Sad News

Robert O'Brien

http://m.spears.tributecenteronline.com/obituaries/events?obituaryId=734489

hot_rod

That's a shame, he was a sharp and passionate fellow.

Bob Bona_4

I remember him well, we had a good talk at Wetstock 1. Always liked reading his stuff. Sad.

Tinman

I remember Ken from the early days of the Wall. Like HR said, very passionate.

DanHolohan

He did it his way. God speed.

Tim McElwain

He and I had many very interesting discussions on everything. He was never one to choose political correctness. He loved to talk to me about Jesus and my Born Again experience, not that he and always agreed but he was very curious about spiritual matters. I loved the guy and enjoyed be in his company.

BillW

Ken was a great guy, and about the only other jazz fan in the heating world, too. Right now, he's probably listening to Charlie Parker, live! Godspeed, Ken.

R Mannino

RIP Mr. Secor I enjoyed your lively debates here and on OTT.

Robert O'Connor_12

I knew Ken fairly well. Great guy!
He will be missed.
RIP

Robert O'Connor/NJ

SWEI

BillW said:

Ken was a great guy, and about the only other jazz fan in the heating world, too.

Though I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I am a jazz fan.

Tinman

Miles is still the "most played" artist on my 9 year old ipod.

Sal Santamaura

BillW said:

Ken was a great guy, and about the only other jazz fan in the heating world, too. Right now, he's probably listening to Charlie Parker, live! Godspeed, Ken.

SWEI said:

Though I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I am a jazz fan.

Stephen Minnich said:

Miles is still the "most played" artist on my 9 year old ipod.

I'm just a homeowner (not "in the heating world"), but add me to the list of jazz fans here. I never met Ken either. However, we did exchange email messages about his condensing oil boiler when he built the home in Vermont. Subsequently, we "talked" about different jazz one could find on the Internet. He was certainly opinionated on the Wall, but very pleasant in these one-to-one exchanges. Condolences to his family.

JohnNY

Ken and I spoke at a handful of events, most notably the couple of "Big Ugly New York" get-togethers, which I miss by the way.
He was an extremely knowledgeable and personable guy and I learned from him. That's a good way to touch someone's life.
RIP, Ken.

David Sutton_6

Ken was full of info and not afraid to share it ,He was one of the early members. RIP

Tinman

Spinning one for Ken.

Leo

I got to know Ken during the early days of the Wall when he and Mr Pex used to battle over Copper vs Pex. I got to meet him at all the Wetstocks on the East Coast then a couple other times at small gatherings. He was very different off the internet and a great guy.

ScottSecor

Dad started his heating business from scratch in 1976 when he lost his job and decided it was time to “try something new.” At the time he had a stay at home wife (Mom later became a full time registered nurse), four young boys and a pretty good size mortgage. While most of us would not dream of taking that kind of risk under those circumstances, Dad was known for thinking outside the box. Somehow the business survived (we ate a lot of store brand macaroni and cheese in the beginning, I still cringe when I see it) and eventually became a well-respected company in the area. I will never forget Dad’s first work car, a green Ford station wagon full of tools and parts with the leaf springs ready to collapse due to all the weight, thank god Dad never needed to stop in a hurry!
Ken/Dad was known for ruffling feathers on occasion, but often was misunderstood (especially on this website). I cannot apologize for him, but will say I’m sorry for those that were offending by his writing. He often told it like he saw it and sometimes forgot that with the internet this kind of thinking will likely hurt someone’s feelings. I can say that Dad would and often did help anyone out if they asked. It could have been a problem with their heating system, their car, financial troubles, or just about anything mechanical. There really weren’t too many things mechanical that Ken could not fix. When I first started working for Dad in the 1980’s he would bust out the soldering gun regularly when repairing fifty year old General Electric boilers. I would pass comments like; “Dad why not just buy a new part and install it instead of fixing this old crap?” He would respond with, “Because they haven’t made this particular part in thirty years and this elderly widow does not have thousands of dollars for a new boiler.” At that moment I finally started to understand my father. I later learned this particular customer’s husband (deceased when I was there) asked my father to do whatever it takes to keep the heat going for his aging wife. I also learned that Dad never charged her and a few other customers that were barely getting by.
Jumping forward to 2006 when Mom and Dad retired after building there new house and moved to Vermont. Dad spent more time doing the things he wanted to do and less time doing the things he had to do. They traveled, spent more time with the grandchildren doing things with them that they will likely never forget. My phone has been ringing often since Dad passed, I am constantly reminded how many people he touched over the years. Mom and the entire family are certainly sad to see him go and we will all miss him immensely. I will do my best to fill Dad/Ken’s shoes but I must admit “His Shoes are pretty darn big.”

Thank you for all the caring comments, I will share them with Mom and the rest of the family this weekend when we're all together.

ScottSecor

One more thing about Dad with regard to Jazz. A year ago my daughter (college freshman at the time) needed to go to see a professional musician perform for a class. Naturally we went to Ken's favorite place, the Village Vanguard in NYC. When we sat down at the twelve inch diameter table, my daughter realized it was not the same without Pop (as my kids called Ken). I suspect many things will not be the same in the future without Pop/Dad/Ken/Zeke....

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

What a great guy he was. I remember him from the early days of The Wall.
He will be missed.

Fred

I didn't know him but it speaks volumes that his son/family understood him and want to emulate the person he IS. My condolences. Just remember, he will be at every turn in your life. You are everything he taught you. His legacy.

Leo_G

Wow. What a shock. I never met Mr. Secord personally, but his epic poems about pex and shopping carts, burning in the river will be with me forever.

To his family I send my prayers and love, and to let you know, that your father, grandpa, husband touched a lot of souls on his too short a journey on this earth.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

I wouldn't call it a short journey; medium, yes even though I'm not there yet and consider myself old.
Most importantly, Ken has entered the ranks of the Dead Men. And maybe he was more influential and outspoken than other Dead Men since he was a great contractor and a great debater on all things hydronic and would always be willing to share information. In 2000, he shared some contract legal wording with me about customers who want to provide their own materials.
His children probably remember him not coming home until late at night, filthy from working in someone's crawlspace. And when he was home, he was usually working in his office. The vacations were great when you got to be around him all day. I can say that with some certainty because that's how it was for me.