Kendall (Ken) B. Bohr
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death of former employee Kendall (Ken) B. Bohr on February 11 in Rockton, Illinois. He was 80.
Born in Ossian, Iowa, Ken was the son of Henry and Bette Bohr. He was graduated from East High School in Iowa in 1957.
He married Karin A. Malm in 1958 at First Lutheran Church in Rockford, Iowa. They met while singing in choirs as teenagers and continued to participate in music together throughout their marriage.
Ken served in the US Navy from 1957 to 1960. Following his military experience on a destroyer, he held several administrative positions in industry. During this time, he also supervised a professional boys’ choir that toured the United States and Scandinavian countries. In 1975, the Bohrs moved to Falmouth from the Midwest.
Ken’s career at WHOI began in 1982, where he was hired as a buyer in the Procurement Department. He was promoted several times throughout his career and left in 1996. After his career at WHOI, he worked at MBL and, in the late 1990s, was their gift shop coordinator.
A 23-year volunteer for The Samaritans on Cape Cod, Inc., he served on the board of directors for five years, including several as treasurer, and was a past executive director. He had attended Samaritans conferences throughout the world. Ken also had been active in Befrienders International, an organization offering telephone counseling and support services, which became a part of the Samaritans in 2003. He was part of an international charity based in London serving 44 countries and he assisted with their annual conferences held in York, England, and in Zimbabwe.
In 2007, Ken helped to found a new nonprofit organization, Neighborhood Falmouth, dedicated to helping seniors “age in place,” or remain safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible, by providing a network of functional and social support. Services include transportation, light handyman, checkbook and technology help, and social activities.
When the service was launched, he became co-executive director with his wife. The Bohrs retired in 2014.
After moving from Falmouth to Rockton, Illinois, in 2016, Ken and Karin became active in the music program at Old Stone Church. Together they continued their music interests, singing in various choirs and chorales in Illinois and Wisconsin.
In addition to his wife, he leaves their three sons, Scott K. Bohr and his wife, Rose Bohr, of Pennsylvania; Christopher J. Bohr and his wife, Dawna Bohr, of Florida; and Matthew W. Bohr, and his wife, Charlotte Bohr, of North Carolina; 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and a brother, Brian Bohr of Arizona.
A service in celebration of his life was held on Monday, February 17, at Old Stone Church in Rockton, Il.
Information for this obituary is from the Falmouth Enterprise.