Kenneth Wayne Simonds

Kenneth Wayne Simonds- May 5, 1935 to October 11, 2009. Ken Simonds' presence filled a room. When you were with him, Ken had a way of making you feel a little bit better about yourself too. Ken passed away on October 11, 2009. The room is emptier now without his warm spirit and mischievous sense of humor to fill it, but those who knew Ken, and many who did not, are better for his generosity and love. Kenneth Wayne Simonds' life is a quintessential American story. Despite beginning life amid humble surroundings in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, he rose to become a highly successful computer industry executive and business leader. Ken was born in Kingsport, Tennessee on May 5, 1935, the only child of working class parents, Wayne and Pauline Simonds. But surrounded by a close, loving, extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, he never considered himself an only child. Deep family ties became a defining value that Ken carried throughout his life. Although his family just scraped by in the shadow of the depression, Ken would later say that he never felt he was lacking anything as a child. Indeed, his humble upbringing made Ken the person he was, and offered a wellspring of wonderful stories and anecdotes for him to recount. Ken could regale his own children and grandchildren with stories of his "pet" pig Monster that frightened him at night when he used the outdoor "facilities", indoor plumbing a luxury his family could not yet afford. Ken graduated from Kingsport's Dobyns-Bennett High School in 1953 and was the first among his family to attend college, earning a football scholarship to East Tennessee State University and graduating in 1957. He was fond of joking that ETSU was the "Harvard of the Appalachians", but the school occupied a special place in Ken's life. It offered him opportunities that his parents never had and he repaid his gratitude to the school in later years as a member of its Foundation Board. Ken was honored as ETSU's Alumnus of the Year in 2000. Ken joined the IBM Corporation in 1957 as a salesman in its nascent computer products division. He rose quickly through its ranks, becoming the company's youngest Branch Manager in the Green Bay, Wisconsin office. His seventeen year career at IBM moved Ken, his wife Sally and five kids to various cities throughout the Midwest as he assumed increasingly senior positions with the company. In 1975, an upstart Bay Area computer company approached Ken to become one of its senior executives. Amdahl Corporation would emerge as one of the Silicon Valley's early pioneering success stories, competing head on with IBM and becoming a billion dollar company. Ken's decision to leave the relative comfort of a career at IBM, relocate his family to California, and join a company that had yet to sell a product to its first customer was emblematic of his personality and professional drive. He pursued his career challenges with "missionary zeal". At Amdahl, Ken flourished because he genuinely connected with its employees and customers; considered the "coach" who motivated others to be their very best. With Amdahl's success, Ken began thinking of his next challenge when Teradata Corporation came knocking, asking him to be their President and Chief Executive Officer. Teradata was a fledgling computer company with a few big customers and Ken took on another challenge with the commitment and enthusiasm he brought to any endeavor. He instilled a focus on the customer that is best summed up in one of his adages, "Our last customer is more important than our next". Under Ken's leadership, Teradata built a company with few customers and an untested product into the industry leading data warehouse provider, competing with giants such as IBM and Oracle. He led the company through a highly successful public offering in 1987 as Teradata's customer list grew to include the world's most recognized companies. Along the way, Teradata came to define a new segment in the industry, data warehousing, and Teradata was recognized by numerous publications for its rapid growth and groundbreaking technology. AT&T, one of Teradata's best customers, ultimately bought the company in 1992. Jack Shemer, a Teradata founder who recruited Ken to join the company, said, "When you joined Teradata, the company was in crisis. You saved the employees, and you saved the investors and the customers." Ken may have taken issue with that statement, insisting instead that "we", the entire Teradata family, made it happen. During his time at Teradata while residing in Manhattan Beach, California, Ken was recognized as a finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year in Southern California (1989) and he received the "Spirit of Life" award from the City of Hope Medical Center in 1991. He also served on the boards of KCET, Public Broadcasting and the Boy Scouts of America. Ken's career successes could not be acknowledged without also recognizing the loving devotion of his wife of fifty-one years, Sarah R. Simonds. Sally fully supported Ken through what must have seemed at times like countless moves, several kids always in tow. Shortly after his retirement from Teradata in 1992, he and Sally moved permanently to the desert, settling in Indian Wells, California. Ken and Sally invested themselves in various charitable undertakings around the Coachella Valley with the same zeal and commitment Ken poured into every endeavor. They founded the Junior Golf Foundation of the Desert to fund and promote youth golf. Ken and Sally's passion for education also led to his seat on the Foundation Board for the College of the Desert. Among Ken and Sally's most deeply held convictions is a desire to return the blessings they received to those less fortunate. They focused much of those efforts on Hidden Harvest, a charity whose mission it is to provide nutritious food and nutrition education to the less privileged. Ken was an avowed "sports nut" and served as an assistant football coach at Palm Desert High School during the 2000 season, long after the single-wing offense he learned in college was abandoned. His final evening was spent at home watching his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers clinch a spot in the League Championship Series. In addition to his wife Sally, Ken is survived by five children, Robert, Cindy May, David, Joseph, and Ken, Jr. and twelve grandchildren. He was surrounded by loving family, friends, and former work associates during the last weeks of his life as he fought that final challenge with grace and his special sense of humor. From humble beginnings in Eastern Tennessee, Ken "made a difference" in many, many lives. He is sorely missed. The family would like offer its heartfelt thanks and gratitude to those individuals who helped make Ken's last days comfortable and worth living, especially those "angels" Youke Rumagit of the Visiting Angels hospice care organization and Favio at Lincare Health Services. Visitation was held on Thursday, October 15, 2009 night from 6 to 8PM at Forest Lawn Mortuary, 69855 East Ramon Rd., Cathedral City. A memorial service and celebration of Ken's life will be held today, Friday, October 16, 2009 at Southwest Community Church in Indian Wells starting at 10AM. The church is located at 77701 Fred Waring Drive, in Indian Wells. A reception at the church will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to one of the following charities; the East Tennessee State University Foundation, the College of the Desert Foundation, and Hidden Harvest. Donations should be made payable to the Desert Community Foundation with a notation to one of the aforementioned charities. Donations should be mailed to the Desert Community Foundation, 72996 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA 92260. Any questions about the donation can be addressed by calling (800) 927-9421.