Good afternoon and welcome to you all this afternoon for the celebration of the life of Kenneth Oswald Smith. As most of us know, and as we are all going to hear, Ken was a remarkable man who lived a long and full life, and he touched all of us here in different and significant ways. Today we have gathered to honour him, to grieve with Ruth and the whole family in their loss, and to thank God for the life and heart that he gave Ken. I know it is Ken’s desire that we should glorify first and foremost the King that Ken served faithfully for so many years, Jesus Christ. Because Ken was confident of God’s love, which he encountered through his personal relationship with Jesus, he had no trouble trusting the words that Jesus said in the Gospel of John, chapter 14. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. Ken was confidently looking forward to his place in the Father’s house. A couple of months ago Shaila Visser, one of our community here at Granville Chapel, leaving after a visit said to Ken "See you soon!" To which Ken replied: " I hope not!" When asked what he meant he said "I just want to go home!" That’s why our sadness at Ken’s passing is overwhelmed by our joy that he has run his race, finished his course, and has now received his prize, his call heavenward.
Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, today we are gathered to grieve the passing of your servant Ken. Thank you for the privilege of having known him. As we gather here, united by our love for Ken, we invite you, Holy Spirit, to come as comforter to us all, but especially to Ruth and to the whole family. In our grief, may we know your love and care here amongst us.
We pray in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Let’s rise to sing this great hymn of worship, chosen for this service as are all our hymns today, by Ken himself.
This is Ken's epitaph. It covers three areas; his family, his many enterprises and his love for the Lord. Carol is going to speak about the family and I will speak about his many enterprises and you will realize that it was his love for the Lord that was the significant factor behind all of his life.
It was fifty years ago that Ken and I formed our first enterprise and about five years ago we wound it up. That time in our lives had come. Ken was about 10 years older than myself and was to me, in addition to a partner - a mentor. I never chafed at this, rather was very appreciative, there was a lot to learn having Ken as a mentor and friend. I could fill my allowed time with good reminisces of those times.
However, what I would like to tell you about is what you would have learned, and the life changing transformation of working closely with Ken.
The first would be Ken's generosity. Ken loved making money, paradoxically, he equally loved giving it away. He knew God's business plan for a successful enterprise. It is found in Proverbs 30. "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God."
Ken was too fond of making money to fall into the lower category, but clearly understood the the upper limit - when you have enough for yourself and there is a surplus you gave the rest away. Frugal is a good word, but has developed a slight pejorative ring to it, I would use the phase ' thoughtfully careful '. Ken never bought a new car, if you did so it depreciated 30% on the drive home, better to buy it in it's somewhat deprecated state. Further, we never maintained an office, but worked out of our home. Our board room was a table at the Normandy cafe on Granville St. because, in those days there was always a 95 cent lunch special.
However, Ken could enjoy spending on things that gave him pleasure. Original art was one of those things. With his keen eye and entrepreneurial sense he bought Sam Black paintings before he was 'found'. After years of enjoyment I can remember seating with him in his living room and he remarking, Sam Black originals have taken off, "Do I need to have a painting this valuable when there is so much need out there". Generosity has it's difficult side.
You don't have enough digits on your hands to count the number of Christian charities and organizations that were helped along the way by Ken's generosity.
The second thing you learn from working with Ken is the reward and satisfaction of volunteering. Generosity and volunteering seem to be first cousins. Regent College is one example, Pioneer Chehalis Lodge and Pioneer Pacific are others, Calling magazine is still another. Ken was an enthusiast and an idea person. He brought great energy to these projects and rounded up his friends to be involved. I am so thankful that he rounded up me. In all the years of involvement with, and the foundational role he played, I don't think he was ever chairman of the board, he let others carry these roles. There is a saying "that behind every successful man there is a good woman pushing". Well in these successful enterprises there was a good man pushing as well. There are many here, including myself, who would acknowledge the life formation that came about by being drawn in by Ken.
We all attend memorial services and many times what we hear spoken of makes us wish we had know them better. Sometimes though it seems a little over the top. Were is the balance ? I can give you the balance - Ken was as human as you and I, he new he needed a Redeemer and loved his Redeemer. If I was to try to bring more balance I would have to be - well, petty!
I am not one of the executors of Ken's estate. However, it would not surprise me to learn that Ken, having made early provision for his wife, family and other charities he supported throughout his life, passed away a near pauper with instructions that, "If there is anything left be generous". ken gladly gave away what he could not hang onto in exchange for a heavenly treasure. The garment of humility, generosity and enthusiasm that he wove on earth will be one he can wear in the next.
Ken, you taught many people to live well because we saw the example of a life well lived. Thank you.
I am honoured by Ken’s request to speak at this service about his relationship with Regent College.
Before I do that let me, on behalf of the Regent College Board of Governors, President Jeff Greenman, Faculty, Staff, and Students, express to Ruth and the family our deep appreciation for Ken’s tireless and sacrificial engagement of time, energy, and finances for the good of Regent and our sadness and grief that he has now left us. With you, we live with the dual reality that Ken is with the Lord he loved but we mourn his passing and treasure his memory.
Those of you who knew Ken, knew that he loved to talk about the early days of Regent College. Even in his later years when his faculties were not what they once were, he could provide fascinating details on meetings, events, and people. I loved hearing his stories about the various gatherings that occurred in the mid-1960s. It was in 1966 when he returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic that he had a conversation with Brian Sutherland. This interaction was a continuance of dialogue that had been occurring about the commencement of a new school. But now it was time, since this was a Christian group, to form a committee, comprised of Brian Sutherland, Marshall Sheppard, Dick Richards, and Ken.
His story of the naming of Regent College was iconic. There was a discussion about what to call this new organism and a decision was made that it would not have Bible, Seminary, or Theology in the title because that would make it sound too much like schools that were training people for so called full-time ministry. But it also needed to be a short name that was easy to understand and memorable. Ken listened as the conversation went on and remembered that he had some real estate in Vancouver named Regent Properties. Can’t you hear him? "What about calling it Regent College?" he said. The rest, as they say, is history!
Ken was aware that in any organization there is often debate and disagreement as to who founded it, who was responsible for its existence, and who should be receiving the credit for its origin. Those of you who know Regent College will also know that such debate characterizes its oral history. But for Ken, this was not an issue at all. In an e-mail to Regent’s Development Director Christie Goode in 2014, Ken said this…
The many threads that became the tapestry of the college inspires me to give you my personal perspective on the naming of the Founder. The Founder of Regent College was the living Lord God. No individual could claim this title. A group of brothers, led by the Spirit, each had a part in the foundation and formation of the college, but it is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Ken always got the core vision of Regent College and spread the word with his own inimitable voice. In his written reflections at the 25th anniversary of the college he wrote…
It didn’t make sense to spend 16 years or more to be trained in a profession and only have a Sunday School indoctrination in the most important subject of our life…our faith.
Ken and I had many conversations about money, fundraising, and budgets and he always came back to the same refrain. He summarized it well in those same remarks at the 25th anniversary of the college…
Each succeeding year meant fresh challenges and stretching of our faith in the person of the Lord for all our needs.
And that was how Ken framed his own incredible financial sacrifice for the school. This was not his money to retain and consume, but it was the Lord’s provision that he was to steward for the development of the enterprise.
His whole perspective on Regent College was not simply that it taught Bible, Theology, and other core subjects but that its very existence and functioning needed to be infused with a deep faith in God. Ken always saw financial challenges and organizational struggles as a time for a stretching of our faith in the person of the Lord.
It was January 23, 2007 when I asked Ken if he would tell the Regent story in Chapel. For me, those 30 minutes were a poignant illustration of what it meant to be a godly, Christian, gentleman. I remember shedding tears as the whole room rose spontaneously and gave him a standing ovation. And of course if you knew Ken you would not be surprised to know he was crying as well.
He described his significant role in the history with a beautiful self-forgetfulness, continually pointing us to God the only founder. He relayed the naming of the school with humour and humility taking no credit nor desiring any accolades. He portrayed the vision of Regent with simplicity and accessibility, without compromise or confusion. There was no expression of power, or pomp, or his own personal sacrifice. Ken spoke with humility and conviction in his own quiet way.
When Regent College decided to bestow Ken with an honorary doctorate in 1994, they clearly judged that without taking courses, writing exams, or receiving grades, he had been judged to be an exemplar of the vision and mission of the school. They got that right.
And today, as we remember Ken’s life, it seems to me that the Christian virtues Ken epitomized need to be the same virtues that will carry Regent College into its envisioned future.
For that, Regent College will forever be in the debt of Dr. Ken Smith.
Fare thee well friend.
It’s an honour to be here today to speak about Ken’s remarkable role as the theatre’s founder. On behalf of the Chemainus Theatre family: staff, volunteers, board and patrons, I offer deepest condolences to Ruth and the entire Smith family.
I met Ken 25 years ago in the lobby of Chemainus Theatre for an interview as comptroller, and with a nod of the head from this tall lanky man with a goatee I became part of an incredible arts journey that has impacted so many and will continue to impact generations to come.
For me, Ken has been a mentor, a friend, a spiritual brother and a father figure.
We all know that Ken was a man of great faith, and his faith was one of his defining characteristics.
We also know from the Bible that God can send things to test our faith Stories such as – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace Or Daniel – and the lion’s den, leap to mind. For Ken that test was the Chemainus Theatre. [one of those] And at times I’m sure Ken thought he had created his own lion’s den or fiery furnace.
But no matter the challenge faced at the Theatre or the opportunity presented, Ken would strive to found his actions upon his faith in God, along with the wise counsel & perspective from his wife and soulmate Ruth.
Ken’s love of the arts was a life-long passion as was his desire for Christian values and Christians to have a home in the arts; but his calling to found Chemainus Theatre revealed itself later in life.
Ken and Ruth had been travelling through Chemainus to their summer home on Thetis Island since the mid 50’s where they had been key to the founding of Pioneer Pacific Camp.
The seed of the theatre calling came in the 80’s when Ken and Ruth witnessed the arts renaissance in Chemainus with the outdoor mural program.
The picture finally became clear in the early 90’s when Ken learned of Rosebud School of the Arts and Dinner Theatre in Rosebud Alberta, and met LaVerne & Tim Erickson. They formed a close partnership and things quickly moved forward with the construction of the Chemainus Theatre - a 274 seat live theatre venue and a 180 seat dining room.
In his memoirs, Ken stated theatres and restaurants are two of the highest risk businesses imaginable, and I remember him telling me that his friends cautioned him against this venture.
But conviction that God called him to found the theatre triumphed over business reason, and the doors opened in June 1993.
Ken loved starting projects, like Regent, seeing them flourish and then moving on to the next endeavor. Chemainus was not that kind of project.
Things did not go as Ken planned and the test on his faith and resources was significant.
In fact, there were shows in those early days that had more people on stage than in the audience.
But Ken would find Christ in the smallest of victories and that emboldened him to continue leading the charge, as the founder, board chair and theatre angel.
He held steadfast, trusting God’s calling and would often speak of serendipity’s and how God provided as each need arose. And always optimistic – reflecting on those early years he would euphemistically say ‘market acceptance’ was gradual.
No operational detail was too small – and during Ken’s tenure as Board chairman, marathon board meetings could last up to 8 hours – or just before he needed to catch the last ferry home to Thetis Island.
Ken would often say "if you are faithful in the little things God would take care of the big things."
It would be nearly a decade with a parade of new initiatives and revised programming before things took hold.
I admired Ken for so many things: for his business acumen, his humbleness and generosity, how his faith was the driving force behind all that he did, and a conviction that the only important outcome was to bring glory to God on Earth.
Is the Chemainus Theatre of today exactly how Ken envisioned it? No, it isn’t. But Ken always made room in his dream to include the dreams of others. And he understood that God’s plan was bigger than his. For Ken, the Chemainus Theatre has been a calling fulfilled.
To Ken we say mission accomplished, the Chemainus Theatre is a wonderful legacy to you and a testament to a life well lead.
The impact on the arts in BC has been huge.
Chemainus Theatre has quietly become the 3rd largest producing theatre in the Province, while striving to preserve the spirit of goodwill, respect and family atmosphere it’s built upon. After 25 seasons and 150 productions, it has employed over 4,000 actors, designers and directors and maintains a full complement of 60+ staff Over 1.3 million people have now attended theatre in Chemainus.
It turns out that Ken’s last public outing was attending the Theatre’s 25th season celebration on June 23rd 2017 and we will forever cherish the long and enthusiastic standing ovation that the theatre packed with its inner core of supporters gave Ken when his enormous contributions were recognized.
You may also know that Ken was an emotional man and not afraid to cry and through the maturation of Chemainus Theatre; we got to witness tears of anguish become tears of joy.
Over the past two decades, Ken would close almost every visit with the words "See you at the Banquet". About 15 years ago, Ruth shook her head, laughed and said "Ken is going to become a very old man saying that for a very long time." As usual Ruth was right on the mark.
I personally owe so much to Ken. I’m a much better person because of him.
On behalf of Chemainus Theatre, we will be forever thankful for the impact Ken’s had on our lives and the opportunities his faith and generosity have afforded us.
We can rejoice that Ken has reached the banquet and know that he’s picking out places for all us.
And while we miss him now, in the blink of an eye we will see Ken again at the banquet.
Ken considered his profits from his business as a blessing from God to be given or shared with others. He was humble about his contributions to his charities even though they were great, in both time as well as money. Here is a video of Ken talking about his giving philosophy, followed by a recording of Ken singing "I'd rather have Jesus".
In the next part of the program we will look at Ken as a family man, more down to earth, but certainly as a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather. I’ll start by sharing a few family memories from my mom, myself, my brother, Graham, and my sister Sharon. Next, we will show you a video with some family pictures and video clips. Lastly, you will hear from his 5 granddaughters. They especially highlight dad’s relationship with mom, and also the spiritual legacy he has left with our family, so I won’t address those aspects myself.
You may have heard about how dad was a kind, gracious, humble, generous, spiritual, enthusiastic and optimistic man in his public life. Well, he was actually all of those things in his family life as well. He was a gentle father, slow to anger, encouraging and fun loving. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I might have seen him angry. He led by example, not by preaching, although he did do Bible reading and devotionals every day after dinner. Being fairly normal kids and teenagers, we did not always appreciate it at the time.
What was it like growing up as his children? Well, for one, it was difficult to describe what he did for a living. It is hard for a young child to understand business or property development. When I was asked what my dad did, I would usually shrug and say "I don’t know, he just makes money". Later, as teenagers, we would sometimes be embarrassed to say that our dad was a property developer, as that would make him one of those people who "paved paradise and put up a parking lot", or building in his case. Not the thing to boast about in the 70’s! I should just add here that not all of his projects were successful. He did say that he had to walk away from, and learn from some failures.
It has been stressed about how generous dad was with his money. Well, growing up with him, we all learned to be frugal. His financial strategy was to always live within your means and don’t spend money frivolously. Some of his closest friends and family might have actually called him "cheap" at times, but we’ll say frugal today. Why bother buying your own tool when your neighbour has a perfectly good one that you could borrow? When shopping, he was always looking for sales and bargains, and wanted to get his money’s worth. He loved hotel rooms that had breakfast included and of course when you were at an "all you can eat" buffet, you needed to sample everything there! Mom said that he would walk several blocks in order to save paying for parking. Nowadays, we call that being healthy! When we were teenagers, we always had old, rather practical vehicles, usually a station wagon. I remember when I’d take the family car out, not worrying about leaving it unlocked. If it got stolen, it would be a blessing, and maybe we’d get a new car. No such luck! Mom and dad never had a new car until we all left home. Maybe that’s practical advice.
Dad and mom liked to travel a lot. When we were young, they sometimes took trips for 2-3 weeks at a time, leaving us with grandmothers or babysitters. When we were older, they took us with them. Their philosophy for travelling was that it would be educational. However, we as children did notice that mom and dad’s idea of education was somewhat different. When I was 14, we did a 6 wk. summer trip to Europe, of course following the guidebook called "Europe on $5/day". Dad liked to go to castles, on excursions, and visit people, but mom did get her way with educating us at many art galleries and museums as well. Later, we each got to do a trip on our own with either mom, or dad, or both of them, once we were out of school. Graham’s best memory of father/son times was when they went on a snorkeling trip together in Micronesia, just the two of them.
5 years ago, instead of mom and dad going on a trip of their own for their 60th wedding anniversary, they chartered a large boat in the summer time and took the whole family on a cruise up in Desolation Sound. Everyone had a great time, with lots of swimming, but Dad’s mobility was already declining by then, so he was assisted in and out of the water and had to wear a life jacket along with his great grandson, Monty.
But the best family times of all, whether with children, grandchildren, or even great grandchildren, were our times spent at Thetis island. When we were very young, dad would take 2-3 weeks holidays in the summer to go to Thetis. At first we were just camping, but then dad gradually built the cottage over several years, doing most of the work himself. Once the cottage was completed, Mom and us kids would spend all summer there while dad traveled back and forth. If dad needed to contact anyone in Vancouver, he had to walk a mile up the road to a pay phone. As the years went by, he eventually got a phone at the cottage, and then became quite modernized with a fax machine. After that, he could spend most of the whole summer there with all of us, as he was now connected to his business in Vancouver.
Once the cottage was done, he and his friend, Fred Lindsey, embarked on building a natural tidal swimming pool in the rocks. Every summer from then on, they could be found renovating and maintaining this pool. It was also at Thetis where we saw dad involved in many recreational activities, some of which we did with him. He enjoyed swimming, boating, walking, gardening, painting, and reading. In the evenings, dad loved to play games with whoever was visiting. He was known to be quite competitive, which spurred us all on to try to beat him. In the last few summers at Thetis, dad continued to play "Upwords", which is a form of scrabble, or a numbers game, almost every night with mom. Mom said that she would usually beat him at the numbers game, but he would usually beat her at the word game. Even this past July, dad was still able to beat me at "Upwords".
Before I close, I want to share a little bit of dad’s last few years of life. His body was gradually failing him, causing him to lose more and more hearing, vision, mobility, and energy. He never complained, though, and thankfully, was not in pain. Often, when he said goodbye to family or friends, he would say "if I don’t see you again, I’ll see you at the great banquet". In the last few months, however, he did admit that he was "struggling", so I think he was tired of his earthly body getting weaker and weaker.
However, he was a man that liked to complete tasks. He was looking forward to his 90th birthday, which he celebrated in June. A few days later came the 25th anniversary of Chemainus theatre, which he was able to attend. He was also able to be at Thetis for about 5 weeks this summer, where my siblings and I had the privilege of caring for him. He would sleep a good part of each day, and by the end, he could not walk outside the cottage. Over the summer, almost all his grandchildren and all his great grandchildren were able to visit with him. Graham brought him home from Thetis at the end of July, after which he was admitted to St . Paul’s hospital. He stayed in the hospital for about one month, and then spent the last 2 and a half months of his life at Blenheim Lodge. Three days before he died, he celebrated his 65th wedding anniversary, having an ice cream party with mom, Sharon and Stuart, but had difficulty staying awake. So I think that he went peacefully to be in a better place, after completing all the goals he had set for himself. He had no regrets and had certainly "fought the good fight".
Sometimes, it was tough growing up in the shadow of Ken Smith. Certainly, we 3 children have lived much quieter, private lives. But our lives have been so shaped and enriched by being in his family, and we will forever be proud to be known as Ken Smith’s son or daughter.
We’ll now show you some family videos. After the first one of a few family memories, the next one will be excerpts of one made by the 5 granddaughters as a gift to dad on the occasion of his 90th birthday. In the original version, they each spoke for about 5 minutes, telling their grandpa about what their favorite memories were and what they admired about him. Dad was able to hear all these wonderful tributes to him while he was still alive. We will just play for you about a minute from each girl. As you will hear, he has left quite a family legacy.
In the reading we had from the letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul enjoined all those who had become followers of Jesus to set their hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. He also tells them to set their minds on things above, not on earthly things. Ken, as a determined follower of Jesus, took this seriously. He looked forward to heaven, and the fullness of eternal life, and because he did, he was able to handle the resources with which God blessed him with humility and grace. Knowing that heaven lay ahead, he saw through the lies that our culture feeds us all the time, the emptiness of "the most toys wins" mantra, or the nonsense that more money brings more happiness, or the vanity of "if you ‘ve got it, you should flaunt it." Paul, no doubt thinking about the rite of Christian baptism, reminds all Christians that they died with Christ. Their old self-centred life came to an end when they handed over the title deeds of their life to Jesus. Ken knew this. The old Ken Smith died when he became a follower of Jesus, and the life he lived since that time was the life of Jesus living in Ken. Paul can confidently assert "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory"
Ken often spoke about what he called "The marriage supper of Lamb." It’s the moment that the church is looking forward to when it will be fully united with Jesus. Of course we picture it as a banquet. King David in Psalm 23 describes a banquet being laid out in the presence of his enemies, and in one of Jesus’ parables he speaks of a great supper to which all are invited. In the climactic scene at the end of Revelation the heavenly city descends to earth to unite the church with Jesus forever. This is the great Christian hope, not for "pie in the sky when we die" but rather for eternal life in physical bodies in a renewed earth that resemble the resurrected body of Jesus in a renewed earth.
Today, in our sorrow and loss at Ken’s departure, he would want us to look up and look forward. Death in Christ is not the end. In the words of King David : "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." The hope of heaven puts our lives down here in clear perspective. May the hope that characterised the life of Ken Smith be the power that causes all of us to live our lives to their fullest.
Let’s stand to sing one of the great hymns of the Christian faith, written by Horatio Spafford in 1873 as he crossed the Atlantic to meet up with his wife after their 4 young daughters had been lost in a shipping collision.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the life and work of Ken Smith. May he rest today in your presence having completed his earthly labour. Please sustain and comfort dear Ruth and all the family as they adjust to life without him. May we all give careful attention to the precious gift of our lives, and may we follow Ken in living our lives for your glory. To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!
Amen.