A Friend to everyone and stranger to no one, Ken Fricker was a kind and gentle man who enjoyed listening to people and about their lives as much as he loved hearing beautiful music.

A Julliard-trained musician, Ken played the double bass with the jazz group The Don Shirley Trio. Ken travelled the world playing venues from New York, where he spent most of his life, to Asia, Europe, and other exciting places.

Ken was a wonderful and supportive husband to his wife Helen with whom he spent every moment together for the past 25 years. They had a storybook romance that began long distance between Wisconsin and New York. When it became too difficult to say goodbye, Ken and Helen began their life together in Ken's home, a Blue Stone church in Rhinecliff, New York.

Ken and Helen loved the culture of New York and together travelled to the events that Ken put together with some of the finest musicians in the country for theaters, halls and auditoriums in New York, Conneticutt and nearby cities. Their home was a stage for years to performances they hosted including prodigy violinists, cellists, opera divas and singers, horn players, small orchestras, quartets, trios and more.

The only thing Ken loved more than music was family. Ken's passion was spending time with family and friends, preferably and if at all possible, while eating ice cream. Ken used to say when everyone was around the table for a gathering, "here we are, together again." And with that he'd smile and hold hands with whomever happened to be sitting next to him.

Ken was a proud father to his daughter Leslie Beck, his son Dr. Lloyd Fricker, stepfather to Rebekah, Maria, Christopher and Ben Brown. He adored his younger brother Lowell. Ken was a grandfather to 13 grandchildren: Doug, Ian, Brian, Jamie, Sarah, Elena, Emily, Olivia, Autumn, Ashwana, Arun, Remy and Hailey. Ken was ecstatic that he became a great grandfather to Ethan.

Ken loved to tell stories and had many tales to share about his career. He played with decades of musicians and performers from Miles Davis to Barbra Streisand, Bob Hope to Leontyne Price.

Ken continuously read and enjoyed learning and discussing world topics, politics and history. He always had e-mails to keep up with and liked sitting in the office playing card games and reading political newsletters, music videos on YouTube and cute animals playing the piano or singing along which he'd play over and again at the computer.

Ken also enjoyed telling jokes and had an eccentric sense of humor that made everyone smile. While he didn't believe in the edit mode his questions and comments brought laughter to everyone.

Kenneth Arthur Fricker, 82, died Saturday, July 27, 2013, in Winter Park, Florida. Ken had battled congestive heart failure and the aftereffects of having survived sepsis which he fought admirably for two years.

What got Ken through each bout of physical illness was looking forward to going home to be with Helen for the next game of Scrabble and seeing his favorite of all his dogs, Duke Ellington, who lay faithfully with Ken in bed and nearby waiting for a treat or a head scratch.

Ken, you are loved and you are missed.