Kenneth Alter

Kenneth Alter, 90, beloved husband of the late Janet nee Gooze for 55 years; loving father of Bruce (Carolyn) Alter, Judy (Lonnie) Nordby, Caryn (David) Kelley and Matthew (Olga) Alter; cherished Grandpa of Amelia and Lauren; dear brother of Martin (Sandi) and the late Niles (the late Ilene and the late Betty) Alter; many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.
Ken lived an adventurous life and took all of us, including our mom, along for the ride. As a young man, he started a lifelong fascination with cars. He began doing rallies with the family's three-cylinder Saab. Then he moved to building race cars. He continued racing into his 80s and driving his Lotus Formula Jr as one of the oldest drivers on the track.
Ken was an expert skier and spent weeks each winter on the European black diamond runs. Once, he was caught in a whiteout and ended up on the wrong side of the mountain, in a different country than he started, without a passport!
Ken taught himself how to sail, which sounds less risky than other things he did, except he never learned how to swim. He had an Erickson 32-foot sailboat called "Easy Rider" that he raced on Lake Michigan. Whether the weather was calm or stormy, he was in the mix with the other boats.
Ken was also an amateur pilot. Some of his kids remember going to small airports with him while he practiced landings and takeoffs. In the early 80s, he pioneered ultralight flying and almost lost his life in an accident when the chainsaw motor on his ultralight plane failed. He was hospitalized for a long time with a broken pelvis and other injuries. This kept him off the ski slope but didn't stop him from racing.
Ken and Janet loved to travel. They went to Italy, China, and Africa, among many other places. Frequently, they were the only Americans in the area they visited.
Although he pretended not to, he loved the family pets. When one of our cat had a litter of kittens, she brought each one, holding them by the scruff of the neck, and dropped them on his stomach while he was napping on the couch. He woke up, looked at all the squirmy kittens, put his arms around them, and went back to sleep.
My father taught us what it's like to be a true Mench when our mother, Janet, was diagnosed with brain cancer. As a result of her treatment, she needed to use a wheelchair. Ken quickly made modifications to the house. When she lost the ability to walk, he purchased a wheelchair van so they could continue to get out and do what she enjoyed.
Ken's children grew up with a sense of adventure and believed if you could read about it in a book, you could do it. I'm grateful he instilled in us the belief that anyone can learn to do anything.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Pap Corps, thepapcorps.org. Chapel service, Thursday, 10 AM at Shalom Memorial Funeral Home, 1700 W. Rand Road, Arlington Heights. Interment Shalom Memorial Park. For information, including a link to view the service or to leave condolences: Shalom Memorial Funeral Home, www.shalommemorial.org or (847) 255-3520.