Kenneth Sylvester Hobbs
"Death is not extinguishing the Light but putting out the Lamp because the Dawn has come." Unknown My Dad, Kenneth S. Hobbs, was born on June 21, 1923 to Arthur and Hetty Hobbs in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His father was a 2nd generation Welshman, having been born to George and Marianne Hobbs shortly after their arrival in Scranton in 1887. George emigrated from coal fields in Rhonda Valley, Wales, to the coal fields of Eastern Pennsylvania. He was shortly followed by Marianne who made the voyage with her 6 month old and 2 year old children. Dad came by his toughness through his grandparents and his sweetness from his mother and the Lord. Being born into a family of Welshmen meant music, male chorus, and singing. As the poem, To Be Born Welsh, says, "To be born Welsh Is to be born privileged, Not with a silver spoon in your mouth, But with music in your blood, And poetry in your soul. " Dad returned to visit his relatives in Wales during WWII and in 2002. The great depression was harsh on dad and his family but produced a tremendous blessing. His father was a piano teacher and voice coach. Dad was strongly encouraged, if you know what I mean, to practice two hours per d...[more]View Full Online Obituary and Tributes
That discipline was put to good practice during the depression when father and son played for many church, community and social gatherings to earn extra money. The long-term benefit was that dad became quite an accomplished musician who could make a piano sing in any key and his voice became soft as cotton. Dad joined the Army Air Corp, Air Force, in 1942, and received his basic training on Miami Beach and flight school navigating over south Florida. Little did he know that 40 years later he would spend some of the best years of his life ministering in the same area. During his flight school training, Dad and Mom were married on October 30, 1943 at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. Their first son, Ken, was born a year later on September 14, 1944. Dad was a navigator on a B-17, the Flying Fortress, and saw limited action in Europe. Following Dad's discharge from the Air Force in November, 1944, Dad went to work with my mother's father, W.J.B. Mayo, at Eastern Associated Coal Corporation, later Peabody Coal Corporation, until his retirement in 1987. During his mining career, two sons, Bryan (April 20, 1946) and Jeff (September 24, 1949), were born and finally a girl, Mercedes (September 15, 1954), arrived. As you can tell, Dad and Mom loved Christmas, except in my case where summer vacation must have been special. Of all the many gifts Dad has left us, being our father is the BEST, oh, and Mom was right up there too! God chose a perfect Dad & Mom for us! Dad was always there for us and he and Mom never ceased to pray for us that we would have the strongest and most grace-filled relationship with Jesus Christ. In reality, you can't talk about Dad without talking about Mom. They were at inseparable. Dad served in numerous coal mines throughout Pennsylvania and W.Va. which resulted in us moving every 17 months. The benefit was that we all learned to adapt to new environments pretty quickly as we followed Dad's adventuresome spirit from one city to the next. Dad joined the Episcopal Church in every new city and served in almost every leadership position available. His first love, however, was always music. Needless to say, we attended church every Sunday without exception, a benefit that has proven the best gift we could have ever received from him. I can never recall being offered an option. After Dad's retirement in 1987, he and Mom moved to Pembroke Pines on September 21, 1987 and began his ministry as the Director of Music at Holy Sacrament Episcopal Church. As I often jokingly said, "He would have been much nicer to me as a kid if he had known I would be his boss one day." His work with the music ministry is a, if not "THE", reason why some many came into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. His breadth of experience in about every type of music was of tremendous benefit to us all. He was ahead of his time on the musical changes that were profoundly impacting the worship and spirituality of the church. He was tireless in learning new music and discovering in prayer the means of sharing them with the worshiping community at Holy Sacrament. He was on the cutting edge of the use of technology to enhance the worship. In 1986, a pastor wrote about Dad, "I see you as like a funnel through which God is going to channel a number of riches and blessings to the body of Christ." Well, this must have been a prophetic word from God because it became his reality. Dad not only led the music on Sunday but collaborated with Bill Colangelo and many others during our Discovery Weekends, Life in the Spirit Seminars, and Men's Retreats. Perhaps his greatest impact was on the mission field. From 1989 to 2003, Dad led the worship on 10 foreign missions, 1 to Panama, 5 to Jamaica, and 4 to the Dominican Republic. During his last mission trip in 2003, it is ironic that he celebrated his 80th birthday on the mission field and completed his last day dancing the meringue in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. On the mission trips, he was the first up and the last to go to bed. He never wanted to miss anything! The absolute happiest I ever say him was on the mission field where he poured himself into everyone through song, music, dance and the BIGGEST smile in the world. He simply loved the adventure and we all saw a glimpse of Jesus through him. When we were at the Hogar Luby Home for 90 severely handicapped children. Part of Dad's ministry was to play and sing for long periods of the day while the team ministered to the children and staff. He came to me at one point so sad that his ministry of playing music seemed to have such little impact upon the children, staff, or team. My comment to him was that what he was doing was essential to the mission. His music, his singing, his joy permeated the entire floor and were so infectious that he inspired the team, the staff, and comforted the children. Dad retired from the music ministry at Holy Sacrament Church on January 16, 2003 to take on another, more personal, mission. Dad's last mission was to Mom. As age and illness crept into their lives, Dad was Mom's constant companion during her declining years from 2004-2008. Mom became his greatest mission endeavor and he poured himself into the task. This is where he shined the most. These were the quiet, private moments when love, sacrifice and "authentic" faith come to the light. They were constantly together and exhibited love for each other, for life, for their family, and for Jesus Christ that simply amazed me. Dad was so patient during all of Mom's illnesses. During the final 17 months of her life, Dad spent every day and all day with Mom as time and memory and health slipped away. He sang to her every day and read scripture. He would recite part of a scripture and she would complete it. This was one of life's greatest gifts to see the character of two people emerge in the midst of a memory stolen. Mom couldn't remember what she had just eaten but etched in her memory were all of the scriptures and prayers she had memorized. It was truly "AWESOME" and a privilege to be in their presence. When she died on October 10, 2008, I thought his heart would break. During the final viewing we had at the funeral home, he was so tender and courageous. He played for Mom and sang his goodbyes through tears. And then she was gone, laid to rest. I didn't know if he would survive her death, but he not only did but thrived. In his enormous loneliness, he found increased comfort in his family, in God and in his church family at Christ the Rock. There were good times. We traveled to Minneapolis to be with Ken and Dea. He visited Jeff and Robin and all the grand children for Thanksgiving. All the family visited him in Florida much to his delight. He lived for those visits. Annabel and I took him on two cruises which he really loved. Ken joined us on the second cruise. You should have seen him on the Lido Deck dancing the Macarena. He was always full of such life. There was nothing in all of creation that could keep him from experiencing life in all her fullness. In November 2009 his health declined and he moved to the VA nursing home in Pembroke Pines. What a gift the VA was to him during these final months. Words cannot express the loving, tender, and tenacious care he received there. Saints ministered to him and I am certain they will receive their reward! I didn't realize how REALLY hard it was for him during Mom's illness until I too had to be with Dad during his final two years. Walking with him these final months and being with him as he faded away has been the hardest of times and yet the best of times, I wouldn't want to trade them for anything in this world. I felt so privileged to watch this gentle giant struggle with the loss of mobility with such grace. I kept whispering to him, "you are such a good sport!" He was a gift. And then, he crossed over the River Jordan to be with Mom and Jesus. As I wrote a few hours after his death, Ken & Fay - Bampoo & Nana - are together again. Over here, the sweet, smooth jewel of a voice lies silent, the hands that moved across the pearly keys in joyful praise are still, & the feet that were always Dancin lie motionless..that is, over here. But across the RIVER, there is a lot of DANCIN goin on! Thank you Dad for giving your all to us and then some! Thank you Lord for Blessing us and teaching us about the FULLNESS of LIFE & GRACE through Dad's 88+ years! Priceless! "...there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is our through Christ our Lord." Romans 8:39 Kenneth S. Hobbs is survived by: Four Children: Kenneth S. Hobbs, II of Lake Mills, Wisc.: Bryan A. Hobbs of Pembroke Pines, Fla.: Jeffrey J. Hobbs of Canonsburg, Pa., and Mercedes Hodges of Edmond, OK. 8 Grandkids: Nathan Hobbs, Christina Croteau, Sean Hobbs, Heather Leutzinger, Wendy Riggott, Ben Hodges, Bryan Hodges, Molly Hodges 12 Great Grandkids: , Joey Scaglione, Kyle Riggott, Cheyenne Riggott, Jessica Leutzinger, Gabriella Leutzinger, Alexis Leutzinger, Griffin Hobbs, Haley Hodges, Gwendolyn Hobbs, Sebastien Croteau, Vincent Croteau, and one due March 18th.
