Ken Keskinen

WEST CORNWALL—Ken Keskinen died peacefully at home on Dec. 31, 2011. A teacher and writer, he was 88. Ken was born Dec. 13, 1923, in the Finnish-American community of New York Mills, Minn., the son of the late Martha (Maki) and John Keskinen. During World War II he served as a Navy electronic technician in the Pacific. At Columbia University he earned an MA in English, and he married Margaret Potter Keskinen in 1953. For 20 years, Ken taught English at George School, a Quaker boarding school in Newtown, Penn. Beloved by students, he also chaired the English department, taught folk dancing and led international workcamps, drawing on his own experience helping repair flood damage in Holland in 1953. During this time, Ken and Peg raised two daughters and hosted an Ethiopian student who became a lifelong friend. They also spent summers at their cabin in Cornwall, where Ken became known for his wit, his theatrical and woodworking skills, and his style on local tennis courts. When the Keskinens became year-round residents in 1976, Ken worked at the Marvelwood School, serving as director of studies and teaching English. He also chaired Cornwall’s Democratic Town Committee for several years. Although he retired from Marvelwood in 1990, Ken took a broad view of the word “retirement.” An advocate for affordable housing, he was an early leader of the Cornwall Housing Corporation, serving as its president while Kugeman Village was built, and representing Cornwall on the Northwestern Connecticut Regional Housing Council. During the 1990s he also taught at the Taconic Learning Center, worked with prisoners through the Alternatives to Violence program, and often edited the Cornwall Chronicle. As a justice of the peace, he married many local couples. He served several years on the Planning and Zoning Commission and one term as Cornwall selectman. Known by some as the Bard of Cornwall, Ken wrote dozens of poems for community events, donning a bowler hat to read his odes aloud. He published two poetry chapbooks, “Iron Roses” and “Holy Ground.” In his later years he became known for his artwork incorporating found objects. One of these, a pig fashioned from a flattened tin can, won Cornwall’s coveted Art at the Dump award in 2006. He is survived by his wife, Peg Keskinen; his daughters, Lisa and Mindy Keskinen and her husband, Peter Hendrickson; a sister, Amy (Keskinen) Holter; a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Bob and Ginny Potter; and many loving nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a brother, Ervin Keskinen; and a sister, Helen Keskinen Veigel.Plans for a memorial service will be announced shortly. Arrangements are under the care of the Kenny Funeral Home in Sharon. Memorial donations may be made to the Cornwall Housing Corporation, PO Box 174, Cornwall, CT 06753.