Preiss-With heavy hearts the family of Kenneth William Preiss announces his passing on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Sometimes the people we love leave us before their story is over, however Ken will remain in the hearts and memories of his family and friends as we begin our new chapter. Ken was born December 5, 1955, in St. Mary’s, Ontario. He spent his early days befriending neighbourhood squirrels, riding his bike with his friends, pestering his older sister Eleanor in typical little-brother ways and developing some dear friendships that were maintained throughout the years. His story continued into his teenage years where he pursued an education in Broadcasting at Fanshawe College, eventually settling into his career as “The Big K.W.” at CHOK Radio in Sarnia. Ken would meet and marry Bonnie and go on to create a very close and loving family consisting of 4 kids and 10 (soon to be 11) grandchildren whom he loved dearly. He is survived by; his children, Doug (Kimberly) Preiss, Derrick (Allison) Preiss, Angela (Andrew) Southard and Nicole (Travis) Thorne along with grandchildren Lilah, Lincoln, Nolan, Macie, Harrison, Beckett, Brady, Amelia, Evelyn and Archer. They will miss hearing Gpa’s lengthy and insightful stories about his interests such as Physics topics (the space/time continuum in particular), his adventures in skydiving and seeing Gpa’s new toys when visiting with him. Ken was a very interesting and charming man who loved chatting with anyone who was around and never left a family gathering without commenting “That was fun! When’s the next party?” Ken’s deep love and interest in music was evident throughout his life. You could often hear him on air dedicating “Song of the South” to his young daughters on a Saturday morning knowing they were at home listening to it with anticipation. He always made sure there was music in the background at any function- acting as our own personal DJ. Ken’s sons have fond memories of launching rockets together in the schoolyard as young kids and this tradition has carried on to more recent years with grandkids in tow. Married for 46 years, Ken and Bonnie enjoyed the simple daily pleasures in life such as long drives along the river or walks under the bridge and their demonstration of love and strength among struggles has been evident to all. One of Ken’s favourite sayings in times of uncertainty was that “We will just have to wait and see and see and wait and wait and see some more.” As the family moves forward in the following days, weeks, months and years, we will keep his voice and this quote in our heads and hearts to help us continue our story. He is no longer ours, but the love remains. Ken is predeceased by; his parents, Milton (2000) and Edna (2007); his sister, Eleanor (2017) and daughter Amanda (1986). He will also be missed by his in-laws, nieces and nephews, extended family, friends, and former colleagues. Cremation has taken place. A celebration-of-life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers sympathy may be expressed through memorial donations to St. Joseph’s Hospice, Sarnia or to a charity of choice. Arrangements entrusted to Knight Funeral Home, 588 St. Clair Parkway, Corunna. Messages and condolences may be left online at www.knightfuneralhome.ca Knight 519-862-2845
30 thoughts on “Kenneth Preiss”
Dear Bonnie and Family,
I’m so sorry for your loss. May your precious memories buoy you up at this very difficult time. God bless you, and may Ken rest in peace.
Love, Loretto
My deepest condolences to Bonnie and family.
Your in my heart and prayers
Bonnie and family. We sure were saddened to hear about Ken. Your family is in our thoughts. Condolences, Tim and Penny
Thinking of you Bonnie and family. deepest sympathy 🙏. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers
Bonnie and family.
I am very sorry to read this sad news
Thinking of you now and of all the bygone times.
So sorry Bonnie and family Hugs and prayers
One of my earliest thoughts to get into radio came from a trip to see Ken at CHOK around 77. He let me pick a song not on the format (Diamonds Diamonds by Max Webster) and he played the song. 2024 & I am still on radio after starting with a year At Fanshawe College. So many years ago. Thanks Ken, great to see that you & Bonnie had such an awesome family and life. Howard
To Bonnie and the entire Preiss Family,
Please accept my sincere condolences at this sad time. Ken and I first met at the Presbyterian church in Mooretown in the 1980’s, but we were also friends and business collaborators for many years. I’ll miss his words of wisdom and witticisms on a whole range of topics. I have only kind thoughts and fond memories of my good friend, Ken Preiss.
We are so saddened to hear of your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Bonnie and all of your family.
I’m so very sorry Bonnie to hear about Ken. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.
We are so sorry and extremely saddened by the loss of such a wonderful man. Ken will forever hold a place in our hearts! Our thoughts are with all of you during this extremely difficult time. It’s never easy losing anyone but even less when you lose someone young and before their time. While the world lost a great man, heaven gained a valuable angel.
Dear Bonnie & family,
Sending our condolences, we are thinking of everyone at this difficult time.
Bruce, Lisa, Harrison & Thomas Sayers
Sorry for your loss Bonnie. Although I did not know Ken personally, you always spoke so lovingly about him while cutting my hair. I know he has left your family with many great memories.
Dear Bonnie and family,
We are so sorry for the loss of your husband Ken and your children and grandchildren losing a wonderful father and grandfather.
Your neighbours, Marty and Kristina Dewhirst
My condolances to you and your family Bonnie
We are so sorry for your lost, we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers and pray the angels surround you and your family in your time of need.
Sorry for your loss. Love Aunt Marie & family.
My deepest condolences to you and your family Bonnie. Thinking of you all at this very difficult time.
I’m sorry Bonnie to read of your loss.
Irene Zavitz
Bonnie , Doug, Kim and family ,Derrick ,Allison and family, Angela, Andrew and family ,Nicole , Travis and family ,We were so saddened to hear of Ken s passing.We extend our deepest sympathies to all of you. Thinking of you and we send our love .Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Love Betty and John
Dear Bonnie and family. Condolences, hugs and prayers to you and the entire family at this sad time. We never met Ken but the memoriam told us so much about his life and family. God has another angel to sit at his side and watch over his family.
Bonnie, Doug, Derrick, Angela, Nicole and families, our heartfelt condolences to you all on the loss of a wonderful man. It’s never an easy time but know that there are so many people to help you all through this. We are all thinking of you during this time and hope that wonderful memories help ease the pain that you all feel.
Bonnie and Family,
Our deepest sympathies to you all. We are saddened to hear of the loss of Ken. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Truly sorry to hear of this passing.. Our deepest and sincere condolences to all the family
Dear Bonnie and Family,
Sorry to hear of the loss of Ken. Thinking of you during this difficult time and keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Please accept my sincerest condolences for the loss of Ken Preiss. I fondly remember our afternoon games pausing while Derek and Doug went to greet their dad coming home from work; especially the day he brought home a pogo stick! Ken was always generous and kind to the neighborhood and I am especially grateful for the basketball, and the patience both he and Bonnie extended, as we played most evenings in the driveway. Ken will be missed and remembered by many.
Ken will be missed by so many. We have enjoyed our times together at family celebrations. Ken was very friendly, and always had an interesting story to relate. Condolences to Bonnie and the family. The grandchildren will miss spending fun times with Gpa Ken.
Bonnie, Derrick , Allison and family so sorry to hear of your husband and dad’s passing hope happy memories will bring you comfort at this time.
Condolences on Ken’s, far too soon, passing. Ken was an important member of our tight knit group in high school that used the local cable station to hone our DJ, TV camera and journalism skills. Many of us, like Ken, went on to lifetime careers in broadcasting. Ken & I commuted daily from St Marys to Fanshawe College for the Broadcast Arts course there. We even convinced each other that it would be fun to give skydiving a try at a small airport near Paris, Ontario!! Ken was one of those people whose support & friendship in our teenage years that helped give us the confidence to chase our dreams. The high school gang was fortunate to have had Ken join us for a 50th anniversary reunion back in St Marys in 2022. The strength of our high school/college friendships was still strong and it was like no time had passed.
This letter of condolences is from Gord Barnett, a fellow member of the Cable Crew of ’72.