Date of Birth: July 18, 1946
Date of Death: August 28, 2023
Kenneth Wayne Mouw was born and raised in Sheldon, Iowa by Alfred and Aletha Mouw with his sisters Cheryl and Denise, and little brother Roger. He married Harriet Willemssen, the girl next door, on July 9, 1966 (allegedly, the hottest day of the year). During college he received his Vietnam draft papers but decided to enlist in the Navy and attend OCS. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1969 with a Degree in Civil Engineering. During OCS, he decided to pursue the silent service and see the world from below the waves. His son, Philip was born during OCS. After being accepted into the submarine service, he went to sub school in Connecticut, nuclear power school in Maryland, prototype in Sarasota Springs, NY, and finally joined the USS Tautog, fast attack submarine stationed in Pearl Harbor, HI. Ironically, the capitan of the Tautag was the same person who introduced him to submarines during OCS. On their way to Pearl, he and Harriet began their love affair with America’s national parks by visiting the Grand Canyon. While stationed at Pearl, they enjoyed the islands and started their international travels with a trip to Hong Kong. His second child, Michelle was born in Hawaii. After being discharged in 1973, the family visited more national parks on their way back home to Iowa. Once there, Ken joined Cruse, Kate, and Nelson Consulting Engineers in Spencer, Iowa where he worked for 10 years as an engineer and surveyor, eventually becoming a partner. During their time in Iowa they spent many months camping at Lake Okoboji with friends and family as well as traveling to national parks during summer vacations. Their third child, Teresa was born in Iowa in 1977. The family moved to Arizona in 1983 for better opportunities when Ken was offered a position as a Land Development Engineer for the City of Glendale. From there he went to Greiner Engineering, Peter Lendrum Associates where he managed the engineering department, and then Cella Barr Associates. He finally found his dream job at Maricopa County Parks in 1993 as a civil engineer, where he spent his time hiking and driving too fast in the county truck. He retired from the Parks Department and any sort of gainful employment in 2012. In retirement he spent his time puttering around the yard, reading, hanging out with the grandkids, mopping the floors, doing dishes, donating platelets where he was a bronze century donor (100 lifetime donations or 15 gallons), and of course traveling. He was preceded in death by his parents and youngest daughter, Teresa. He is survived by his wife, Harriet Mouw; sisters Cheryl (Robert) Van Metereen, and Denise VanZee; brother Roger (Rochelle) Mouw; son, Philip (Pamela) Mouw; granddaughter Elizabeth Mouw; grandson, Andrew Mouw; daughter; Michelle (Fred Amburg) Hanson; granddaughter, Avery Hanson; step-granddaughter, Tyler Amberg; step-granddaughter, Jessica Amberg; son-in-law, Nathan Smith; grandson; Burke Mouw-Smith; and grandson, Fritz Mouw-Smith.
Service Information
Celebration of Life Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 2 pm Trinity Bible Church 3420 West Peoria Ave Phoenix, Arizona 85029
Contributions
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Ken's name to either Vitalant Blood Donation, as Ken was a long time donor, or Maricopa County Parks, his dream job that he retired from.
Ken was the best boss that I had! He hired me in 2000 at Maricopa County Parks, and we spent a lot of time in the field overseeing the construction of projects. However, he refused to hike with me after I almost fainted on the trail at Estrella Mountain Park and he ran to find help, lol:) Thank you so much, Ken, for all that you taught me about civil engineering, water systems, and project management!
I was extremely fortunate that Ken hired me to work at Maricopa County Parks and Recreation and remained my boss for most of the time I worked there. He was not just a “boss” with the negative connotations that come with the word; he became a friend. We cracked jokes. We went on many hikes to GPS newly-built trails to be added to park maps. He came to a family service and to my retirement party. He invited his employees to an annual holiday lunch. Thank you Ken for making my work enjoyable for so many years. You’ll be missed. My sincere condolences to the entire Mouw family.
You are missed here on Earth Ken, but Heaven rejoiced to welcome you home. I am going to Vitalant this week to donate platelets.