenneth E. Fletcher. Ken faced his death with the same dignity, humor, intelligence and grace with which he lived his life. For twenty years, he was an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. As a research psychologist, statistician and psychometrician, he created some of the first scientifically-sound measures of childhood Post Traumatic Stress. These scales are used internationally to assess and help traumatized children. He also worked with Vietnam Veterans at a time when the diagnosis of PTSD was questioned and often rejected.
Ken received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art and Photography from DePauw University, where he was a Rector Scholar. After working in art restoration, Ken studied and taught Rhetoric at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop where he was granted a Master of Fine Arts. He recently completed a four-part fictionalized biography of Charles Manson titled Angel of the Apocalypse.
Deciding to return to school and pursue a career in Psychology, Ken received a Bachelor of Science Degree from The University of Illinois, Chicago Circle Campus. After graduation, he worked as a Mental Health Therapist at Ridgeway Hospital. He conducted group therapy with troubled youth on a locked unit. He was also a volunteer at Metro Help and the National Runaway Switchboard. He completed his Master of Science and PhD in Personality Psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
In both his career and his outside interests Ken brought to everything his own unique perspective, humor and intellectual curiosity. Erudite, a voracious reader of fiction, non-fiction, esoteric studies and all things related to higher mathematics, computer programming and gaming, Ken was always happiest when he was learning something new.
Born on a small farm in Western Iowa, Ken never forgot his farmer roots and always held steady to the principle that all people were important and no one should be disrespected. For many years, Ken researched and kept a family genealogy.
From the Chinese Doctrine of the Mean comes Ken's favorite saying, "Sincerity is the completion of the self, and the Way is self-directing." He lived his beliefs daily and will forever be treasured for his integrity and generosity of spirit.
Ken is survived by his beloved wife, Dorothy, his daughter and son-in-law, Thais and Scott Alexander. The great gift of his life are his twin grandchildren, Rhys and Celeste Alexander. Ken is also survived by his mother, Margaret, and his two sisters, Patricia Yezefski and Connie Piepenburg, many nieces, nephews and cousins. Ken was twice a donor for his late younger brother Francis Daniel.
Services will be held at the Boundless Way Temple on Friday, September 28th at 7 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Boundless Way Temple, 1030 Pleasant Street, Worcester, or You, Inc., 81 Plantation Street, Worcester.