Kenneth Lawrence Long

January 24 1921- May 18 2016 

Ken was born and raised in the Blackfalds area where he attended school until grade 11 before transferring to Edmonton for his final year. He then returned to help his brother on the farm until he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1941. After receiving his training as a pilot in Regina, he was transferred overseas to England. Ken completed 35 bombing operations as a pilot flying a Halifax bomber. In 1944 Ken was awarded with the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) for meritorious service.  After being discharged from the RCAF in 1945, he returned home where he met Marie McMillan at a dance at the Lakeside Hall.  Ken and Marie were married in 1947 and farmed 2 miles south of Lacombe where they raised their six children:  Connie (Luke) Stienstra, Dianne (George) Langrock, Jim (Vickie) Long, Gail (Darryl) Andrew, Sereta (Don) Brown, and Noreen (Ron) Selvais, fifteen grandchildren, and twenty four great grandchildren.  In 1978, Ken and Marie moved to Oliver in the Okanagan Valley in B.C., but Lacombe was also home and they returned in 1989 and have resided there since.  Those who knew Ken were soon challenged by his luck and expertise in cribbage, bourrể, schmier, and poker.  He was a wonderful husband, father, Granddad and a good friend to all who knew him.  Ken was predeceased by Marie in October 2015, his parents, Thomas and Katherine, ten sisters, and three brothers.  At Ken’s request there will be no funeral service.  A gathering of friends and relatives will be held at 2:00 p.m. in the Banquet Room at Best Western Hotel in Lacombe on Tuesday, May 24, 2016.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Ken’s honor may be made to The Veteran’s Voice of Canada (94 Wildrose Drive, Sylvan Lake, Alberta  T4S 2L8), an organization he was heavily involved in. Cremation entrusted to Wilson’s Funeral Chapel.  Condolences may be forwarded to www.wilsonsfuneralchapel.ca 

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