I am sure by this time, many of you are thinking "how long will this go on?" But I am pressing through on writing about Ken's life so that my kids and grandkids have a bit of a record of some things that might be forgotten as time goes on. So, in this "chapter" I will be sharing about Ken's work life. At least from my perspective.
Here is Ken in the place that he loved most..... the Metrology Lab at Newell Brands. This was his last job and I decided to begin this blog here because it represented truly the best time of Ken's work life. One of the last long conversations that he had was with the Chaplin from the Hospice. He loved to tell people that he was a Metrologist and then watch them try to figure out exactly what that was. This conversation was no different and he had a great time explaining to the Chaplin what he had done for almost 15 years at Sanford (which then became Newell Brands). For those who might not have already googled this, Metrology is the study of measurement. He would often tell people that he spent time "breaking pencils" or testing cap strength on pens. Which was exactly what he did. What he did was work closely with engineers who were developing new products, mostly for the Sharpie group. As they would come up with new ideas, Ken would work with the measurements on the design of the pen and then test samples of these designs to determine if they met specifications. He loved this job and enjoyed going to work every day. It was extremely hard for Ken, when Newell decided to close the Chicago location. Given his age at the time (65) he was offered a retirement package and it just made sense for us to except that. I am sure that if the company had not moved, Ken would have continued to work as long as his health would have allowed. There is an interesting story about how he actually got this job, but I will start at the beginning of Ken's work history so that you can really get the full picture.
By the time I met Ken in 1972 when he was 20 years old, he had already had 5 jobs. This included working at a Hardware store when he was in middle school, repairing bicycles. He also had worked at McDonalds during high school and for a short time, worked in construction driving a bull dozer. Shortly after we met, he applied at an Ink manufacturing company in Elk Grove Village. He got hired as a mixer man, which was sort of lowest on the totem pole job that meant he was pretty much covered in ink from head to toe that didn't come off. Roberts and Porter was a good company and within a short time, Ken was moved into the lab doing color matching and weighing of the ink. This was a much cleaner job, but meant that he worked second shift (3pm - 11pm). Not ideal, but it was something that kept Ken interested. He worked there for around 5 years and during those years he also worked part time at a number of somewhat unusual jobs. We were saving to buy our house and both of us held second jobs. Ken worked at a CB store (if you are too young to know what that is, just keep reading). He worked at a Jewish Deli and also McDonalds and for a time worked at Sears in the automotive department. After we moved to Warrenville he was offered a job as an "In Plant Ink Man" which was something that he wanted to try. It was an even further drive (about an hour and a half verses 40 minutes) but it was working regular hours. After about two years on that job, he was offered a job as a color matcher at another Ink manufacturer much closer to home. He worked at Borden Ink for over 9 years. During that time Doug was born and Borden had self administered insurance. While it had fairly good coverage, each person had a lifetime limit of one million dollars. Doug had reached $998,000 and we had begun to look into state insurance provided for hard to insure children. But just as we began that process, Borden decided to go with standard insurance and Doug's coverage started over with no lifetime limit. It was truly a God provision for us during those years. And one more way these stories show God's care for us even when we were not aware of all that he was doing.
In an interesting turn of events, in 1988 both Ken and I lost our jobs in the same week. Now while this might seem like a terrible thing, in fact it really worked out well for both of us. Because both of our companies were closing their locations, Ken and I each got a good sized severance package. Ken had a job the day he found out his company was closing, and it was back at the place he started in the ink industry, which had now become INX International. I ended up getting a job basically immediately also and both of us ended up making more than we had been. So it was a good financial time for us. Again, something that God orchestrated for us that we didn't see at the time. I remember having to explain to Gwen why we could afford to buy new furniture when both Ken and I had lost our jobs. Ken worked at INX in so many different jobs. He worked long hours and for several years, traveled all over the country doing waterless ink demonstrations. He ended his time at INX as their Quality Control Manager. One of his best memories of his time at INX was his trip to Japan in 1992. INX was owned by a Japanese company, Sakata INX and Ken was able to tour their facilities in several locations. 
One of his favorite things were his business cards that were printed in Japanese on the back. These two picture are from the scrapbook I made for him of his trip. And right now I am so thankful that I have this album to pull off of the shelf to share these photos with you all.
After Ken lost his job in 2002 due to a reduction in work force, he worked a couple of short term jobs. One in the ink industry and one doing quality work. During that time, he was so desperate to find a permanent job that he was applying to everything. He was hired at Sanford in 2003. After he had been at Sanford (Newell) for over a year, he asked his boss why he had been hired. The interesting thing was that the boss was pretty clear that he really didn't know how it had happened. At the time Sanford had a policy of only hiring from the temporary workers that they got from an agency. Ken came in off the street! It was as if God just reached down and placed in into exactly the correct job that would make the end of his working career the very best years. At first he thought that his color matching and knowledge of ink was the reason he was hired. But it had nothing to do with his job. All of that happened in the Chemistry lab and all of those people had advanced college degrees. Something that Ken did not have.
So by the numbers, Ken had worked at 16 different companies, doing countless different jobs, during the 56 years he worked. He had 29 years in the Ink industry and 15 years as a Metrologist. Quite an impressive set of numbers. I am so thankful for Ken's work ethic that kept him going to work, even when he was in a less than happy place with the work.
One wonderful thing that comes out of these blogs, is how easily I am seeing God's provision for Ken and I over the years. I know that hindsight is always good and this is certainly showing that to me. I am sorry that Ken and I never did this when he was alive. It would have been so good for him to see just how much he accomplished over the years. My encouragement to you all is to spend some time looking back on your life. No matter what your age, whether you are in your 20's or 70's you will be able to see God's hand on your life. After you have done this, you will be so much more able to stay in a place of faith and hope when you are in a challenging situation.
Yes, I still have more to share about Ken. I am even thankful that I have more time (thanks COVID) to think through what I want to share. I am especially thankful for each of you who have been taking the time to read these stories and I appreciate your thoughtful comments.
Jesus, thank you again for always being with my family. Holy Spirit, remind everyone reading this that there is benefit in remembering and telling how God has blessed them. Give us all new hope and increased faith as we continue to walk through this COVID epidemic. Jesus bring healing to all who are suffering with sickness of any kind. Give us all peace in place of fear. Thank you for holding us in your hand. Amen
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