Raised in Buckley, Washington (since 1933) He graduated from Buckley High School in 1949 and then attended Washington State University until January 1951 when he and his brother joined the navy at the start of the Korean Action. After boot camp & sonar school he served as a Sonarman for 3 years on the destroyer USS Murray. This included 3 cruises in the Caribbean, two in the Mediterranean, and one on the Mississippi River. While in service he was hospitalized (1953) at Guantanamo for appendix removal. Discharged in Oct 1954 he went to work for Boeing until he returned to college in 1958. He later received (1963) a direct commission in the Naval Reserve - Intelligence, retiring from the Reserve in 1980 with the rank of Lt. Commander (LCDR).
Ken graduated from WSU in 1960 with a degree in Business Administration & Accounting and was married from Aug 1960 to May 1968 to Janet L. Hedvail. They had no children. Ken first worked for an uncle in Auburn who was a CPA & then he became a CPA himself in 1964 purchasing a Burien accounting practice. He sold the practice in 1970 to become an agent with the FBI living in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle. He left the FBI in Dec 1978 in order to stay permanently in the Seattle area establishing a CPA tax practice in Bellevue.
Ken & his 2nd wife Gretchen Utke, married Nov. 1968, & for many years they lived in Bellevue. Ken was an avid hiker & climber and met Gretchen on a June 1968 Mt. Rainier climb in which the entire party summited. He said he decided he wanted marry her by the time they came down the mountain. Ken successfully climbed Mt. Rainier six times, last in 1994 at the age of 63. In 1965-66 he climbed all 7 major peaks in Washington & Oregon.
Ken & Gretchen had 2 daughters, now married with children of their own. Gretchen ran a small, exclusive pre-school day care center in their home for many years. In 2012 the Graybeals moved back to Ken's hometown in Pierce County where Gretchen continued to garden and Ken worked on his genealogy & kept up with the market. He was unexpectedly hospitalized in nearby Auburn, Washington, where he passed away after a short battle with lung cancer. A memorial service is planned for 31 May 2014 when his ashes will be placed in the Buckley Cemetery's columbarium
Ken graduated from WSU in 1960 with a degree in Business Administration & Accounting and was married from Aug 1960 to May 1968 to Janet L. Hedvail. They had no children. Ken first worked for an uncle in Auburn who was a CPA & then he became a CPA himself in 1964 purchasing a Burien accounting practice. He sold the practice in 1970 to become an agent with the FBI living in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle. He left the FBI in Dec 1978 in order to stay permanently in the Seattle area establishing a CPA tax practice in Bellevue.
Ken & his 2nd wife Gretchen Utke, married Nov. 1968, & for many years they lived in Bellevue. Ken was an avid hiker & climber and met Gretchen on a June 1968 Mt. Rainier climb in which the entire party summited. He said he decided he wanted marry her by the time they came down the mountain. Ken successfully climbed Mt. Rainier six times, last in 1994 at the age of 63. In 1965-66 he climbed all 7 major peaks in Washington & Oregon.
Ken & Gretchen had 2 daughters, now married with children of their own. Gretchen ran a small, exclusive pre-school day care center in their home for many years. In 2012 the Graybeals moved back to Ken's hometown in Pierce County where Gretchen continued to garden and Ken worked on his genealogy & kept up with the market. He was unexpectedly hospitalized in nearby Auburn, Washington, where he passed away after a short battle with lung cancer. A memorial service is planned for 31 May 2014 when his ashes will be placed in the Buckley Cemetery's columbarium
Raised in Buckley, Washington (since 1933) He graduated from Buckley High School in 1949 and then attended Washington State University until January 1951 when he and his brother joined the navy at the start of the Korean Action. After boot camp & sonar school he served as a Sonarman for 3 years on the destroyer USS Murray. This included 3 cruises in the Caribbean, two in the Mediterranean, and one on the Mississippi River. While in service he was hospitalized (1953) at Guantanamo for appendix removal. Discharged in Oct 1954 he went to work for Boeing until he returned to college in 1958. He later received (1963) a direct commission in the Naval Reserve - Intelligence, retiring from the Reserve in 1980 with the rank of Lt. Commander (LCDR).
Ken graduated from WSU in 1960 with a degree in Business Administration & Accounting and was married from Aug 1960 to May 1968 to Janet L. Hedvail. They had no children. Ken first worked for an uncle in Auburn who was a CPA & then he became a CPA himself in 1964 purchasing a Burien accounting practice. He sold the practice in 1970 to become an agent with the FBI living in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle. He left the FBI in Dec 1978 in order to stay permanently in the Seattle area establishing a CPA tax practice in Bellevue.
Ken & his 2nd wife Gretchen Utke, married Nov. 1968, & for many years they lived in Bellevue. Ken was an avid hiker & climber and met Gretchen on a June 1968 Mt. Rainier climb in which the entire party summited. He said he decided he wanted marry her by the time they came down the mountain. Ken successfully climbed Mt. Rainier six times, last in 1994 at the age of 63. In 1965-66 he climbed all 7 major peaks in Washington & Oregon.
Ken & Gretchen had 2 daughters, now married with children of their own. Gretchen ran a small, exclusive pre-school day care center in their home for many years. In 2012 the Graybeals moved back to Ken's hometown in Pierce County where Gretchen continued to garden and Ken worked on his genealogy & kept up with the market. He was unexpectedly hospitalized in nearby Auburn, Washington, where he passed away after a short battle with lung cancer. A memorial service is planned for 31 May 2014 when his ashes will be placed in the Buckley Cemetery's columbarium
Ken graduated from WSU in 1960 with a degree in Business Administration & Accounting and was married from Aug 1960 to May 1968 to Janet L. Hedvail. They had no children. Ken first worked for an uncle in Auburn who was a CPA & then he became a CPA himself in 1964 purchasing a Burien accounting practice. He sold the practice in 1970 to become an agent with the FBI living in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Denver, and Seattle. He left the FBI in Dec 1978 in order to stay permanently in the Seattle area establishing a CPA tax practice in Bellevue.
Ken & his 2nd wife Gretchen Utke, married Nov. 1968, & for many years they lived in Bellevue. Ken was an avid hiker & climber and met Gretchen on a June 1968 Mt. Rainier climb in which the entire party summited. He said he decided he wanted marry her by the time they came down the mountain. Ken successfully climbed Mt. Rainier six times, last in 1994 at the age of 63. In 1965-66 he climbed all 7 major peaks in Washington & Oregon.
Ken & Gretchen had 2 daughters, now married with children of their own. Gretchen ran a small, exclusive pre-school day care center in their home for many years. In 2012 the Graybeals moved back to Ken's hometown in Pierce County where Gretchen continued to garden and Ken worked on his genealogy & kept up with the market. He was unexpectedly hospitalized in nearby Auburn, Washington, where he passed away after a short battle with lung cancer. A memorial service is planned for 31 May 2014 when his ashes will be placed in the Buckley Cemetery's columbarium
