Skip to main contentBiographyFrom Hamilton College Alumni Necrology webpage, accessed 10/7/23
https://www.hamilton.edu/alumni/necrology?action=profile&id=B6CF69BF-6107-4AF3-BD588404289EC3B0&search=0
Kenneth Roger Kahn '63
Dec. 14, 1941-Sep. 18, 2022
Kenneth Roger Kahn ’63 died in Hartford, Conn., on Sept. 18, 2022. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Dec. 14, 1941, he was raised in Oceanside, N.Y., and came to Hamilton from Oceanside High School.
On the Hill, Ken majored in English with a focus in art. He had come to campus with an interest in art as noted in his admission application in which he reported that his work was publicly exhibited in his junior year at Oceanside High. He continued his engagement with painting through his work with Professor of Art James Penney at the College. He painted after departing the Hill and wrote in his 25th reunion yearbook that he had become “an early morning, late night, and weekend painter.”
Ken embraced other activities as well. A member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, he was elected to the Doers & Thinkers honor society as a sophomore and to Pentagon as a senior. He served on the Student Senate as representative-at-large in his sophomore year and was elected president of the senate as a senior. He was for a time on the staff of The Continental, the College’s literary magazine, and on the Judiciary Board. In his senior year Ken was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and presented one of the two Commencement addresses at his graduation: he called his, “Energy, Vision, and Imaginative Command.”
After Hamilton, Ken moved to New York City where he studied painting for two years at the School of Visual Arts while working part time as an art instructor and coordinator at the Sirowich Day Center for Senior Citizens in lower Manhattan. On July 18, 1964, he married Anne-Lynn Kettles in Bern, Switzerland. They had three daughters and a son, and Ann had a career as an actor and acting instructor.
In 1965, Ken joined Reader’s Digest doing editorial research for special projects. From there, he moved to the company’s international books division with similar responsibilities.
In 1971, Ken began the profession that would shape the balance of his work life: overseeing arts organizations, some public, others private. He was appointed director of the Kirkland Art Center in Clinton, succeeding his classmate, John von Bergen ’63. From there, Ken became director of the Queens Museum in 1973.
After spending some time in Barcelona, Spain, in 1976, Ken accepted the first of a series of administrative appointments with major arts organizations when he became director of the Maryland State Arts Council in Baltimore. His principal responsibilities included promoting the public’s engagement with the arts throughout the state and seeking funding for various initiatives from both public and private organizations.
From Baltimore, Ken moved to Florida in 1983 to found and lead the Miami-Dade County Cultural Center. A year later, he started as chair of the South Florida Cultural Consortium. In 1990, he was appointed president of the arts council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Texas.
Nine years later, in November 1999, he became executive director of the Greater Hartford Arts Council. In 2008, when he stepped down from his work in Hartford and, anticipating questions about why his tenure at each organization may have seemed short, Ken observed: “This work becomes repetitive after eight or nine years, and it is time to move on.”
His work for Hartford is representative of his achievements elsewhere. Believing strongly that public art was vitally important to a region’s well-being, he convinced the board of the Hartford Arts Council and corporate sponsors that funding such initiatives would be beneficial to the greater Hartford area.
Among his prominent achievements was the creation of the Lincoln Sculpture Walk along the Connecticut River, known locally as the Riverfront. In company with the CEO of an organization called Riverfront Recapture, Ken persuaded Lincoln Financial Insurance to donate $500,000 to acquire and install a collection of sculptures based on the 16th president’s life, ideas, and beliefs. He also developed marketing strategies for arts and historical organizations, commissioned and purchased other public art for the Hartford area, and created a grant program from which more than 50 neighborhood organizations could receive funding for local projects.
Collectively, his numerous projects attracted an audience of residents and visitors, and the local hospitality economy prospered with the growth in cultural tourism, successes that echoed comparable responses in the cities where he had previously worked to promote the arts. Support for his efforts grew significantly as well. He nearly doubled the size of Hartford’s annual arts campaign, eighth largest in the nation in 2008, to $4.3 million with 60 companies that collectively employed 4,900 people contributing $1.3 million. In his final year in Hartford, Ken reported that more than a dozen foundations and state and local agencies, 300 companies, and more than 5,000 individuals provided resources for the work of the arts council.
But despite his announced retirement, Ken had one more item on his to-do list: serving as public arts administrator for the Broward County cultural division in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for one year. As in Hartford, he was charged with selecting and overseeing installation of public art pieces in the county’s parks, airport, seaport, and other locations.
After this brief final position, Ken and Anne-Lynn returned home to Hartford in 2009. Ken volunteered as a consultant for Sculpture Space, which provides studio space for sculptors in various cities, including Utica. He also consulted for Griffiss Industrial Park in Rome, N.Y. For many summers, the family vacationed in Northport, Maine, near the famous Farnsworth art museum.
Ken was on occasion whimsical. Notable for his homage to the sartorial style of Hamilton’s renowned Professor of Economics Sidney Wertimer, a devotee of the bow tie, in January 2002 Ken established the “Greater Hartford Bow Tie Swap Club.” To be admitted, one had to bring two bow ties to the event and ante up $10 to cover the costs of catering, which featured farfalle, known in America as “bow tie pasta.” The idea of exchanging ties came from the regular swaps that Ken made with his brother Mark E. Kahn ’70.
Ken’s preparation for his career began on the Hill. In 2003, he described the College’s impact upon his life in his entry to the 50th reunion yearbook: “English Lit., rhetoric, lots of history and art courses provided a basis for forming a career — a desire to conserve our arts and heritage assets and also to support and promote them as a public servant and as a worker in the nonprofit arts world. ‘Hamilton’ people provided valuable life models for me and helped mold whoever I am today.”
For his part, Ken supported the College during the Priorities for Hamilton capital campaign, served on his class committee and reunion gift committee, and was a volunteer for the Career Center.
Kenneth R. Kahn is survived by his wife, three daughters, and one son. He was predeceased by his brother Mark E. Kahn ’70.
Kenneth Kahn
American, 1941 – 2022
https://www.hamilton.edu/alumni/necrology?action=profile&id=B6CF69BF-6107-4AF3-BD588404289EC3B0&search=0
Kenneth Roger Kahn '63
Dec. 14, 1941-Sep. 18, 2022
Kenneth Roger Kahn ’63 died in Hartford, Conn., on Sept. 18, 2022. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Dec. 14, 1941, he was raised in Oceanside, N.Y., and came to Hamilton from Oceanside High School.
On the Hill, Ken majored in English with a focus in art. He had come to campus with an interest in art as noted in his admission application in which he reported that his work was publicly exhibited in his junior year at Oceanside High. He continued his engagement with painting through his work with Professor of Art James Penney at the College. He painted after departing the Hill and wrote in his 25th reunion yearbook that he had become “an early morning, late night, and weekend painter.”
Ken embraced other activities as well. A member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, he was elected to the Doers & Thinkers honor society as a sophomore and to Pentagon as a senior. He served on the Student Senate as representative-at-large in his sophomore year and was elected president of the senate as a senior. He was for a time on the staff of The Continental, the College’s literary magazine, and on the Judiciary Board. In his senior year Ken was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and presented one of the two Commencement addresses at his graduation: he called his, “Energy, Vision, and Imaginative Command.”
After Hamilton, Ken moved to New York City where he studied painting for two years at the School of Visual Arts while working part time as an art instructor and coordinator at the Sirowich Day Center for Senior Citizens in lower Manhattan. On July 18, 1964, he married Anne-Lynn Kettles in Bern, Switzerland. They had three daughters and a son, and Ann had a career as an actor and acting instructor.
In 1965, Ken joined Reader’s Digest doing editorial research for special projects. From there, he moved to the company’s international books division with similar responsibilities.
In 1971, Ken began the profession that would shape the balance of his work life: overseeing arts organizations, some public, others private. He was appointed director of the Kirkland Art Center in Clinton, succeeding his classmate, John von Bergen ’63. From there, Ken became director of the Queens Museum in 1973.
After spending some time in Barcelona, Spain, in 1976, Ken accepted the first of a series of administrative appointments with major arts organizations when he became director of the Maryland State Arts Council in Baltimore. His principal responsibilities included promoting the public’s engagement with the arts throughout the state and seeking funding for various initiatives from both public and private organizations.
From Baltimore, Ken moved to Florida in 1983 to found and lead the Miami-Dade County Cultural Center. A year later, he started as chair of the South Florida Cultural Consortium. In 1990, he was appointed president of the arts council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Texas.
Nine years later, in November 1999, he became executive director of the Greater Hartford Arts Council. In 2008, when he stepped down from his work in Hartford and, anticipating questions about why his tenure at each organization may have seemed short, Ken observed: “This work becomes repetitive after eight or nine years, and it is time to move on.”
His work for Hartford is representative of his achievements elsewhere. Believing strongly that public art was vitally important to a region’s well-being, he convinced the board of the Hartford Arts Council and corporate sponsors that funding such initiatives would be beneficial to the greater Hartford area.
Among his prominent achievements was the creation of the Lincoln Sculpture Walk along the Connecticut River, known locally as the Riverfront. In company with the CEO of an organization called Riverfront Recapture, Ken persuaded Lincoln Financial Insurance to donate $500,000 to acquire and install a collection of sculptures based on the 16th president’s life, ideas, and beliefs. He also developed marketing strategies for arts and historical organizations, commissioned and purchased other public art for the Hartford area, and created a grant program from which more than 50 neighborhood organizations could receive funding for local projects.
Collectively, his numerous projects attracted an audience of residents and visitors, and the local hospitality economy prospered with the growth in cultural tourism, successes that echoed comparable responses in the cities where he had previously worked to promote the arts. Support for his efforts grew significantly as well. He nearly doubled the size of Hartford’s annual arts campaign, eighth largest in the nation in 2008, to $4.3 million with 60 companies that collectively employed 4,900 people contributing $1.3 million. In his final year in Hartford, Ken reported that more than a dozen foundations and state and local agencies, 300 companies, and more than 5,000 individuals provided resources for the work of the arts council.
But despite his announced retirement, Ken had one more item on his to-do list: serving as public arts administrator for the Broward County cultural division in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for one year. As in Hartford, he was charged with selecting and overseeing installation of public art pieces in the county’s parks, airport, seaport, and other locations.
After this brief final position, Ken and Anne-Lynn returned home to Hartford in 2009. Ken volunteered as a consultant for Sculpture Space, which provides studio space for sculptors in various cities, including Utica. He also consulted for Griffiss Industrial Park in Rome, N.Y. For many summers, the family vacationed in Northport, Maine, near the famous Farnsworth art museum.
Ken was on occasion whimsical. Notable for his homage to the sartorial style of Hamilton’s renowned Professor of Economics Sidney Wertimer, a devotee of the bow tie, in January 2002 Ken established the “Greater Hartford Bow Tie Swap Club.” To be admitted, one had to bring two bow ties to the event and ante up $10 to cover the costs of catering, which featured farfalle, known in America as “bow tie pasta.” The idea of exchanging ties came from the regular swaps that Ken made with his brother Mark E. Kahn ’70.
Ken’s preparation for his career began on the Hill. In 2003, he described the College’s impact upon his life in his entry to the 50th reunion yearbook: “English Lit., rhetoric, lots of history and art courses provided a basis for forming a career — a desire to conserve our arts and heritage assets and also to support and promote them as a public servant and as a worker in the nonprofit arts world. ‘Hamilton’ people provided valuable life models for me and helped mold whoever I am today.”
For his part, Ken supported the College during the Priorities for Hamilton capital campaign, served on his class committee and reunion gift committee, and was a volunteer for the Career Center.
Kenneth R. Kahn is survived by his wife, three daughters, and one son. He was predeceased by his brother Mark E. Kahn ’70.
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