Kenneth John Whitacre

August 5, 1954- September 4, 2019

Ken died early Wednesday morning, September 4 in the company of his wife Carole, after a courageous battle with Cancer. Known to all as a Gentle Giant , Ken was the loving father of Annie Whitacre (preceded in death) and husband to Carole Whitacre for nearly 40 years.

Ken was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, where he attended Withrow High School and later received his BA from The University of Cincinnati. In August 1980 Ken married his wife Carole and after graduating Carole and Ken moved to SF, where Ken pursued his BS from UC Berkeley College of Engineering-Industrial Engineering and Operational Research.

Ken began his engineering career at Xicor, later joining the team at Vishay both companies located in Santa Clara, CA. In 1996 Ken and Carole welcomed their daughter Annie and moved to Los Gatos, CA. In 2011 they moved to Mountain View, CA, where Ken continued with Vishay until July 2019, ending a career he loved as a Sr. Industrial Engineering Manager.

Ken had a lifelong love of American Literature, Classic Rock and Classical music. Mostly he treasured his many adventures with his daughter Annie.

Ken is survived by his wife Carole, brother Jim (Becky), Robin Ossenbeck (Celia), Steven Ossenbeck, (Eileen), Tim Rush-Ossenbeck, (Catherine), Dr. James Fidelholtz and many nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at Spangler Mortuary, 799 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA Sunday September 15, 2019 at 1 pm. Visitation begins at 12pm. In lieu of flowers donations to the American Cancer Society are welcome.