CANADA
ÉGLISE DU NAZARÉEN
Rev. Kenneth Fach
Ken Fach died peacefully on the evening of Monday, July 10, 2023 at Evanston Grand Village, Calgary, at age 88. He will be lovingly remembered by his devoted wife of 58 years, Darlene (Doerksen); his children, of whom he was especially proud, Terry (Ruth), Darren (Wanda), Ken, and Sandra (Derek Brower); and the eight grandchildren he cherished and constantly encouraged, Michaela, Miranda, Jake, Jessika, Addison, Ethan, Leon, and Anna; and his sister, Janice Ricketts (Keith).
Born and raised in Calgary, two early events were formative for Ken’s life and character. His parents, Phil and Lily (Schneider), attended First Church of the Nazarene where Ken grew in his love for God, eventually attending Canadian Nazarene College in Red Deer in answer to God’s call to be a preacher. During his early teen years, business often kept his father away from home. His mother’s heart condition meant Ken spent many evenings at her bedside, often carrying her up and down the stairs. She passed away when he was fourteen.
Ken loved competitive sports and played them all—basketball, football, hockey, track and field, and all the racquet sports. His greatest love was baseball and he played slo-pitch into his sixties, commanding a long-reaching presence on first base. A die-hard fan of the Calgary Stampeders, he would sneak into Mewata Stadium to watch their games, hiding under the army trucks to evade the authorities. A southpaw quarterback in his playing days, he shared his love for the game and taught all his kids how to throw and catch the pigskin.
Ken was an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene and served in churches across western Canada for over forty years, including Swift Current, Wainwright, Edmonton (Parkallen), Saskatoon, Coquitlam, Edmonton (Southgate), and Camrose. In 1978 he started a new church in Sherwood Park where he continued until his retirement in 1997. Ken’s pastoral calling card was his humble heart, love for the broken, and an unshakeable optimism that no person or situation is beyond the reach of God’s grace.
Most of all, his family gives thanks for Ken’s devotion as husband, father and grandfather and for his gracious spirit and tender heart. The many tributes we have received from far and wide testify to the moral integrity and kindness that shaped his life and inspired those around him.